[EL] ELB News and Commentary 9/20/12

Rick Hasen rhasen at law.uci.edu
Thu Sep 20 07:25:04 PDT 2012


    New Jersey Appellate Court Rejects Challenges to State Redistricting
    Plans <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40435>

Posted on September 20, 2012 7:23 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40435> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

You can read the opinion here 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/a0747-11a0869-11withappendix.pdf>.

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Posted in redistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6> | Comments Off


    "Commonwealth Court schedules more hearings on Voter ID"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40433>

Posted on September 20, 2012 7:19 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40433> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The latest 
<http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/heardinthehall/170473922.html>from Pa.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off


    "Minor candidates are main focus of federal election funding
    program" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40430>

Posted on September 20, 2012 7:18 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40430> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo reports. 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/minor-candidates-are-main-focus-of-federal-election-funding-program/2012/09/19/0f2c5524-01c0-11e2-b260-32f4a8db9b7e_story.html>

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, third 
parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=47> | Comments Off


    "Candidate offered to drop out -- for a price"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40427>

Posted on September 20, 2012 7:14 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40427> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

News <http://www.omaha.com/article/20120920/NEWS/709209907> from Nebraska.

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Posted in bribery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=54>, campaigns 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12> | Comments Off


    "New Voting Laws Get Democratic Organizers Fired Up"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40424>

Posted on September 20, 2012 7:12 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40424> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

National Journal 
<http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/new-voting-laws-get-democratic-organizers-fired-up-20120920>reports. 
<http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/new-voting-laws-get-democratic-organizers-fired-up-20120920>

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Posted in campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, election 
administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off


    "Fla. defends early voting limits in federal court"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40422>

Posted on September 20, 2012 7:12 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40422> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP reports. 
<http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/19/3009704/us-rep-asks-court-to-keep-more.html#storylink=misearch>  
Sounds like the judge is seriously concerned about laches/delay.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off


    "In a Tight Race, Obama Draws on the Levers of His Power"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40419>

Posted on September 20, 2012 7:10 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40419> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Interesting NYT report. 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/us/politics/obama-exploits-familiar-junction-of-policy-and-politics.html?hp>

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Posted in campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, legislation 
and legislatures <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27> | Comments Off


    "Not-So-Fine Print: Small Ballot Type Irritates New York Voters"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40415>

Posted on September 20, 2012 7:08 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40415> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

A ChapinBlog. 
<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/electionacademy/2012/09/not-so-fine_print_small_ballot.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HHHElections+%28The+Election+Aacdemy%29>

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
voting technology <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40> | Comments Off


    "Citizens United, States Divided: Evidence of Elasticity in
    Independent Expenditures" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40412>

Posted on September 20, 2012 7:07 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40412> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Doug Spencer and Abby Wood have posted this draft 
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2046878> on SSRN.  
Here is the abstract:

    What were the effects of Citizens United v. FEC? In this Article,
    the first to systematically examine the effects of the decision, we
    use a variety of empirical methods to show an increase in
    independent expenditures in states where the decision deregulated
    campaign finance laws. In those states, independent spending
    increased by around $19 million over what it would have been in the
    absence of the decision. However, the effect was not uniform across
    states. We attempt to use detailed data to evaluate whether the
    sources of expenditures de-regulated by the opinion, corporations
    and unions, responded directly, explaining why the existing
    disclosure framework prevents anyone from knowing the ultimate
    source of some independent expenditures. Finally, we address the
    distributional effects of Citizens United. We find that the
    distributional effects were not as dramatic as many scholars and
    commentators predicted in the wake of the opinion.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
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    "Behind the Big Ticket Political Fundraisers"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40409>

Posted on September 19, 2012 9:52 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40409> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Very interesting WaPo report 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/secrets-of-big-ticket-fundraisers/2012/09/19/1030ad04-0287-11e2-8102-ebee9c66e190_story.html>.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, 
campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59> | Comments Off


    "Sponsor Of Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Defends Romney, Says 'Lazy'
    People Also Shouldn't Vote" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40406>

Posted on September 19, 2012 8:32 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40406> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

