What is soft money???

Madison: What is soft money???
Soft money is
a.
money donated by a person to his or her own campaign.

b.
cast contributions that are not traceable and in some situations illegal.

c.
small donations that, while important to a campaign, are not as important as larger contributions.

d.
money loaned to a campaign, but expected to be paid back.

e.
money donated to parties rather than candidates, thus not subject to contribution or spending limits.

Answers and Views:

Answer by norando
e.
money donated to parties rather than candidates, thus not subject to contribution or spending limits.

Answer by Sara
“Soft” money is contributed to the political party as a whole. Historically, “soft money” referred to contributions made to political parties for purposes of party building and other activities not directly related to the election of specific candidates. Because these contributions were not used for specific candidate advocacy, they were not regulated by the Federal Election Campaign Act.”Soft money” also refers to unlimited contributions to organizations and committees other than candidate campaigns and political parties (except, where legal, to state and local parties for use solely in state and local races). Organizations which receive “Soft money” contributions are often called “527s”, for the section of the tax code under which they operate. Such organizations can legally engage in political activity, but funds from “soft money” contributions may not be spent on ads promoting the election or defeat of a specific candidate.

“Hard” money is contributed directly to a candidate of a political party. It is regulated by law in both source and amount, and monitored by the Federal Election Commission