[EL] Check out Study shows who breaks campaign laws - The Pueblo Chieftai...

[JBoppjr at aol.com]

While I don't know what "reformers" whisper in Rick's ear, "reformers"  
have been quite open and candid that there is a great big list of people  they 
want to shut up -- foreigners, the Wylie Brothers, all corporations,  
"outside interests," Citizens United, Wisconsin Right to Life, "special  
interests," etc etc etc. Most, but not all, of these are people of average means  or 
made up of people of average means. They have never said that that bothers  
them one whit.  Jim Bopp
 
 
In a message dated 8/10/2011 1:26:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
rhasen at law.uci.edu writes:

Jim,

Do you really  believe reformers' goals are "to drive citizens of average 
means out of our  political system?"  That certainly does not match up with 
my experience  in talking to people who are strongly in favor of regulation.  
Usually  they express to me concerns about large money corrupting the 
system, concerns  about inequality/lack of a level playing field, or concerns 
about the high  costs of campaigns.  I cannot recall a single conversation over 
many  years of speaking with reform-minded individuals who ever--publicly 
or  privately--expressed a desire to drive citizens of average means out of 
our  political system.

That's not to say that complex laws cannot have this  effect.  I believe 
they can, and that to the extent that campaign finance  laws do so, they need 
to be changed.  But you suggest a motive for such  laws which seems so off 
from reality that I'm not sure if you are  serious.

Rick

On 8/10/2011 10:19 AM, _JBoppjr at aol.com_ (mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com)  wrote:  
_Click here: Study shows who breaks campaign laws -  The Pueblo Chieftain: 
Local_ 
(http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/study-shows-who-breaks-campaign-laws/article_9cf187fc-c185-11e0-baff-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story)  
 
 “Our office did a study and looked at who pays campaign finance  fines, 
who doesn’t, who violates the law a lot, things like that,” said  Secretary 
of State Scott Gessler. “And the bottom line is this: Volunteers  and 
grass-roots groups are far more likely to run afoul of the law because  the law is 
so complex. Large, big-money groups are able to hire attorneys  and 
accountants and pay very, very few fines.”
 
But this is the purpose of campaign finance laws -- to drive  citizens of 
average means out of our political system. Nice to see it  is working. The 
"reformers" will be very pleased, I am sure.  Jim  Bopp


-- 
Rick Hasen
Professor of Law and Political  Science
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite  1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 -  fax
_rhasen at law.uci.edu_ (mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu) 
_http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html_ 
(http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html) 
_http://electionlawblog.org_ (http://electionlawblog.org/) 



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