In the News
Ohio Watchdog: U.S. Supreme Court asked to review ‘nation’s strictest PAC regulations’
By Maggie ThurberIn conjunction with the Center for Competitive Politics, the 1851 Center wants the high court to weigh in on how Ohio regulates PACs in the state and to review what it calls “the nation’s strictest Political Action Committee regulations.”The legal action was filed on behalf of Edmund Corsi, a Cleveland-area blogger. Corsi blogged about state and local political issues, authored a pamphlet critical of local politicians and hosted an informal political discussion group. He is affiliated with the Geauga Constitutional Council.
CCP
CCP Welcomes Two New External Relations Associates
By Matt NeseThe Center for Competitive Politics (CCP) is pleased to announce the addition of Tom Swanson and Luke Wachob to our External Relations Department.
Independent Groups
Baltimore Sun: Why the IRS scandal is worse than the others
By Robert Ehrlich Jr.In over two decades in politics, my least favorite political type was the unabashed “hot dog,” that media-seeking missile who would happily sell his grandmother for a 30-second hit on the evening news. The most dangerous place in the world is between such an animal and a television camera.This personality type is plentiful on Capitol Hill, where the most outrageous statements of the day are sure to lead that evening’s headlines. After all, 5,000 Capitol Hill reporters have to report something of interest every day.
WSJ: IRS Inquiry Finds Problems, Puzzles
By John D. McKinnonBut the interviews reveal significant IRS mismanagement, according to Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R., Mich.). “This looks like, at best, complete management failure and, at worst, intentional” misconduct, Mr. Camp said last week.Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee goes further, suggesting the findings indicate a possible coverup of wrongdoing. “We’re learning about…officials who had reason to believe something was very wrong but tried keep that under wraps for as long as possible,” he said in a statement released over the weekend.
Washington Post: Scowling face of the state
By George WillMore recently, she has been head of the IRS Exempt Organizations Division, which has used its powers of delay, harassment and extortion to suppress political participation. For example, it has told an Iowa right-to-life group that it would get tax-exempt status if it would promise not to picket Planned Parenthood clinics.Last week, in a televised House Ways and Means Committee hearing, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), Salvi’s former law partner, told the riveting story of the partisan enforcement of campaign laws to suppress political competition by distracting Salvi and entangling him in bureaucratic snares. The next day, the number of inches of newsprint in The Post and the New York Times devoted to Roskam’s revelation was the number of minutes that had been devoted to it on the three broadcast networks’ evening news programs the night before: Zero.
Daily Caller: FBI hasn’t contacted a single tea party group in IRS probe, groups say
By Vince Cogliane“We have not been contacted by any federal investigative agency and, to date, none of our clients have been contacted or interviewed by the FBI,” Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice told The Daily Caller on Thursday. The ACLJ has filed suit against the IRS on behalf of 25 conservative groups, with additional groups being added in the next couple weeks, according to a spokesman.“I have been very surprised that I have not heard from anybody and frankly, none of my clients have. I talk to other tea party leaders on a regular basis,” said Cleta Mitchell, the lawyer largely credited with pushing the IRS abuses to the forefront.
Reuters: Threats made to figures at center of IRS controversy: sources
By Patrick Temple-West and Karl PlumeThreats are nothing new for IRS workers. In their unpopular line of work, IRS agents face hundreds of threats annually, including death threats, TIGTA data shows.But it is unusual for senior IRS executives to get personal threats, said Steve Walsh, a former agent with TIGTA who worked on security for some former commissioners.
Soft Money Hard Law: The IRS and the Question of Intent
By Bob BauerGreg, it seems, may be overstating his assurances that “intent” is not, as a matter of law, a permissible factor in the test of whether a 501(c)(4) organization is engaged in “political intervention.” This is an important issue for those disinclined to have the federal tax law enforcement agency ferreting out the possible political intent of issue advocacy communications.
NPV
Center for Voting and Democracy: National Popular Vote Plan Poised to Pass Halfway Mark with New Win
The National Popular Vote plan (NPV), which will guarantee the presidency of the United States to the winner of the popular vote in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, is poised to pass its halfway mark to implementation after both houses of the Rhode Island General Assembly passed the bill yesterday with votes of 30-4 in the Senate and 41-31 in the House. The vote earned real bipartisan support, including more than 75% of members of each major party in the state senate.
Lobbying and Ethics
Washington Post: Jeffrey Thompson reimbursed employees for campaign donations, his former firm says
By Mike DeBonisThe donations spanned a decade, the statement said, and were made in the names of firm employees as well as their family members and friends, who were then reimbursed at Thompson’s direction.The statement said the firm has cooperated with federal investigators over the past 15 months and has “instituted very strict policies and controls.” The firm was known as Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio and Associates (TCBA) until July, when Thompson sold his 79 percent stake to partner Ralph B. Bazilio.
State and Local
Connecticut –– AP: Conn. Democrats defend campaign finance bill
House Speaker Brendan Sharkey said Connecticut “still has among the toughest campaign finance laws in the country” and this year’s “adjustments are a small, measured response” to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on campaign spending.