See here 
<http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/09/19/877981/sponsor-of-pennsylvania-voter-id-law-defends-romney-says-lazy-people-also-shouldnt-vote/>.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off


    "Texas Court Halts State Attempt to Purge Voters as Dead"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40403>

Posted on September 19, 2012 8:00 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40403> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bloomberg reports 
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-19/texas-judge-bars-state-from-ordering-country-voter-purges.html>.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voting 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31> | Comments Off


    "Legal Center Defends Hawaii's Disclosure Regs & Contractor
    Contribution Ban in 9th Circuit Brief"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40400>

Posted on September 19, 2012 7:22 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40400> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

See this press release. 
<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1895:september-19-2012-legal-center-defends-hawaiis-disclosure-regs-a-contractor-contribution-ban-in-9th-circuit-brief&catid=63:legal-center-press-releases&Itemid=61>

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
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    "Election activist claims she's broken Boulder's ballot code"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40397>

Posted on September 19, 2012 7:18 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40397> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

News 
<http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-9746-election-activist-claims-sherss-broken-boulderrss-ballot-code.html> 
from Colorado.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voting technology 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40> | Comments Off


    Sutton Law Firm Makes Hertz, Mainardi Partners
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40394>

Posted on September 19, 2012 7:15 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40394> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Congratulations to all! 
<http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=ptkitjfab&v=001u9MKVAvAK1zmq4sHYvvxvnPQm2DkA3MIx1wlkC8aMJZ2iDEAynpvmL82pJj4unN0Iw4nE9PhsdEItHbQaXTAOGwOUhSbS22-U6QQtd7_A7VRbywzdCNO9TA0prUl0J1Y5epHIFFdzMt8cXQafiKuRAPGX4UITc2vqsrIiWWsx-dUfxFFeqiN5LSEY2mJ3lw_rq2zwkM8HSk9_roIvmVB123e0FrdAAP3iaGRUjlPfJP1aVk_yc9ci1LvRWjma6fhsvLVyaugGlfPDL23xBhrg5jaTyJDtfVm4Raz-eMn5OaLbkWvKCjW2hVLQBgrqHsS61KJjxVBH396E32gVmZcfLpecUXZF8Fv>

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Posted in election law biz <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51> | 
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    "IRS Examining 70 Section 501(c)(4) Groups, Some to Determine Social
    Welfare Purpose" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40391>

Posted on September 19, 2012 7:12 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40391> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bloomberg BNA 
<http://news.bna.com/mpdm/MPDMWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=28057348&vname=mpebulallissues&jd=a0d4r8x2w8&split=0>: 
"The Internal Revenue Service is examining more than 70 tax code Section 
501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, some to determine if social 
welfare is indeed their primary purpose, according to letters to and 
from IRS released Sept. 19 by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.)....The letters 
also answered several key questions, such as why IRS has made the 
permissible standard for getting or keeping exemption as a 501(c)(4) 
that the group only needs to be 'primarily' engaged in social welfare, 
rather than requiring that it be 'exclusively' engaged in it."

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law 
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22> | Comments Off


    Trevor Potter Talking Campaign Finance with Bill Moyers
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40388>

Posted on September 19, 2012 2:37 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40388> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here. <http://billmoyers.com/episode/preview-elections-for-sale/>

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
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    Supreme Court Won't Intervene to Put Gary Johnson on the
    Presidential Ballot in Michigan <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40385>

Posted on September 19, 2012 1:35 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40385> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here <http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/091912zr1.pdf> is 
the order. (h/t Richard Winger 
<http://www.ballot-access.org/2012/09/19/u-s-supreme-court-wont-put-gary-johnson-on-the-michigan-ballot/>)

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Posted in ballot access <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>, third 
parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=47> | Comments Off


    "Armed investigator to retired teacher: You're dead"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40382>

Posted on September 19, 2012 1:25 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40382> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

More 
<http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/19539930/2012/09/13/armed-investigator-to-retired-teacher-youre-dead> 
on Texas investigating "dead" voters.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off


    Supreme Court, Without Dissent, Denies LULAC's Emergency
    Redistricting Motion Out of Texas <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40379>

Posted on September 19, 2012 10:11 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40379> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

See here <http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/091912zr.pdf>. 
No surprise <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=39842>.

