[EL] Do Republicans "push the envelope" more?
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Sun Feb 17 14:30:34 PST 2013
It is a great empirical question---and my sense of the way things are
could well be biased by a kind of selection bias: if more complaints are
filed against Republicans than Democrats for similar activities, but Ds
and Rs are doing them at the same rate, then it might appear to be more
of a problem with Rs.
Is there any good empirical work on this question?
Rick
On 2/17/13 2:14 PM, bzall at aol.com wrote:
> Rick Hasen said:
>
> CREW and the campaign finance reform community as going after
> Republicans more frequently, that may be because Republicans
> generally are more willing to push the envelope on campaign
> finance rules---perhaps out of a belief that many of those rules
> are unconstitutional or unfair.
>
> I've been doing campaign finance and tax-exempt advocacy work since
> 1975, and I have not found there to be a partisan difference in
> promoting and using new methods and interpretations in campaign
> finance -- "pushing the envelope" if you will. One of the most
> innovative (probably not the word Rick or Fred would use) lawyers in
> this area over several years is extremely progressive in both his
> personal views and clientele, and another, equally progressive, is
> similarly innovative, but differs dramatically in his views of First
> Amendment speech restrictions. It's not partisanship; it's so our
> clients can speak in compliance with the constantly-changing and not
> always rational (or intuitive) law.
>
> More to the point, for many years, I have made a determined effort to
> work with those whose ideology and partisan views differ from mine. So
> much so that I meet for lunch monthly to discuss developments in the
> law with many, of both parties and of various ideologies. I've
> probably worked with and against dozens of top lawyers of all
> ideologies and parties. I have never noted a lack of innovation on the
> other side, nor, I humbly suggest, have they noted such from those on
> mine. Most of the time, we all find we're doing the same things, at
> about the same time, for the same reasons. We all read the same cases
> and IRS and FEC rules, and generally come to the same conclusions.
>
> Indeed, it may come as a surprise to those who don't actually practice
> in this area that many of the top-flight lawyers in this area do not
> restrict their practices (or their innovations) to those of one party
> or the other. I routinely work on client matters with those whose
> views differ from me, including some of the best. It's pretty simple,
> really: the laws are tough enough already, with complexity enough to
> challenge the best minds, that simple advocacy speech needs all the
> help it can get, from wherever it can get it.
>
> I believe you need another explanation for the widespread view,
> including in the NYT article on the table here, that CREW has
> principally targeted Republicans. The idea that "pushing the envelope"
> is purely a Republican idea cannot survive in the OFA-era, much less a
> simple review of past history.
>
> Barnaby Zall
> Of Counsel
> Weinberg, Jacobs & Tolani, LLP
> 10411 Motor City Drive, Suite 500
> Bethesda, MD 20817
> 301-231-6943 (direct dial)
> bzall at aol.com
> _____________________________________________________________
> U.S. Treasury Circular 230 Notice
>
> Any U.S. federal tax advice included in this communication (including
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> used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding U.S. federal tax-related penalties
> or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any
> tax-related matter addressed herein.
> _____________________________________________________________
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu>
> To: Kelner, Robert <rkelner at cov.com>
> Cc: law-election at UCI.edu <law-election at uci.edu>
> Sent: Sun, Feb 17, 2013 3:31 pm
> Subject: Re: [EL] menendez story
>
> Interesting---because I read the thrust to be exactly the focus on the
> anonymous emailer, and the question whether or not the emailer is tied
> to the NPLC. In response to my tweeting about the NYT story, an
> official at the NPLC said the Times story was "a lie" and "pure fiction:"
>
> https://twitter.com/TomTomJAnderson/status/302925779946328064
> https://twitter.com/TomTomJAnderson/status/302928627186679809
>
> That's what I think makes the story newsworthy.
>
> I also think it is newsworthy what Melanie Sloan of CREW says at the
> end of the article, where she says:
>
> “The increased scrutiny on Menendez’s relations with Dr. Melgen
> was well deserved and has highlighted some clearly improper
> conduct by Menendez on Melgen’s behalf,” Ms. Sloan said. “But it’s
> been a long, strange trip.”
>
> Note also how Fred has been attacking OFA relentlessly.
>
> So while I think it is fair to characterize both CREW and the campaign
> finance reform community as going after Republicans more frequently,
> that may be because Republicans generally are more willing to push
> the envelope on campaign finance rules---perhaps out of a belief that
> many of those rules are unconstitutional or unfair. Maybe there's a
> bias towards Democrats among some of these groups. But I've never
> seen any evidence that CREW or other groups like that have used
> tactics like that used in the Menendez case.
>
> In any case, I think the headline is the fake "Peter Williams."
>
> Rick
>
> On 2/17/13 12:17 PM, Kelner, Robert wrote:
>> I wouldn't know. But in any event, I do not take that to be the thrust of the NYT's article, which was essentially that the Menendez story was ferreted out and propagated by a Republican group. And yes, I do think that the investigative efforts that appear to have been carried out here by a Republican group were very much like the efforts that CREW and Fred and others on the Left undertake, which sometimes culminate in their filing complaints. I haven't yet had the opportunity to take discovery concerning the particulars of CREW's full range of activities and modus operandi, but we'll see what we find when I eventually do.
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> Robert K. Kelner
>> Covington & Burling LLP
>> 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
>> Washington, DC 20004
>> (202) 662-5503
>> rkelner at cov.com
>>
>> On Feb 17, 2013, at 3:06 PM, "Rick Hasen"<rhasen at law.uci.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> 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
>>>
>
> --
> 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
> _______________________________________________
> 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
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