[EL] ELB News and Commentary 2/8/12

Wed Feb 8 08:03:06 PST 2012

Russ Feingold (for whom I have enormous respect) apparently believes that any American League manager who doesn't agree with the designated hitter rule should have his pitcher bat in every game.

Samuel Bagenstos
sbagen at gmail.com
My University of Michigan web page:  http://web.law.umich.edu/_FacultyBioPage/facultybiopagenew.asp?ID=411
My Disability Law blog:  http://disabilitylaw.blogspot.com/

On Feb 8, 2012, at 10:55 AM, Rick Hasen wrote:

> “Santorum and His Super Pac: Just Friends, Not Coordination”
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:52 am by Rick Hasen
> ABC News reports.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance | Comments Off
> “Analysis: Invalid signatures likely not enough to halt Walker recall”
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:50 am by Rick Hasen
> The latest from Wisconsin.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in recall elections | Comments Off
> “Campaign finance author: Obama ‘dancing with the devil’”
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:48 am by Rick Hasen
> Russ Feingold not happy on the Obama campaign’s super PAC decision.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance | Comments Off
> “Oops: Florida Republican Forgets To Remove ALEC Mission Statement From Boilerplate Anti-Tax Bill”
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:44 am by Rick Hasen
> There has been a lot of controversy lately about the role that the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council has played in helping to pass voter identification bills in states with Republican majorities.  While this item is not about voter id., it does show ALEC’s influence in a pretty humorous way.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in voter id | Comments Off
> Floyd Abrams Responds to E.J. Dionne Column on Citizens United
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:42 am by Rick Hasen
> Here.   I will be on a panel about Citizens United with Floyd Abrams, moderated by Ellen Katz, at the University of Michigan law school on March 5.  Details to come.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance | Comments Off
> “Divided Court Rejects Proposition 8″
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:36 am by Rick Hasen
> The LA Times reports.  More from the SF Chronicle, NYT,WaPo,
> WSJ, USA Today, AP, Huffington Post.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
> “Unleashed, Democrats Hunt for ‘Super PAC’ Donors”
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:28 am by Rick Hasen
> NYT: “Mr. Obama’s decision also plunges his campaign and administration into uncharted legal and ethical terrain. Under the plan, White House officials will appear at events with donors — some likely to have substantial business interests before the administration — for a super PAC that is legally required to be independent of Mr. Obama’s campaign. Mr. Romney appeared at an event last summer for donors to Restore Our           Future, and Democratic and Republican lawmakers have appeared at events held by super PACs supporting each party’s members of Congress.”
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance | Comments Off
> “Obama campaign fears being sharply outspent by GOP super PACs”
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:27 am by Rick Hasen
> WaPo: “‘The combination of the sheer magnitude of what we were watching on the Republicans’ side, combined with the lack of any real ammunition on our side, was disconcerting,’ said one Obama adviser, who requested anonymity in order to speak candidly about the decision.”
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance | Comments Off
> “Capitol Assets: Some legislators send millions to groups connected to their relatives”
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:24 am by Rick Hasen
> The latest installment in WaPo‘s must-read series on members of Congress and self-interest.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in conflict of interest laws, ethics investigations, legislation and legislatures, lobbying | Comments Off
> “Why South Carolina’s Voter ID Suit Could Be Bound For The Supreme Court”
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:22 am by Rick Hasen
> TPM reports.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in voter id, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off
> “Obama and Super PACs in the 2012 Election”
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:20 am by Rick Hasen
> Tom Mann: “My own view is that his change in posture toward the role of super PACs on his side of the aisle, while truly regrettable, was inevitable given the lack of any progress on the underlying problems.”
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance | Comments Off
> “Four Georgia Senators Introduce Bill to Require Petition Signers to Show Government Photo-ID”
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:19 am by Rick Hasen
> Ballot Access News reports.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in ballot access, voter id | Comments Off
> “Auctioning Democracy: The Rise Of Super PACS and the 2012 Election”
> 
> Posted on February 8, 2012 7:17 am by Rick Hasen
> Demos and U.S. PIRG have issued this new report.  From the introduction:
> 
> We do not yet have nearly the full picture of how Super PACs have affected and will continue to affect the 2012 elections. Right now, we only have a complete picture of the year 2011. But, we can already see some disturbing trends.
> Demos and U.S. PIRG analysis of Federal Election Commission data on Super PACs from their advent in 2010 through the end of 2011 reveals the following:
> For-profit businesses use Super PACs as an avenue to influence federal elections. 17% of the itemized funds raised by Super PACs came from for-profit businesses—more than $30 million.
> Because Super PACs—unlike traditional PACs—may accept funds from nonprofits that are not required to disclose their donors, they provide a vehicle for secret funding of electoral campaigns. 6.4% of the itemized funds raised by Super PACs cannot be feasibly traced back to an original source.