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Posted in redistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Supreme 
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, Voting Rights Act 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off


    "The Voting Wars" Book Tour--Upcoming Dates
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40375>

Posted on September 19, 2012 8:13 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40375> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here are my upcoming scheduled appearances to talk about/The Voting Wars 
<http://www.amazon.com/Voting-Wars-Florida-Election-Meltdown/dp/0300182031/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1329286945&sr=1-2-catcorr>/:

*September 20, 7 pm Los Angeles*, **part of panel program for LA ALOUD) 
(details and RSVP 
<http://www.lfla.org/event-detail/759/The-Voting-Wars-How-Do-We-Move-Beyond-Partisanship-and-Polarizationor-Should-We->)

*September 27, 4 pm, University of Montana* (details 
<http://www.acslaw.org/events/2012-09-27/professor-richard-hasen-talks-about-election-law-and-his-new-book-the-voting-wars>) 
(to take place before the Montana Election Law conference 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=39801>)

*October 1, 12:30 pm, Stanford *(Stanford Law School -- American 
Constitution Society) (details 
<https://www.law.stanford.edu/event/2012/10/01/acs-presents-professor-rick-hasen>)

*October 1, 5 pm, UC Berkeley* (UC Berkeley Law School -- American 
Constitution Society) (details to come)

*October 2, 12 pm, Sacramento* (American Constitution Society (details 
and rsvp) <http://www.acslaw.org/SacramentoTheVotingWarsBookEvent>

*October 8, 12:50 pm, Williamsburg, VA *(William & Mary Law School) 
(details 
<http://law.wm.edu/academics/intellectuallife/researchcenters/electionlaw/newsandactivities/index.php>)

*October 10, 12 pm, Lexington, KY *(University of Kentucky Law School) 
(details to come)

*November 3, 2 pm, Portland (*Reed College, details 
<http://wordpress.reed.edu/politika/2012/09/11/2012-public-policy-lecture-series-announced/>)

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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off


    The Obama Near-Solicitation of Big Super PAC $
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40372>

Posted on September 19, 2012 8:01 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40372> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Thanks to the byzantine nature of campaign regulation in the hands of 
the FEC, a federal candidate may appear at a Super PAC fundraiser and 
solicit money for the PAC, but the candidate cannot ask for more than 
$5,000.  Others, however, may ask for larger amounts.

So via Ken Vogel comes remarks from the White House where President 
Obama---who has said he personally would not solicit Super PAC money 
(while allowing his surrogates to do so)---comes very close to that 
solicitation line.  I have bolded the language in question:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release September 18, 2012

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

AT A CAMPAIGN EVENT

Waldorf Astoria Hotel

New York, New York

6:33 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  Hello!  (Applause.) Hello, New York!  
(Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you so much. If you have a chair, go 
ahead and use it.  If you don'the --- don't.  (Laughter.)

It is wonderful --- hey, guys, good to see you.  It is wonderful to be 
with all of you.  I just had a chance to take some pictures with you and 
I have to tell you they all turned out wonderfully.  (Laughter.)  I mean 
this is a good-looking group, very photogenic.  Yes, you especially.  
(Laughter.)

It's wonderful to be here.  We've got some people who've supported me 
since I actually ran for Senate in this ballroom.  (Applause.)  And then 
we've got some folks who supported us in '08, and then we've got some 
new friends.  And to all of you, I just want to say how grateful I am 
and how wonderful it is to be back in New York.

Now, we just came off two conventions, one in Tampa and one in 
Charlotte.  And Michelle Obama was pretty good, you know? (Applause.)  
And then you had Bill Clinton who somebody said should be secretary of 
explaining stuff.  (Laughter and applause.)  And what was striking I 
think coming out of those two conventions was the clarity about how 
important this choice is.

Seven weeks from today, we're going to be making a decision about the 
future of our country.  And a lot of you brought your kids here today.  
(Baby cries.)  Yes, right on cue. (Laughter.) And that is entirely 
appropriate because the decisions that we're going to make in this 
election are going to have an impact not just on us, it's going to have 
an impact on them and their kids for decades to come.  (Baby cries 
again.)  It's true.  (Laughter.)

