“If you really want to influence a candidate, or a future candidate, you give to an outside group,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who specializes in election law. “Direct contributions and bundling are increasingly becoming a way of the past.” Potential presidential candidates this year–including Bush–are using outside groups to pay for traditional functions of an early campaign or political committee, including communications, policy development, and research. Unlike a presidential campaign or the committees that politicians are supposed to use while they consider running for the White House, these groups have no legal limits on contributions, which worries watchdogs.
Thanks to Obama, the New World of Campaign Finance Is Unlimited and Undisclosed - Bloomberg Politics
