Old soft money was associated with access, like a wad of cash that you’d slip to a nightclub bouncer to get in the door. The new soft money is more like a bulge in one’s jacket pocket, an implied threat against those who refuse to comply.

—Dan Tokaji and Renata Strause in an Election Law Blog post yesterday [1] that summarizes their new report, "The New Soft Money [2]." This shows how important it is for mayoral candidates to agree to a People's Pledge in order to prevent this sort of threat from those engaged in independent spending (see my blog post on this) [3]