In the News
YNN: Lawsuit claims town code on political signs is unconstitutional
By Sarah BlazonisThe Town of Manlius official who visited the Rubins back in 2006 wanted them to remove several political signs displayed in their yard.Rubin said, “They violated an ordinance, which I had no idea even existed, which is that you need to get a permit to put up such signs.”Rubin’s signs were also up too early. Town code prohibits residents from displaying political signs more than 30 days before or seven days after an election.
CCP
PACs, Populism, and Political Freedom
By Tom SwansonHow do we explain this systematic legal prejudice against citizens who organize together in PACs? What could justify this de jure preference of the speech of citizens who organize one way over citizens who organize another way?Do PACs need to be muzzled because they’re thought to be unusually corruptive? If PACs are more likely to influence votes through quid pro quo bargains with candidates, it might make sense to limit this possibility. But this is absurd. While many PACs can only hope to influence legislators, parties influence scores of them every day. Of course political parties influence votes; they threaten to withhold financial support from candidates who flout their wishes. They even have employees (whips) who enforce these bargains in the nation’s legislative chambers. If this practice is tolerable, then what PACs are doing certainly is as well.
Independent Groups
Washington Post: The IRS scandal’s inconsistencies
By Darrell Issa and Dave CampInterview after interview of IRS employees by congressional investigators, however, began to expose the inconsistencies in the administration’s narrative. There were no “rogue” agents, only employees who followed the implicit or explicit directions of more senior IRS officials in Washington. When Washington told Cincinnati IRS employees to “hold” other tea party cases while officials in Washington scrutinized early “test cases” concerning the group, they did it. When Washington told them to assign a tea party case coordinator, they obliged. Employees also told investigators that the IRS chief counsel’s office was not, as the American people were first led to believe, merely involved in fixing problems once discovered. Employees explained, and one testified publicly, that this office — led by one of only two political appointees at the IRS — participated in scrutinizing and delaying tea party applications.
Politico: Organizing for Action pitches help for Democrats
By REID J. EPSTEINOrganizing for Action is looking to help Georgia Senate candidate Michelle Nunn, marking the first time that President Barack Obama’s political arm has explicitly crossed into Democratic politics.Several political operatives and potential donors told POLITICO that OFA Executive Director Jon Carson made the pitch to help Nunn in various discussions this spring.
Politico: David Bossie challenges CNN, NBC on Clinton film
By Katie Glueck“I understand that, as a news organization, you certainly have the responsibility to educate the public about prominent political figures, especially those considering a run for President of the United States,” Bossie said in the letter to CNN. “However, it is no secret that such documentaries tend to be overly-favorable to their subjects, and I have no reason to believe that CNN’s documentary on Hillary Clinton will be anything other than a puff-piece on an overly-celebrated figure on the left.”
FEC
The Hill: Issa seeks IRS, FEC emails
By Bernie BeckerHouse Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is casting a wider net in his investigation of the IRS, now seeking communications between the agency and the Federal Election Commission.Issa and other Republicans have expressed concern that the IRS – and Lois Lerner, the official at the center of the current targeting controversy – may have inappropriately exchanged information on groups seeking tax-exempt status with the FEC.With that in mind, the California Republican, along with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), is seeking five years worth of phone records, e-mails and any other communications between the two agencies.
State and Local
New York –– Newsday: NARAL shouldn’t have exemption on donor disclosure
EditorialWhile it’s true that abortion is one of the most emotional and divisive political topics of our times, there’s no reason for the exemption abortion-rights lobbying group NARAL Pro-Choice New York has been granted that allows it to keep its donors secret.