> Super PACs are a tool used by wealthy individuals and institutions to dominate the political process. 93% of the itemized funds raised by Super PACs from individuals in 2011 came in contributions of at least $10,000, from just twenty-three out of every 10 million people in the U.S. population.
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance | Comments Off
> “Another Campaign For Sale”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 8:16 pm by Rick Hasen
> The NYT editorial board is not happy with the Obama campaign decision on super PACs.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance | Comments Off
> Will Controversial “Political Intelligence” Provision of STOCK Act Get Dropped in House Version of Bill?
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 8:10 pm by Rick Hasen
> Looks like it so far.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in legislation and legislatures, lobbying | Comments Off
> “Okay. Now let’s dismantle O’Keefe’s latest horse shit…”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 7:24 pm by Rick Hasen
> The Brad Blog on Minnesota “voter fraud.”
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in The Voting Wars | Comments Off
> The Modest South Carolina Suit Against DOJ’s Blocking of Its Voter ID Law
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:54 pm by Rick Hasen
> The South Carolina complaint has now been filed challenging the Department of Justice’s denial of its voter id law as a violation of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
> 
> I had expected South Carolina to make a frontal attack on the constitutionality of the Act, going even further than Texas had in its recent complaint (which suggests narrowing the Act significantly to avoid reaching the constitutional question).  I had thought a frontal attack was especially likely when South Carolina lined up big gun Paul Clement on the case.
> 
> But the complaint does not raise the issue directly or forcefully.  Paragraph 36 raises a constitutional avoidance argument, but this is much less confrontational than I expected given Gov. Haley and others’ language against the DOJ decision.
> 
> So my money’s right now on the Shelby County case as the one most likely to bring the constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act back to the Supreme Court.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in voter id, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off
> “Caucus Counting Troubles Plague Primaries”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:48 pm by Rick Hasen
> NPR reports.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in political parties, primaries | Comments Off
> “Calif. Decision Puts Marriage Politics In Spotlight”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:47 pm by Rick Hasen
> NPR reports.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
> “Senate-Passed “STOCK Act” Requires ‘Political Intelligence Consultants’ to Register and Report under Lobbying Disclosure Act”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:45 pm by Rick Hasen
> A Caplin & Drysdale update.
> 
> Political intelligence?  Oxymoron?
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance, legislation and legislatures, lobbying | Comments Off
> Service Members, and Not Just the Religious, Should Get Accommodations in Caucus Voting
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:44 pm by Rick Hasen
> I strongly agree with these sentiments.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in voting | Comments Off
> “Suspect recall signing could result in felony charges”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:42 pm by Rick Hasen
> News from Wisconsin.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
> “Court says woman with limited English can be kept off ballot”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:41 pm by Rick Hasen
> Reuters: “Arizona’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a city council candidate with limited English language skills can be kept off the ballot in a largely bilingual town on the Mexico border.”
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
> “Invitation to a Dialogue: A Better Way to Elect?”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:39 pm by Rick Hasen
> Rob Richie has written a letter to the New York Times, and the Times invites responses (some of which will be published in the Sunday Review).
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in alternative voting systems | Comments Off
> “The Past is not Past; Why We Still Need Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:38 pm by Rick Hasen
> Jonathan Brater writes this commentary for the Boston Review.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in Voting Rights Act | Comments Off
> “Obama’s Super PAC Flip-Flop”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:37 pm by Rick Hasen
> Adam Skaggs blogs.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance | Comments Off
> “Fighting Gay Marriage, Minnesota Group May Have Skirted Law”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:36 pm by Rick Hasen
> Buzzfeed Politics reports, with the subhead: “Secret donations, through the National Organization for Marriage, Minnesota Family Council, and Catholic Church.”
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance | Comments Off
> Kentucky Redistricting Litigation: The Latest
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:31 pm by Rick Hasen
> State legislative districts tossed, and congressional redistricting heading to court.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in redistricting | Comments Off
> “Another Bain exec revealed as man behind corporate donor to pro-Romney super PAC”
> 
> Posted on February 7, 2012 5:25 pm by Rick Hasen
> Michael Beckel, now of iWatch News, reports.  It is worth remembering that those who would use a shell corporation to fund a Super PAC are asking for an investigation into whether they are breaking the laws barring conduit contributions.
> 
> <share_save_171_16.png>
> Posted in campaign finance | Comments Off
> -- 
> Rick Hasen
> Chancellor's 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
> http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
> http://electionlawblog.org
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