The fact is that on almost every issue, we have a deep difference not 
just between two candidates or two political parties, but a deep 
difference in terms of how we think about growing our economy and how we 
think about what ensures prosperity and security over the long term.

The other side, they have their convention, and they talked a lot about 
what they think is wrong with the country, but they didn't really tell 
you much about how they'd make it right. They asked for your vote, but 
they didn't really have a plan. And the reason they didn't want to talk 
about their plan much was because the plan they're offering is the same 
one they've offered for the last 30 years, which is if we give a lot of 
tax cuts, particularly skewed towards people who really don't need tax 
cuts, and if we roll back regulations on clean air and we roll back 
regulations on consumer protection, and we roll back regulations that 
ensure that insurance companies treat you properly, that somehow 
America's energy will be unleashed and the economy will be going 
gangbusters.

And what they're counting on is an element of amnesia because that's 
exactly what we tried from 2001 to 2008, during which we experienced the 
slowest job growth in 50 years.  We went from surpluses to deficits.  
Ordinary families actually saw their average incomes go down, and it 
culminated in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression --- 
so not a real good track record in terms of the plan that they are 
presenting.

We've got a different vision, and our vision says that our economy grows 
best and our children's futures are best secured when we recognize that 
we're all in this together; that we believe in a free-market system and 
individual initiative and hard work, but we also believe in this basic 
bargain that says if you work hard, you can make it in this country.  
Everybody, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, 
no matter what last name you have, no matter who you love, here in 
America, you can make it you try, and that there are important ways in 
which we can ensure that everybody has access to opportunity.

So what I tried to do at the convention was lay out very specifically 
how I think we're going to get there.  Over the last three and a half 
years, we've created 4.5 million new jobs, half a million of them in 
manufacturing.  So what I said was, let's double down and make sure that 
we're exporting more and outsourcing fewer jobs.  Let's develop exports 
markets all around the world, and let's make sure that we're investing 
in things like clean energy so that we're building wind turbines and 
long-lasting batteries and all the cutting-edge technologies that ensure 
we keep at the cutting edge of this global economy.

And then I talked about education and how all the work we've done to 
reform schools is starting to bear fruit, but we've also got to make 
sure that every young person in this country can afford a college 
education.  (Applause.)  And make sure that they're not loaded up with 
debt when they get out, so that they can potentially become teachers or 
go into the foreign service or do something that may not pay a lot of 
money, but is vitally important to our country.

I talked about how important it was for us to have an energy policy that 
ensures that we have high production of traditional fuels like oil and 
natural gas, but that we're also investing in clean energy.  We've 
doubled fuel efficiency on cars.  We have doubled our production of 
clean energy. That's creating thousands of jobs.  It's taking carbon out 
of our atmosphere.

And it is freeing ourselves from dependence on foreign oil. We've 
actually reduced our dependence --- our oil imports every year that I've 
been in office and we now have it below 50 percent.  And we think we can 
cut that in half by 2020, but only if we pursue the kinds of energy 
sources that are good for our economy and potentially can help save the 
planet.

And I also talked about how, if we're going to be serious about reducing 
our deficits, that we've got to cut out spending that we don't need, 
that's not helping us grow.  But we can't just gut our investment in 
education, or our investments in science and research, or our 
investments in making sure that young people can go to college, just to 
pay for tax cuts for folks like me --- that we're going to have to take 
a balanced approach.  That means that those of us who have been 
incredibly blessed by this country, we can afford to do a little bit 
more.  (Applause.)

Now, that's a very different agenda than a $5 trillion tax cut that's 
paid for by gutting education, gutting Medicaid and turning Medicare 
into a voucher system.  It's a different philosophy about how we grow 
our economy.  And I believe that we grow our economy from the middle out 
and by providing ladders of opportunity for everybody.  And when we do, 
everybody does better.

When Bill Clinton was President, we created 23 million new jobs, had a 
surplus instead of a deficit, and we produced a whole lot more 
millionaires than we've produced under this other theory, because 
suddenly businesses had customers and had more profits and we got a 
virtuous cycle that continued in the longest post-World War II boom in 
American history.  And we can replicate that, even in this competitive 
environment, but we've got to be smart about it.

