[EL] Texas reply brief, W. Va. maps struck, and more

[Steve Hoersting]

The friends-of-friends provision has already been considered.  Indeed, it
was included in an earlier version of McCain-Feingold, but removed before
final passage in 2002.

Here is a quick summary of the provision from an old op-ed of mine.

The McCain-Feingold bill would also tack on one more level of confusion, by
defining an "independent" expenditure as an expenditure that is not
coordinated with the candidate or his agent and one that is not coordinated
with someone who *himself* has engaged in coordinated activity with the
candidate or his agent. It's not clear how a would-be speaker walled off
from a campaign could ever be sure that everyone he speaks with has not
spoken to a member of that campaign. What *is* clear is that if any two
persons in the world are separated by just six other people — an idea
that's been called "six degrees of separation" — we can expect this
legislation to increase, dramatically, the number of citizens hauled before
the FEC on allegations of coordinated activity.

The old op-ed is here:
http://old.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-hoersting021202.shtml

Steve Hoersting

On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 6:03 PM, Smith, Brad <BSmith at law.capital.edu> wrote:

>  And friends of friends. I mean, suppose some friend of McCain asked some
> friend of his to ask some friend of his to run IE's for John McCain:
> coordination? Why not?
>
>  Indeed, I think that if you favor a candidate, or oppose his opponent,
> you should be prohibited from any role in a group that runs IEs in that
> race.
>
>  *Bradley A. Smith*
>
> *Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault*
>
> *   Professor of Law*
>
> *Capital University Law School*
>
> *303 E. Broad St.*
>
> *Columbus, OH 43215*
>
> *614.236.6317*
>
> *http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx*
>   ------------------------------
> *From:* law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [
> law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] on behalf of Scott F.
> Bieniek [sbieniek at bienieklaw.com]
> *Sent:* Tuesday, January 03, 2012 5:20 PM
> *To:* Steve Klein
> *Cc:* JBoppjr at aol.com; law-election at uci.edu
>
> *Subject:* Re: [EL] Texas reply brief, W. Va. maps struck, and more
>
>  Am I the only one hoping the FEC puts out an NPR on the coordination
> regs just to see Trevor's definition of "best friend?" And I sure do hope
> he includes Facebook "friends" and "likes"--he and Colbert could have tons
> of fun with that one.
>
> Scott Bieniek
> General Counsel
> Friends of Herman Cain, Inc.
>
> On Tuesday, January 3, 2012, Steve Klein <stephen.klein.esq at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >> The solution to the "problem" therefore, would seem to be to require
> SuperPacs and other "outside groups" to be "totally independent" of
> candidates and parties (as the Supreme Court defined independent
> expenditures in Buckley)--rather than run by their best friends and current
> or former fundraisers.
> >
> >
> > I can see a definition like "best friends" going a long way under this
> paradigm. Given how far some FEC definitions go, all I can say is "Rest in
> peace, Will Rogers."
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 2:41 PM, Trevor Potter <tpotter at capdale.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Unless the contribution limits are "raised" by removing them entirely
> (as Jim no doubt favors) there will always be the potential for wealthy
> donors to circumvent contribution limits by giving the maximum allowed to
> the candidate, and any additional desired money to the "candidate SuperPac"
> which under the new state of affairs can accept unlimited amounts.
> > The solution to the "problem" therefore, would seem to be to require
> SuperPacs and other "outside groups" to be "totally independent" of
> candidates and parties (as the Supreme Court defined independent
> expenditures in Buckley)--rather than run by their best friends and current
> or former fundraisers. Further, we should ensure that all funds used for
> these independent expenditures are fully disclosed as to their true
> source , as the Court held in Citizens United the law could require them to
> be.
> > Trevor Potter
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu on behalf of
> JBoppjr at aol.com
> > Sent: Tue 1/3/2012 4:31 PM
> > To: rhasen at law.uci.edu; law-election at UCI.EDU
> > Subject: Re: [EL] Texas reply brief, W. Va. maps struck, and more
> >
> >
> >
> > My suggestion is to simply fix the cause of this "problem," raise
> contribution limits. Jim Bopp
> >
> > “Welcome to the Super PAC Nation”
> >
> > Posted on January 3, 2012 12:06 pm by Rick Hasen
> >
> > Greg Sargent:
> >
> > So in sum: We are going to see hundreds and hundreds of millions of
> dollars worth of ads bombarding millions of voters for months on end, with
> no knowledge of who is paying for them, no accountability at all for the
> candidates who are directly benefiting from them, and no meaningful effort
> to rebut the countless lies, distortions and sleazy attacks they’ll be
> leveling on a daily basis — ones that will directly impact who controls
> Congress and the White House next year.
> >
> > Welcome to Super PAC Nation
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 1/3/2012 4:14:17 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> rhasen at law.uci.edu writes:
> >
> > “Much Commentary on Virginia Ballot Access Shows Utter Ignorance of
> History of Ballot Access Litigation”
> >
> > Posted on January 3, 2012 1:12 pm by Rick Hasen
> >
> > Richard Winger
> >
> > Steve Klein
> > Staff Attorney & Research Counsel*
> > Wyoming Liberty Group
> > www.wyliberty.org
> > *Licensed to practice law in Illinois. Counsel to the Wyoming Liberty
> Group pursuant to Rule 5.5(d) of the Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct.
> >
>
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>



-- 
Stephen M. Hoersting
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