[EL] menendez story

Rick Hasen rhasen at law.uci.edu
Sun Feb 17 12:06:47 PST 2013


Have there been instances of Dems sending out opposition research on 
Republican elected officials through a fake email persona?  Or are you 
comparing that conduct to when CLC and Fred Wertheimer file a complaint 
with the FEC?



On 2/17/13 11:43 AM, Rick Hasen wrote:
> If anyone else responds to Rob, please use this subject line for a 
> thread rather than the ELB generic subject line.
> On 2/17/13 11:36 AM, Kelner, Robert wrote:
>> Regarding the NYT piece on Menendez, which Rick highlights fairly as 
>> a must read, the most peculiar thing about the article is why it was 
>> written at all.  For years now, Democratic Party aligned groups, 
>> including CREW and several others, have spent millions investigating 
>> Republicans and cranking out, in assembly line fashion, complaints to 
>> the FEC, to DOJ, and to the House and Senate Ethics Committees.  
>> These efforts have rarely been featured (in the Times, perhaps never) 
>> as being themselves the story. The only thing that is new about the 
>> story behind the Menendez story is that apparently this time the 
>> agitprop started with a Republican group.
>>
>> Rob
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> Robert K. Kelner
>> Covington & Burling LLP
>> 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
>> Washington, DC 20004
>> (202) 662-5503
>> rkelner at cov.com<mailto:rkelner at cov.com>
>>
>> On Feb 17, 2013, at 2:17 PM, "Rick Hasen" 
>> <rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>> wrote:
>>
>> Question of the Day<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47399>
>> Posted on February 17, 2013 11:13 
>> am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47399> by Rick 
>> Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>>
>> How do those who hate super PACs but love gun control feel about how 
>> influential Mike Bloomberg has been in a contested congressional race 
>> in Illinois? Political Wire 
>> says<http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/02/17/hutchinson_drops_out_after_withering_attacks_from_bloomberg.html> 
>> some one reason a candidate is dropping out is the huge Bloomberg 
>> money. And the money could further influence the outcome of the race.
>>
>> My view is that this spending 
>> <http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/09/opinion/hasen-super-pacs/index.html> 
>> is dangerous whether it comes from the left or the right.
>>
>> <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D47399&title=Question%20of%20the%20Day&description=> 
>>
>> Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
>> Comments Off
>> More SCOTUSBlog on Shelby County<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47397>
>> Posted on February 17, 2013 11:09 
>> am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47397> by Rick 
>> Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>>
>> Zachary 
>> Price<http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/02/shelby-county-v-holder-the-voting-rights-act-doesnt-need-to-treat-states-equally/>
>>
>> Hans von 
>> Spakovsky<http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/02/shelby-county-v-holder-the-shelby-county-section-5-showdown/>
>>
>> <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D47397&title=More%20SCOTUSBlog%20on%20Shelby%20County&description=> 
>>
>> Posted in Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, Voting 
>> Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
>> “Virginia looks to toughen voter laws as Maryland does the 
>> opposite”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47394>
>> Posted on February 17, 2013 11:03 
>> am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47394> by Rick 
>> Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>>
>> The Washington Examiner 
>> reports<http://washingtonexaminer.com/virginia-looks-to-toughen-voter-laws-as-maryland-does-the-opposite/article/2521743>.
>>
>> <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D47394&title=%E2%80%9CVirginia%20looks%20to%20toughen%20voter%20laws%20as%20Maryland%20does%20the%20opposite%E2%80%9D&description=> 
>>
>> Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18> 
>> | Comments Off
>> Democracy Now! Talks Bauer-Ginsberg Commission with NAACP’s Ben 
>> Jealous<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47391>
>> Posted on February 17, 2013 11:00 
>> am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47391> by Rick 
>> Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>>
>> Watch<http://t.co/Z9GmsUqz>.
>>
>> <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D47391&title=Democracy%20Now%21%20Talks%20Bauer-Ginsberg%20Commission%20with%20NAACP%E2%80%99s%20Ben%20Jealous&description=> 
>>
>> Posted in election 
>> administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting 
>> Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off
>> “Texas redistricting appeal likely on hold at Supreme 
>> Court”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47388>
>> Posted on February 16, 2013 8:56 
>> pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47388> by Rick 
>> Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>>
>> The San Antonio Express-News 
>> reports.<http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Texas-redistricting-appeal-likely-on-hold-at-4284883.php>
>>
>> <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D47388&title=%E2%80%9CTexas%20redistricting%20appeal%20likely%20on%20hold%20at%20Supreme%20Court%E2%80%9D&description=> 
>>
>> 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
>> A Peek at the Race Which Will Determine Partisan Balance of Wisconsin 
>> Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47385>
>> Posted on February 16, 2013 6:58 
>> pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47385> by Rick 
>> Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>>
>> Milwaukee 
>> Journal-Sentinel<http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/supreme-court-fracas-in-2011-figures-in-race-gh8q1jv-191549361.html> 
>> on round 1 of a two-round race:
>>
>> [The incumbent Justice] Roggensack has had the fundraising 
>> advantage<http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/campaign-reports-show-supreme-court-candidate-raised-no-money-se8nvcn-190722751.html> 
>> in the race, raising more than $235,000 through early February. 
>> Fallone has raised about $80,000. Megna – who once said he planned to 
>> donate $100,000 of his own money to his campaign – has put in just 
>> $10,000 and decided at the beginning of the year not to ask others 
>> for money, saying he would ramp up his campaign if he makes it 
