In the News
Washington Free Beacon: Lawsuit: Regulators Revealed Donor Names of Thousands of Nonprofits
Lachlan Markay
California regulators posted the names of donors to roughly 1,400 nonprofit groups on a government website despite assurances that such information would remain confidential, according to a group suing to prevent such disclosures…
The AG’s office has stated that it keeps that information confidential, but a pair of lawsuits filed by AFPF and the Center for Competitive Politics, a nonprofit legal group, have questioned both the security of that information and the state’s purported need to gather it for law enforcement purposes…
The Supreme Court last week declined to hear CCP’s challenge to the regulation despite what the group characterizes as a smoking gun in AFPF’s tally of disclosed schedule Bs.
“During the litigation, the attorney general failed to provide any reason for collecting this information other than a claim that at some point in the future it might be valuable for ‘law enforcement,’” CCP said in a statement.
Independent Groups
Wired: After Victory, Airbnb Compares Its Influence to the NRA’s
Davey Alba
“We began to think about this election in a little bit of a different way,” Lehane said. “Was there something we could do? We had this big base of support, the light bulb went off in our heads. Could we actually organize and activize (sic) this community and change what the voter pool in San Francisco was going to look like?”
“The [Airbnb] voting bloc that is growing is a formidable constituency,” Lehane said, comparing Airbnb’s numbers to the NRA, the Sierra Club, teachers in the National Education Association and pro-LGBT Human Rights Campaign members.
New York Times: New Marco Rubio Backer Bankrolls Ad and Writes It, Too
Maggie Haberman
Senator Marco Rubio’s newest financial backer not only bankrolls his own super PAC, but also writes its TV ads.
John Jordan, the California-based winery owner who had been a supporter of Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, is the backer behind a new “super PAC,” Baby Got Pac, which intends to now promote the Florida senator…
In an interview, Mr. Jordan said he co-wrote the spot with Mr. Wilson, and that the ad “kind of speaks for itself — who do you want on that stage come general election time?”
FEC
Wall Street Journal: Bush Super PAC’s Attorney Weighs In on FEC Debate
Beth Reinhard
Wading into the public debate over interactions between campaigns and super PACs: Charlie Spies, the attorney for the Right to Rise super PAC backing Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush.
Attorneys for two Democratic super PACs aimed at electing congressional majorities have asked the Federal Election Commission for an advisory opinion that would clarify the increasingly blurry lines between campaigns and super PACs. Mr. Spies suggests in his comments to the FEC that the attorneys are really acting on behalf of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton…
The attorneys add that any regulation over non-candidates “runs the risk of unintended consequences” — such as affecting the activities of Mrs. Clinton, before she became a candidate, on behalf of her family’s global charity.
Talking Points Memo: FEC Chair Tells ‘Daily Show’ The Commission Is ‘Enormously Dysfunctional’
Beth Reinhard
Federal Election Commission Commissioner Ann M. Ravel told “The Daily Show” on Thursday’s episode that the FEC is “enormously dysfunctional” and compared the agency’s effectiveness to men’s nipples.
“The FEC — which is supposed to be enforcing campaign finance laws so people have trust in the system — isn’t. I would say that it is enormously dysfunctional at the FEC,” Ravel told correspondent Jordan Klepper. “I’m the chair of the Federal Election Commission.”
Free Speech
Federalist: The First Amendment Is Dying
David Harsanyi
That’s pretty much the state of the First Amendment today. Climate change. Abortion. Gay marriage. Race. Taxes. What have you. Even in mainstream political debate, these interests outweigh your piddling concerns about the First Amendment. So the notion that a bunch of students and leftist professors would agitate to shut down free expression in a public space in Missouri because they feel their special issue trumps your antiquated list of rules is not particularly surprising.
Now, we shouldn’t overstate the problem. Most of us are able to freely engage in arguments and express ourselves without worrying about the state interfering. This will not end tomorrow. But it is difficult to ignore how creeping illiberalism has infected our discourse, and how not many people seem to care.
