[EL] CAC

Sat May 12 05:41:38 PDT 2012

Great: another, new, campaign-finance organization on the Progressive
side, demonstrating, by its content, that it's in for the long haul.  Dear
libertarian and conservative donors: You're still needed...

But that's not enough to warrant a post to the list.  I write because of
the name of the organization and the tagline of its latest whitepaper.  I
detect a little camoflauge here, akin to the days when the left
boxed-out classical liberals like Hayek to grab the "liberal" label and
take it to the hoop.

This new organization (new to me, anyway) calls itself the Constitutional
Accountability Center.  The tagline of its latest whitepaper is, "The
Constitution at a Crossroads."  It spins its yarn in the fabric of the
Founders.

The group sounds like an action-item after coffee between Jamin Raskin and
Zephyr Teachout.  "Tell Pew (or Joyce or George) what we need now is an
organization making our points in the language of James Madison.  If
we ever get the Court back, our side's going to need to couch Progressivism
in these terms anyway.  The donors'll get it.  But if they don't, just tell
'em to consider all the damage David Brooks has done while calling himself
a conservative."

(I use Jamin because he was first to launch Free Speech for People, a long
term solution to (and clever title for) the* Citizens United* "problem."
Zephyr, because her thesis that Madison charged government with an
open-ended brief to combat "corruption" as not susceptible of any limiting
principle and contrary to the language and purpose of the constitution).

Welcome to the fray, CAC.  Hope we'll be welcoming new groups from the free
speech side -- "for people" and associations of people -- soon.

Steve

On Sat, May 12, 2012 at 1:13 AM, Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu> wrote:

>    <http://electionlawblog.org/>
>     “Democrats’ Fund Taps Corporate Donors for Convention”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34174>
> Posted on May 11, 2012 10:11 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34174> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> WSJ:<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304543904577396331812329886.html?mod=googlenews_wsj>“Democrats have trumpeted their ban on corporate donations to their
> national convention this summer, saying that it shows they are free from
> the influence of special interests. But through a special fund, convention
> planners are accepting millions of dollars in corporate contributions to
> help pay for many of the activities outside the convention hall—as well as
> some expenses directly related to the event. Donors include Wells Fargo<http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=WFC>
> WFC +0.36%<http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=WFC>& Co., Bank
> of America<http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=BAC>Corp.
> BAC -1.95%<http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=BAC>and Duke
> Energy <http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=DUK>Corp.,
> DUK -0.32%<http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=DUK>all significant employers in Charlotte, N.C., where the convention will be
> held in early September.”
>  [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D34174&title=%E2%80%9CDemocrats%E2%80%99%20Fund%20Taps%20Corporate%20Donors%20for%20Convention%E2%80%9D&description=>
>   Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, political
> parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25> | Comments Off
>   “Republicans have taken a more polarizing political turn than Democrats
> in recent years” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34171>
> Posted on May 11, 2012 10:08 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34171> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Ezra Klein column<http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-republicans-elephant-in-the-room-themselves/2012/05/11/gIQAZEo7IU_story.html>
> .
>  [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D34171&title=%E2%80%9CRepublicans%20have%20taken%20a%20more%20polarizing%20political%20turn%20than%20Democrats%20in%20recent%20years%E2%80%9D&description=>
>   Posted in legislation and legislatures<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>,
> political polarization <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68> | Comments Off
>   “The Struggle to Vote” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34168>
> Posted on May 11, 2012 8:49 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34168> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> This NYT editorial
> <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/12/opinion/the-struggle-for-voting-rights.html>begins:
> “It was nearly 10 p.m. on Wednesday when Paul Broun<http://broun.house.gov/>,
> a Republican congressman from Georgia, rose on the House floor to propose
> that no more money be spent enforcing a section of the Voting Rights Act of
> 1965.”
>  [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D34168&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20Struggle%20to%20Vote%E2%80%9D&description=>
>   Posted in Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments
> Off
>   “Is Black and Latino Voter Registration Threatened or Not?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34165>
> Posted on May 11, 2012 8:35 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34165> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> This *Nation* report
> <http://www.thenation.com/blog/167853/black-and-latino-voter-registration-threatened-or-not>includes
> a response from the Washington Post to criticism of the article’s reliance
> on census dept. data.
>  [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D34165&title=%E2%80%9CIs%20Black%20and%20Latino%20Voter%20Registration%20Threatened%20or%20Not%3F%E2%80%9D&description=>
>   Posted in voter registration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37> | Comments
> Off
>   “House Votes to Slash Political Science Funding”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34162>
> Posted on May 11, 2012 6:13 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34162> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Disturbing<http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/05/11/house_votes_to_slash_political_science_funding.html>
> .
>  [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D34162&title=%E2%80%9CHouse%20Votes%20to%20Slash%20Political%20Science%20Funding%E2%80%9D&description=>
>   Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments
> Off
>   Two from Findlaw <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34159>
> Posted on May 11, 2012 6:11 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34159> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> *Will SCOTUS Stamp Out Montana’s Constitutional Mischief? (FindLaw’s U.S.
> Supreme Court blog):* Citizens United — the group, not the case — wants
> the High Court to intervene in a challenge to Montana’s campaign finance
> law.
>
>
> http://blogs.findlaw.com/supreme_court/2012/05/will-scotus-stamp-out-montanas-constitutional-mischief.html
>
>
>
> *You Can’t HAVA Federal Relief in a Local Recount (FindLaw’s U.S. Ninth
> Circuit blog):* Why federal law does not mandate ballot recount methods
> for non-federal offices.
>
>
> http://blogs.findlaw.com/ninth_circuit/2012/04/you-cant-hava-federal-relief-in-a-local-recount.html
>
>
>  [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D34159&title=Two%20from%20Findlaw&description=>
>   Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments
> Off
>   “What Has Made Congress More Polarized?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34157>
> Posted on May 11, 2012 6:10 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34157> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Sean Trende<http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/05/11/what_has_made_congress_more_polarized.html>on Mann, Ornstein and the Poole-Rosenthal DW-NOMINATE scores of Congrss.
>  [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D34157&title=%E2%80%9CWhat%20Has%20Made%20Congress%20More%20Polarized%3F%E2%80%9D&description=>
>   Posted in legislation and legislatures<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>,
> political parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, political
> polarization <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68> | Comments Off
>   “Assisted voting in Hidalgo election raises questions”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34153>
> Posted on May 11, 2012 11:08 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34153> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Troubling report
> <http://www.themonitor.com/news/hidalgo-60755-raises-voting.html>from
> South Texas: “One in five people who cast early ballots in Hidalgo’s City
> Council election brought someone else into the voting booth for help,
> Hidalgo County Elections Administrator Yvonne Ramon said Thursday. While
> Texas law allows voters to seek assistance in special circumstances,
> unusually high assistance rates often indicate political machines — and,
> critics say, voter coercion — at work. Of the 2,144 people who voted early
> in the Hidalgo election, 483 had help, Ramon said, about 22.5 percent of
> voters.”
>
> As with absentee ballots, the ability to verify how someone vote through
> “assistance” facilitates both vote buying and coercion.  This certainly
> merits further investigation.
>  [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D34153&title=%E2%80%9CAssisted%20voting%20in%20Hidalgo%20election%20raises%20questions%E2%80%9D&description=>
>   Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments
> Off
>   “Judge refuses to dismiss John Edwards charges”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34150>
> Posted on May 11, 2012 11:01 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34150> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> AP<http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EDWARDS_TRIAL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-05-11-12-13-22>:
> “- A federal judge refused to throw out campaign corruption charges against
> John Edwards on Friday, meaning the former presidential hopeful will have
> to present his case to a jury.”
>  [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D34150&title=%E2%80%9CJudge%20refuses%20to%20dismiss%20John%20Edwards%20charges%E2%80%9D&description=>
>   Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,
> chicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, John Edwards<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=17>
> | Comments Off
>   “The First Amendment, Political Speech, and the Future of Campaign
> Finance Laws” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34147>
> Posted on May 11, 2012 8:48 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=34147> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> The latest <http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/93112705> from the
> Constitutional Accountability Center.
>  [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D34147&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20First%20Amendment%2C%20Political%20Speech%2C%20and%20the%20Future%20of%20Campaign%20Finance%20Laws%E2%80%9D&description=>
>   Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 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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>

-- 
Stephen M. Hoersting
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