In the News
Washington Times: Court of public opinion heard on campaign cash
By Kellan Howell
David Keating, president of the Center for Competitive Politics, argued the donation limits help incumbents and hurt funding for challengers during elections.“I think the current scheme actually may help keep corruption in, because the way to get rid of corruption is to get rid of the people who are corrupt,” he said. “And if you can’t give to enough challengers to get rid of the corrupt people, that’s going to help them stay in office.”
Cleveland Plain Dealer: U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Ohio conservative blogger Edmund Corsi’s elections case
By Mark NaymikThe court’s decision ends Corsi’s challenge to a 2011 ruling by the Ohio Elections Commission that said Corsi’s political activity was the same as any political action committee (PAC) and, therefore, subject to Ohio law.Corsi writes under the name Geauga Constitutional Council, which is also the name of his website. He holds political events and distributes pamphlets critical of officials. In 2009, one of his targets of criticism — Geauga County GOP Boss Ed Ryder, also a member of the Geauga County Elections Board – filed a complaint with Ohio Elections Commission that triggered the legal battle.Corsi believes that his free speech is abridged by the demand to submit to Ohio’s elections rules.
Independent Groups
Daily Caller: White House, IRS exchanged confidential taxpayer info
By Patrick HowleyTop Internal Revenue Service Obamacare official Sarah Hall Ingram discussed confidential taxpayer information with senior Obama White House officials, according to 2012 emails obtained by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and provided to The Daily Caller.Lois Lerner, then head of the IRS Tax Exempt Organizations division, also received an email alongside White House officials that contained confidential information.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
Washington Times: Supreme Court skeptical of campaign finance cap
By Stephen DinanStill, it wasn’t just the conservative-leaning members of the court who expressed skepticism about the aggregate limits. Justice Stephen G. Breyer, one of President Clinton’s nominees, also seemed hard-pressed to see the distinction.He said the justices are being asked to balance the “First Amendment negative” of a limit on one person’s giving with the “First Amendment positive” that comes from average people believing their small-dollar contributions have an effect on elections.
Washington Post: Campaign finance charade enters Supreme Court
By Ed RogersThe Supreme Court should not hide behind Mr. Verrilli’s fig leaf. It is already too crowded behind that little shield. The court should acknowledge the obvious and remove the campaign contribution restrictions so this charade can end and the parties and campaigns can be held accountable to voters and be openly scrutinized by the media. Without campaign contribution restrictions, the parties and candidates will be empowered to run campaigns that are not swamped by the parallel participation of these anonymously funded campaigns. I say “anonymously,” but that is not accurate; the identity of the contributors to these outside groups is only hidden from the voters and from the media. Everybody else is in on the secret but is legally required to pretend otherwise.
Disclosure
Politico: Koch Bros. gave $500k to Heritage Action
By Anna PalmerConservative billionaires Charles and David Koch have another political cause — Heritage Action Fund.The megadonors have cut a check for half a million dollars to the group, which is often at odds with the GOP establishment and has made attacking Republicans a common practice this year.
Candidates, Politicians, Campaigns, and Parties
Roll Call: Members Question: Is Shutdown Fundraising Worth It?
By Abby LivingstonWhen the government shut down last week, many members rushed to cancel long-planned events at restaurants, spas and shooting ranges. Without an edict from party leaders, members must decide individually whether it’s kosher to bring in bucks during the spending impasse.So far, vulnerable members have rationalized that the optics of walking into a mega-donor event isn’t worth the cash.
NY Times: Business Groups See Loss of Sway Over House G.O.P.
By ERIC LIPTON, NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and NELSON D. SCHWARTZWASHINGTON — As the government shutdown grinds toward a potential debt default, some of the country’s most influential business executives have come to a conclusion all but unthinkable a few years ago: Their voices are carrying little weight with the House majority that their millions of dollars in campaign contributions helped build and sustain.Their frustration has grown so intense in recent days that several trade association officials warned in interviews on Wednesday that they were considering helping wage primary campaigns against Republican lawmakers who had worked to engineer the political standoff in Washington.
FEC
Politico: Let Bitcoins be used for political donations
By Dan BackerThe federal government is on the verge of issuing a decision that could revolutionize the ways political campaigns are conducted and, in the long run, affect the spending practices of every consumer in America. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has been asked to issue guidance to political campaigns on accepting contributions in the form of a new digital currency called Bitcoin.It’s a great idea. Bitcoin political contributions will expand the number of Americans who can get involved in campaigns to support the candidates they want, how they want. It is the next logical iteration of democratization of the political process enabled by the Internet.
State and Local
NY Times: Former Liu Associates Avoid Lengthy Sentences for Fund-Raising Scheme
By BENJAMIN WEISERTwo former associates of John C. Liu, the New York City comptroller, managed to avoid lengthy prison sentences on Thursday for their roles in attempting to funnel money to Mr. Liu’s mayoral campaign through an illegal fund-raising scheme.Prosecutors had charged that the defendants, Jia Hou, a former Liu campaign treasurer, and Xing Wu Pan, a fund-raiser, relied on so-called straw donors — people whose contributions are reimbursed by others — to raise money and use some of it to obtain city matching funds.
