Soft Money

Hard money is for playing hardball politics: money donated to a specific candidate. Soft money, on the other hand, is for softballing...political donations that are not for a specific candidate.

You’ll hear “soft money” mostly in reference to U.S. elections, since there are no limits to soft money contributions. With the current campaign finance rules, due to the 2010 Supreme Court Case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, soft money contributions are unlimited, since they're a form of free speech...including donations from corporations. Yup, corporations have a right to free speech, just like you.

Soft money can include contributions to political parties, political action committees (PACs), and super PACs. Unlimited soft money has caused a kerfuffle, because it’s caused political donations to skyrocket. Critics argue this has allowed corporations and wealthy donors to buy elections, which isn’t very democratic. Supporters argue that money equals free speech, which is totes democratic.