Clean Government

матраци>online casinoary Clinton had her silver screen moment in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, when the Justices heard a case that could determine the reach of campaign finance laws to control political advertising. The tone of the oral argument also hinted that five Justices on the Court may be increasingly leery of campaign-finance limits.

During the 2008 Presidential primaries, a nonprofit group called Citizens United produced a 90-minute documentary chronicling the exploits of then-Senator Clinton. Let’s just say that “Hillary: the Movie” was not an endorsement. Because the film, and trailers for it, were scheduled to run in the heat of the race on cable TV, it ran afoul of campaign finance “reform” law.

Under the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Finance Act, also known as McCain-Feingold, electioneering communications paid by corporations or unions that “expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate” cannot run within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of an election. Citizens United filed suit against the Federal Election Commission to assert its right to distribute the film. catv

A new group the American Issues Project (AIP) has been caught in controversy over an ad linking candidate Senator Barack Obama☼ (D-IL) to former domestic terrorist William Ayers. As a 501(c)(4) organization it is allowed to air a political ad as long as the majority of its spending is nonpolitical, it cannot accept money from corporations, and it must identify the donors that finance its ads in reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The ad however, is being considered by some to be a violation of election law.

The ad “Know Enough” has images of Obama and Ayers, with a narrator asking, “Why would Barack Obama be friends with someone who bombed the Capitol and is proud of it? Do you know enough to elect Barack Obama?”

Those who are calling the ad illegal consider it to clearly be express advocacy; the ad concerns an election, takes a position on the character and fitness for office of the candidate, and raises no legislative issue. The Ayers ad mentions Obama’s name and uses the word “elect.” According to the Supreme Court decision in FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, an ad can be regulated and considered express advocacy “only if the ad is susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate.”

Full story… 

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) has raised many eyebrows in the past few weeks with his novel, somewhat surprising, suggestion regarding the potential public funding of his campaign for the presidency. On Feb. 1, the Obama Exploratory Committee submitted a request to the Federal Elections Commission for an Advisory Opinion (AO). The committee is asking the FEC if it is within legal limits for Sen. Obama to “provisionally” take funds from private donors for his campaign but to also have the option, should he get the Democratic nomination, of returning those contributions in order to accept public funds. However, this would only happen if the Republican opponent also agreed to do so.

This proposition is wrought with intrigue, not to mention brilliant strategy. By making the request to the FEC, Sen. Obama has made it publicly known that he is not precluding the use of public funds. That’s likely to make some supporters of public financing very happy, especially after the disappointment such individuals may have felt after Hillary Clinton -by some media accounts – single-handedly killed the presidential public financing system. The proposition, if accepted by the FEC and if Sen. Obama becomes the Democratic nominee, also presents a challenge to the Republican opponent to fight fair. The political costs incurred by the Republican nominnee for turning down such a noble challenge are immeasureable.

This past Friday, former Senator and current presidential candidate John Edwards called for public financing of all elections during an interview on Real Time With Bill Maher. Click here to download and watch the clip (2.5 MB).

Why does Rep. Marty Meehan, the Massachusetts Democrat who hasn’t had a close race since he was elected in 1992, need a $5 million war chest — especially since he’s being considered to become the new chancellor of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, in his district?

Meehan’s spokesman declined to comment on the university job. The congressman justified having the largest campaign fund of any House member because it was an extension of his commitment to transparency in campaign finance. An advocate for campaign finance reform, Meehan sponsored the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 in the House. Earlier this month, he and Christopher Shays, R-Conn., introduced legislation that would create an independent agency to enforce campaign finance laws.

Full story…

Just about a year-and-a-half ago, Sen. John McCain went to court to try to curtail the influence of a group to which A. Jerrold Perenchio gave $9 million, saying it was trying to “evade and violate” new campaign laws with voter ads ahead of the midterm elections.

As McCain launches his own presidential campaign, however, he is counting on Perenchio, the founder of the Univision Spanish-language media empire, to raise millions of dollars as co-chairman of the Arizona Republican’s national finance committee.

In his early efforts to secure the support of the Republican establishment he has frequently bucked, McCain has embraced some of the same political-money figures, forces and tactics he pilloried during a 15-year crusade to reduce the influence of big donors, fundraisers and lobbyists in elections. That includes enlisting the support of Washington lobbyists as well as key players in the fundraising machine that helped President Bush defeat McCain in the 2000 Republican primaries.

Full story… 

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who strongly criticized campaign-finance regulations in a private meeting with House conservatives last week, once touted dramatic restructuring measures such as taxing political contributions and placing spending limits on federal campaigns.

Romney’s past positions on campaign-finance regulation, anathema to many social conservatives who believe such rules place unconstitutional limits on free speech, could complicate his ongoing efforts to court conservative leaders.

Full story… 

House lawmakers are considering a dramatic change to how candidates run for public office in Hawaii: having the state pay for campaign costs.

House Bill 661 was temporarily deferred yesterday by the House Judiciary Committee, but Judiciary Chairman Tommy Waters said he wants to approve some change in campaign financing this year.

“Obviously there are concerns, but I want to pass something,” said Rep. Waters (D, Lanikai-Waimanalo). “I am a supporter. I introduced it and I like it.”

But the bill’s supporters, who have lobbied for the bill for eight years, say publicly financing elections is a hard sell because it makes it easier for challengers to run against incumbent legislators.

Full story… 

A radical proposal by two Yale professors goes far beyond any reform envisaged by Feingold or McCain.

Feb. 5, 2007 | We don’t yet know whether the next president will be a man, a woman, white or black, but we know this much: On Inauguration Day, he or she will be gravely indebted to many very wealthy people. Sen. Hillary Clinton has already decided to fund her presidential campaign entirely through private donations, and her rivals are likely to follow that approach. The serious candidates are looking to raise $100 million this year alone, and the two who win the primaries will take in substantially more. That’s an average of at least $2 million a week, or $286,000 every day, including weekends, until the election — greater than the median price of a new American home.

The news is dispiriting to anyone who cares about clean politics, but it’s not surprising. Today’s campaign finance regulations are as effective as abstinence vows on prom night, and the leading proposals to fix the system do little more than impose some decorum on the bacchanalia. This week Sen. Russell Feingold, just about the last politician in the nation who can still muster any fervor on the issue, offered a plan that would modestly tweak the current system, increasing some public funding here and eliminating some limits there. The plan’s prospects look uncertain. His former co-conspirator in reform, John McCain, says he’s not even familiar with Feingold’s idea, perhaps because as a presidential candidate he now spends much of his time asking rich people for money. But even if Feingold’s plan did become law, it would do nothing about the fundamental problem. Running for office takes an enormous amount of money, and even though “You” may be Person of the Year, drunk on the power of “your” blogs and “your” YouTube, politicians will always be able to get more money from “Them,” the fat cats.

Full story… 

The Federal Election Commission said yesterday that it will police “527″ groups, political organizations that largely operated outside the new campaign finance limits during the 2004 presidential election, by looking at how the groups word their appeals for contributions, how they describe themselves, and how they spend their money.

Full story…