lossary, “Soft money is money that is illegal under federal law -- it either violates federal source restrictions (such as money from corporations) or federal limits (such as large contributions from individuals in amounts often exceeding $100,000).Soft money undoubtedly influences our government. National party committees are allowed to use the soft money funds for voter registration drives and get-out-the-vote campaigns, but these ads can easily be manipulated to influence presidential elections. Common Cause charges that “soft money contributions are laundered through the political parties in a way that allows federally illegal money to nonetheless be used to influence federal elections.” While corporations make large [soft money] donations to political parties, they are also lobbying for various legislation issues before Congress. ...