Now, a lot of you here obviously recognize that those aren't the only 
choices involved.  We've got choices about war and peace.  I ended the 
war in Iraq, as I promised.  We are transitioning out of Afghanistan.  
(Applause.)  We have gone after the terrorists who actually attacked us 
9/11 and decimated al Qaeda.

Mr. Romney thinks that we should have stayed in Iraq, indicated that it 
was a "tragic" mistake for us to have gotten out of Iraq; still hasn't 
made clear what his plan would be for Afghanistan; wants to add $2 
trillion to our defense budget for programs that our Joint Chiefs don't 
want.  It's a fundamentally different view of how we project power and 
ensure our security around the world.

On social issues, we did the right thing ending "don't ask, don't 
tell."  (Applause.)  I am absolutely certain, based on conversations 
with Michelle --- (laughter) --- that women are capable of making their 
own health care decisions. (Applause.)  And the notion that we would 
have a constitutional amendment that would tell people who they could 
marry --- across the board, there's just a different vision of who we 
are as a people.

And I believe we are at our best, we are at our strongest, when we're 
including everybody, when everybody gets a fair shot and everybody is 
doing their fair share and everybody is playing by the same rules.  
(Applause.)

So I guess if you're here I'm kind of preaching to the choir.  
(Laughter.)  I don't need to tell you that I think we're offering the 
better vision for our country.  So let me just wrap up by saying a key 
issue is going to be, do we get this thing done?

We've got seven weeks.  Seven weeks goes by fast, especially when you're 
out there campaigning.  And the good news is that our ideas are better 
and they're more resonant with the American people.  The bad news is 
that these folks have super PACs that are writing $10 million checks and 
have the capacity to just bury us under the kind of advertising that 
we've never seen before.

And we've never seen something like this, so we don't know what impact 
it's going to have.  And that means that we're going to have to work a 
little bit harder than the other side.  It means that we have to have 
more volunteers.  We have to have a better grassroots organization.  It 
means the people who can write $25 checks or $50 checks or $100 checks 
or $1,000 checks --- that's how we're going to be able to compete.

*We don't need to match these folks dollar for dollar.  We can't.  I 
mean, if somebody here has a $10 million check --- (laughter) --- I 
can't solicit it from you, but feel free to use it wisely. * 
(Laughter.)  But that's not our game.  Our game is grassroots.  Our game 
is mobilizing numbers and passion and energy and focus and hope. That's 
who we are.

And so I guess what I'd ask is --- look, I had a friend named Abner 
Mikva in Chicago.  He was a congressman --- former congressman, former 
White House counsel and wonderful man. And Abner used to say that being 
friends with a politician is like perpetually having a kid in college 
--- (laughter) --- because every few months, you've got to write this 
big check. (Laughter.)  Well, the good news is I'm graduating. 
(Laughter.) So this is my last race.

But the stakes couldn't be higher, so we've got to leave it all on the 
field.  I am asking everybody here to spend these next seven weeks 
really focused on this election.  You're already converted.  Go out 
there and get your friends, get your neighbors involved.  To the extent 
that you can ask them for contributions, ask them for their time, ask 
them for their votes, you are going to be the best ambassadors that we 
can have for this election.

And if you are as determined and as energized as I am, if you believe 
that we've still got more good jobs to create, and clean energy to 
generate, and more troops to bring home and more vets to take care of, 
and more doors of opportunity to open for everybody who's willing to 
work hard in this country --- if you believe that we're all in this 
together, then I need you to get to work.  Seven weeks.

And I promise you, if you're putting everything you've got into this 
thing, we'll win this election and we will finish what we started.  And 
we'll remind the world why the United States of America is the envy of 
the world.

So thank you very much, everybody.  God bless you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END        6:47 P.M. EDT

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    "Pennsylvania Court Sets Aside Voter-ID Ruling for Review"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40369>

Posted on September 19, 2012 7:43 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=40369> by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bloomberg reports 
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-18/pennsylvania-supreme-court-blocks-voter-id-law.html>.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | 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
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