>> through the primary.
>>
>> Roggensack is the only candidate with an 
>> ad<http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/190080581.html> on television. 
>> Her campaign is also being boosted by a spot run by the conservative 
>> Wisconsin Club for 
>> Growth<http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/190293471.html>. The other 
>> candidates are not getting help from outside groups.
>>
>> In an unusual move for a court race, Megna early in the campaign 
>> declared himself a 
>> Democrat<http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/supreme-court-candidate-declares-himself-a-democrat-opponent-of-voter-id-jt7uq72-182569621.html> 
>> and announced he supports gay rights and limits on guns. He said the 
>> other candidates should state their partisan leanings and spell out 
>> their stances on issues.
>>
>> Megna’s positions didn’t do anything to win him support from 
>> high-profile Democrats or their allies. That backing instead went to 
>> Fallone, who has received the endorsements of the Wisconsin Education 
>> Association Council and other labor groups, former U.S. Sen. Russ 
>> Feingold and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
>>
>> Meanwhile, Roggensack, 72, of Madison, has gotten financial support 
>> from Republican Party campaign committees and the endorsement of the 
>> anti-abortion group Wisconsin Right to Life.
>>
>> Despite their partisan support, Roggensack and Fallone have rejected 
>> Megna’s call to state their political views. They both say it is 
>> essential for justices to be viewed as impartial.
>>
>>
>>
>> <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D47385&title=A%20Peek%20at%20the%20Race%20Which%20Will%20Determine%20Partisan%20Balance%20of%20Wisconsin%20Supreme%20Court&description=> 
>>
>> Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, judicial 
>> elections<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19> | Comments Off
>> The Backstory on Allegations Against Sen. 
>> Menendez<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47379>
>> Posted on February 16, 2013 3:35 
>> pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47379> by Rick 
>> Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>>
>> Must-read<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/nyregion/partisan-push-led-to-troubling-revelations-about-senator-menendez.html?pagewanted=1&hp> 
>> NYT report.
>>
>> <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D47379&title=The%20Backstory%20on%20Allegations%20Against%20Sen.%20Menendez&description=> 
>>
>> Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, ethics 
>> investigations<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=42> | Comments Off
>> “Congress’s committee chairman push to reassert their 
>> power”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47376>
>> Posted on February 16, 2013 3:12 
>> pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47376> by Rick 
>> Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>>
>> Important, extensive WaPo report: 
>> <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congresss-committee-chairman-push-to-reassert-their-power/2013/02/16/2acb7770-6a6a-11e2-af53-7b2b2a7510a8_story.html>
>>
>> The overarching demand is for “regular order.” which is congressional 
>> speak for how things are supposed to work — at least how things used 
>> to work. Their hopes are straight out of the old Schoolhouse Rock 
>> “I’m Just a Bill” anthem<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0>, 
>> where bills start in subcommittees and move to full committees and 
>> competing versions are passed by each chamber, leading to a 
>> conference committee to iron out the differences. A final version 
>> gets approved and sent to the president for his signature.
>>
>> That process, already withering away over the last decade, broke down 
>> completely in the 112th Congress. Senior aides could not point to a 
>> single significant bill introduced in the past two years that moved 
>> along those old procedural tracks. The Senate, intended as the more 
>> prudent, less fractious house, set a modern record for futility in 
>> 2011 and 2012 by holding just 486 votes 
>> <http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_112_1.htm> 
>> — about 175 fewer roll calls than a normal two-year session.
>>
>> Instead of producing legislation the old-fashioned way, Republicans 
>> and President Obama jousted over a series of deadlines — expiring 
>> funding for federal agencies, exhausting Treasury’s borrowing 
>> authority, expiring tax cuts — that led to a recurring series of 
>> crises that left Congress deeply unpopular.
>>
>> <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D47376&title=%E2%80%9CCongress%E2%80%99s%20committee%20chairman%20push%20to%20reassert%20their%20power%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
>> “Data Mining is New Lobbying Gold”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47373>
>> Posted on February 16, 2013 1:37 
>> pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=47373> by Rick 
>> Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>>
>> Byron Tau for 
>> Politico<http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/data-mining-takes-lobbying-to-a-whole-new-place-87717.html>:
>>
>> A congressman gets an earful from his neighbor after church about a 
>> tax bill. A senator suddenly finds old high school classmates calling 
>> her about an upcoming vote on a small business bill.
>>
>> Those meetings may not be coincidences.
>>
>> The same social data-mining ability and concept — that voters are 
>> more likely to consider new ideas from people they know and trust — 
>> that helped power President Barack Obama’s unprecedented field 
>> operation is coming to K Street.
>>
>>
>>
>> <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D47373&title=%E2%80%9CData%20Mining%20is%20New%20Lobbying%20Gold%E2%80%9D&description=> 
>>
>> Posted in legislation and 
>> legislatures<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>, 
>> lobbying<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28>, social media and social 
>> protests<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=58> | 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<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
>> http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
>> http://electionlawblog.org
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Law-election mailing list
>> Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu> 
>>
>> http://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election
>

-- 
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




View list directory