FCC
Daily Mail: Ben Carson and Ted Cruz won’t ask NBC for ‘equal time’ after Trump’s Saturday Night Live ratings triumph
Nicki Schwab
So far no presidential candidate is making much of a fuss about frontrunner Donald Trump’s hosting gig on Saturday Night Live last weekend.
Daily Mail Online has confirmed that Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Chris Chistie’s campaigns won’t be petitioning for ‘equal time’ on NBC – and no other campaign has come forward to say they’d take advantage of the rule.
When Trump appeared on the comedy program – clocking in 12 minutes and five seconds – that initiated a seven-day period where candidates could demand that amount of time from NBC stations that aired the show, in accordance to a Federal Communications Commission rule.
Influence
CNN: American people want their democracy back
Jonathan Soros
Last Monday, I hosted a dinner with President Obama for 50 people to raise money for the House Democrats. As host, I enjoyed the additional privilege of a few minutes in private with the President during which I pressed him, ironically, to take action on campaign finance reform. Sorry, but I can’t tell you how he replied. Part of the privilege is to hear the President off-the-record.
Later in the week I hosted a smaller dinner for a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Our common passion for campaign finance reform is such I could convince myself he was just there to anchor our thoughtful discussion, but there’s only one reason New York is an essential campaign stop for candidates from all 50 states: money…
While I, and many other private donors on both the left and right, advocate for policies that we perceive to be in the public interest, our perspective is dramatically unrepresentative of the American electorate.
Candidates and Campaigns
Vox: Democrats scheduled debates on days when no one will watch
Alvin Chang
The Democratic National Committee, which organizes the party’s primary debates, has faced accusations of scheduling them on dates that will receive poor viewership in an attempt to protect frontrunner Hillary Clinton. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz has denied these claims. There are other hints Clinton wanted less exposure, including reports that her campaign privately lobbied the DNC for fewer debates.
But when you just look at the debate schedule, it’s hard to deny its absurdity — especially when you take a look back at political debates of years past.
Huffington Post: Clinton’s Corruption Problem and Saturday’s Debate
Zephyr Teachout
And into this corruption moment comes Hillary Clinton, who has four big corruption problems. None of them have to do with Benghazi. The first is that she is intimately related to a foundation that raises millions of dollars on a daily basis from the most powerful corporations in the world. The second is that she and her husband have made millions of dollars in speaking fees from the most powerful corporations in the world. The third is that a Super PAC supporting her has raised money from individuals representing the most powerful corporations in the world. And the fourth is that shared by all candidates — her fundraising relies on donations from the most powerful wealthy individuals in America.
The States
KTUU: Group files federal lawsuit challenging Alaska campaign contribution limits
Austin Baird
Three individuals and the local chapter of the Alaska Republican Party filed the lawsuit against the executive director and board of the Alaska Public Offices Commission, which enforces state political financing laws.
The suit alleges that four aspects of campaign laws violate the U.S Constitution: a $500 limit on individual contributions to a candidate, a $500 limit on individual contributions to a group, the $3,000 limit on out-of-state contributions, and limits on political party contributions.
Kevin Clarkson, an attorney representing the group, said he plans to file an injunction that would halt some contribution limits until the issue is settled
Green Bay Press Gazette: Campaign finance bill increases transparency
John Nygren, John Macco, Al Ott and David Steffen
Contrary to what Kaminski stated in her opinion piece, the campaign finance bill that passed in the Wisconsin Assembly actually increases reporting frequency and transparency. We voted to increase the number of finance reports filed so that citizens can know who is contributing to campaigns. Incidentally, we have doubled the contribution limits, something that has not been done since 1973. If adjusted for inflation, we would be increasing contribution limits fivefold. Comparing the proposed contribution limits to other states, we are still below the national average — most have much higher limits and five Midwestern states have no limits.
