In the News
Wall Street Journal: The Supreme Court and Ed Corsi’s Life of Political Crime
By Bradley A. SmithIt is inconceivable, however, that America’s founders thought the First Amendment would allow the government to routinely require citizens to report their political activity, and be subjected to such complex regulations. They wanted to prevent government from doing precisely this sort of thing. Yet Mr. Corsi lost in state court. Now he waits to see if the Supreme Court will agree to hear his case.The “big money” in politics can afford the accountants, consultants and lawyers needed to cope with campaign- finance law. The burdens frequently fall more heavily on grass-roots politics—the very thing we ought to be encouraging. There also is abundant anecdotal evidence that the main result, if not the purpose, of campaign-finance laws is to allow political insiders and government officials to harass grass-roots activists. The IRS targeting scandals are merely the most prominent example of the way these laws are used by those in power to harass their opposition.On his blog, Mr. Corsi was critical of Ed Ryder, the chairman of the Geauga County Republican Party and a member of the county Board of Elections, and of various officials and candidates supported by Mr. Ryder. The initial complaint against Mr. Corsi was filed by Mr. Ryder, who admitted spending two months to find out who constituted the “Geauga Constitutional Council,” so he could file a complaint against Mr. Corsi.
Volokh Conspiracy: Corsi’s Life of Political Crime
By Jonathan H. AdlerIf you want to get together with friends to talk about politics, hear speakers on policy issues, and perhaps create a website promoting policy ideas, do you need to register as a political actin committee even if you don’t endorse candidates or get involved in elections? In Ohio the answer can be “yes,” as Ed Corsi discovered after he set up the “Geauga Constitutional Council.” Although Corsi only spent several hundred per year on the Council, the Ohio Elections Commission concluded it was required to register and report on its activities, and this conclusion was upheld in Ohio courts. Now Corsi is seeking Supreme Court review, aided by the Center for Competitive Politics.
Independent Groups
Roll Call: TV Ad Targets McConnell on Obamacare Defunding
By Kyle TrygstadThe Senate Conservatives Fund is upping its ante against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell by launching a TV attack ad statewide.The ad is aimed at urging the Kentucky Republican to lead an effort that seeks to tie upcoming spending bills to a push by rank-and-file Republicans to defund President Barack Obama’s health care law. Critics of that effort, including some GOP leaders, have said demanding that Obamacare be defunded as part of the spending bill debate would only shut down the government, while mandatory spending on the health care law would continue.
LA Times: The pulpit should be free of politics
EditorialA bill sponsored by Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) would repeal a 1954 amendment to the tax code sponsored by then-Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson. The amendment says that churches and other so-called 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations may not “participate in, or intervene in … any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”Jones’ legislation seeks to restore the “1st Amendment rights” of churches, but that’s misleading. Churches may have a 1st Amendment right to endorse candidates, but there is no constitutional right to a tax exemption. Congress is free to condition such exemptions — which can be worth millions of dollars — on an agreement by churches and charities to refrain from partisan political activity. And it’s the IRS’ responsibility to enforce compliance.
Candidates, Politicians, Campaigns, and Parties
Wall Street Journal: The Party’s Over
By Alan BrinkleyOne of the conundrums of this political year is why, at a moment when Democrats are clearly preferred over Republicans, the presidential race remains so close. But for the past 40 years, close and unpredictable elections have increasingly become the norm. The most important reason for our volatile presidential elections is a fundamental change in American politics — the birth of a post-partisan world. This may sound surprising in an era in which politics are as polarized as at any moment in our recent history — as illustrated by Sarah Palin’s slashing, sarcastic acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention this week — and in which the two major parties in Congress seem to disagree, sometimes violently, on almost everything. But what makes our politics so different from early periods in our history, and so volatile and unpredictable, is the absence of strong political parties as moderators of public life, and their replacement with sharp ideological differences.
FEC
The Times-Picayune: Houma towing magnate sentenced in illegal campaign contribution case
By Juliet LindermanA Houma businessman was sentenced in federal court on Thursday for making false statements to the Federal Election Commission related to illegal campaign contributions to Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter in 2008.U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier sentenced Arlen “Benny” Cenac, who owns Cenac Towing Company, to one year probation, a $5,000 fine and a $100 special assessment, New Orleans interim U.S. Attorney Dana Boente announced. Cenac pleaded guilty in May.
State and Local
District of Columbia –– Washington Post: Donations to Jack Evans constituent fund are under probe
By Mike DeBonisWilliam O. SanFord, general counsel for the Office of Campaign Finance, said during a Wednesday meeting of the Board of Elections that the agency opened a preliminary investigation last month into whether donations to Evans’s constituent service fund broke campaign finance regulations.The inquiry involves “contributions from three entities that appear to be affiliated with same primary ownership,” SanFord said. Under city law, a parent company and subsidiaries ”share a single contribution limitation” — $500 a year in the case of constituent service funds.
Michigan –– WXYZ: Allegations of improper campaign contributions in Detroit’s mayoral election
By Jim Kiertner(WXYZ) – New allegations of improper campaign contributions into Detroit’s mayoral election are tonight being brushed off as baseless and having no merit.But earlier this week businessman Dan Gilbert did take back a contribution of $80,000 to a PAC called Turnaround Detroit because Gilbert has an ownership interest in the Greektown Casino and political contributions are prohibited by rules of the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
New Mexico –– Albuquerque Business First: Judge knocks down ABQ ban on campaign contributions
By Gary GerewIn her ruling, Armijo cited the Supreme Court’s decision in “Citizens United” three years ago. In that case, the Supreme Court lifted many restrictions on corporate spending in political elections, on First Amendment grounds.Armijo, in her eight-page opinion, also said there was no evidence that Albuquerque voters believed campaign contributions would lead to corruption.
