In the News
Forbes: In Today’s America, Consult Your Attorney Before Speaking Freely
By Daniel ShuchmanAccording to lower court rulings in Ohio and the findings of the Ohio Elections Commission, it seems that Mr. Corsi, a resident of Geauga County near Cleveland, believes “that most elected officials ignore the constitution and, as a result, he is concerned that he will lose his freedoms in this country.” Mr. Corsi wrote and distributed pamphlets and formed a website under the name of the Geauga Constitutional Council (GCC) to express his views. He never formally incorporated the GCC, and it seems to have largely acted as a pseudonym. He paid $40 a month to maintain his website and held informational events at which he provided food and for which he sometimes charged a small entrance fee. Mr. Corsi estimated that he spent a “couple hundred dollars” publishing his pamphlets.Mr. Corsi got in trouble when he hosted, under the name of the GCC, a booth at the Geauga County Fair, where he handed out brochures. He was ratted out by a member of the local board of elections who was also in attendance at the fair. This commissar (who is also a local Republican party official and had been the object of critical blog postings by Mr. Corsi) discovered that the brochures did not contain the disclaimers required of political action committees under Ohio election law. He later found a further threat to public safety: the GCC had not designated a treasurer and had made no filings with the county board of elections.
CCP
Groups File Brief Supporting Challenge to Contractor Donation Ban
By Joe Trotter“The law strips individual citizens of an important constitutional right, regardless of the scale of their contact work, and regardless of whether they have any contact with elected officials,” said CCP Legal Director Allen Dickerson. “Such an approach does nothing to combat real corruption, but as this suit makes clear, creates a very real burden on these individuals’ political rights.”“The Supreme Court has considered this type of categorical prohibition on free association before. And in that case, McConnell v. FEC, the Court found a ban on contributions by minors violated the First Amendment. The government argued that parents could use their children as conduits to bypass the nominal contribution limits, and the Court rejected that assertion. The Constitution compels the government to conduct an exhaustive inquiry for other, less restrictive, means to counter corruption before flatly banning a constitutionally-protected activity. For example, here Congress could have imposed lower contribution limits or enhanced reporting of meetings between such contractors and congressmen.”
FEC
Wall Street Journal: Another IRS Scandal Waiting to Happen
By Kimberly StrosselThe Obama administration claims it wants to ensure that the rank political abuse perpetrated by the Internal Revenue Service is never repeated. Ask Donald McGahn how that’s going.Mr. McGahn is a Republican appointee to the Federal Election Commission, an agency with every bit as much potential for partisan meddling as the IRS. Due to leave the agency soon, Mr. McGahn’s parting gift is a campaign to rein in an out-of-control FEC bureaucracy. But the left is fighting that oversight and is determined to keep power in the hands of unaccountable staff.
CPI: FEC nominations moving forward
By Dave LevinthalThe Senate Rules and Administration Committee will on July 24 conduct a confirmation hearing on President Barack Obama’s two new nominees to the Federal Election Commission, three government officials familiar with the proceedings tell the Center for Public Integrity.The hearing, if conducted as planned, means the nominations could move forward to the full Senate before the body recesses on August 2 for a five-week summer break.
Independent Groups
NY 1: One On 1 Profile: Top Attorney Floyd Abrams Has Defended Free Speech For Over 40 Years
By Budd MishkinThe Pentagon Papers case brought Abrams much acclaim. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has brought him much criticism. In 2008, a conservative group wanted to air a documentary criticizing then-leading Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, but was barred from doing so by election laws.Abrams argued before the Supreme Court that it was an issue of free speech.At the time he said, “Your honor, I don’t think you’d be doing more harm than good in vindicating the First Amendment rights here, which transcend Citizens United.”
Candidates, Politicians, Campaigns, and Parties
Roll Call: Walden Pledges Improvement for GOP Online Fundraising
By Emily Cahn and Abby LivingstonAfter Democrats trounced Republicans in online fundraising in recent cycles, the House GOP’s campaign chief has promised improvements for the party’s digital donor base in 2014.“We’re coming out of this cycle wondering what the heck happened to us, and how did we fall behind, and how do we leapfrog ahead?” said Greg Walden, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a Wednesday interview with CQ Roll Call. “I look at this as an opportunity.”
State and Local
New York –– NY Times: Spitzer, in a Frenzy, Shows an Inconsistency on Campaign Financing
By JIM DWYERThe other Democrat in the race, Scott M. Stringer, was participating in the public financing program of the city, Mr. Lehrer noted.Mr. Spitzer seemed to scoff at that as any sign of virtue on Mr. Stringer’s part.“He’ll be spending your money,” Mr. Spitzer said. “I’ll be spending my own money. That’s all.”
