What is a PAC vs Special Interest?

[Killarney]

What exactly is a Politically Action Committee? Could someone give an example?

If a corporation donates to a campaign... say Halliburton, what is that... special interest?
If an organization for a cause, like Emily's List donates... is that special interest, too?

What would be an example of a PAC donation?

Thanks! :)

[Doomsayer13]

1. a PAC

is a committee a special interest sets up to dole out campaign contributions. Technically, a special interest itself cannot donate anything - it needs to set up its own PAC as entailed in the 1976 Federal Elections and Commissions Act.

[eyesroll]

2. Corporations can't contribute directly

but they can form a PAC.

EMILY's List is also a PAC.

A PAC is any committee that advocates for, donates to or otherwise promotes candidates and electioneering. Federal PACs must file with the FEC, the same way candidate committees do. There are three general types of PACs -- business (such as Haliburton's PAC, or one for the whole oil industry); labor (again, unions can't contribute directly, but they can form PACs); and ideological (EMILY's list). Corporate and labor funds can't go directly into the PAC -- they must raise money from individuals (employees, shareholders, union members, or whatever, but usually top executives and higher-ups) voluntarily.

"Special interest" isn't a legally defined term, and it's often whatever someone wants it to be -- a rule of thumb: If you don't like the donor, it's a special interest. Democrats usually call business PACs special interests, whereas Republicans will apply that term to labor groups. Some people also consider lobbyists to be special interests -- even though they're individuals, if they lobby on behalf of an industry or issue, they can be assumed to be tied to that issue financially.