[EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/12/14

Thu Dec 11 21:35:52 PST 2014

    The Unsurpri$ing Connection Between the Two Odius Parts of the
    #Cromnibus <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69099>

Posted onDecember 11, 2014 9:31 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69099>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Progressive revolted over two provisions in themassive compromise 
spending bill about to become law 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/us/congress-spending-bill.html>.  One 
provisionrolls back banking regulation 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/business/furor-over-move-to-aid-big-banks-in-funding-bill.html?ref=politics>of 
derivatives under the Dodd-Frank Act passed during the financial crisis. 
The other provision willvastly increase 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/party-fundraising-provision-crafted-in-secret-could-shift-money-flow-in-politics/2014/12/10/f6856ed0-808d-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html?postshare=9631418263436178> the 
amount of money which individuals can donate to political parties. A 
couple could give their favorite political party over $3 million during 
a two-year election cycle. (It is quite sad for the House to pass the 
provision the night of Tom Mann'sretirement party 
<https://twitter.com/CarlosLozadaWP/status/543170654837559296>from 
Brookings; Tom was so instrumental in the writing and passage of the 
McCain-Feingold law, whose soft money limits have now been severely 
undermined by the Cromnibus.)

The two objectionable provisions might seem unrelated, but in fact they 
are quite interrelated. Both show the importance of the role of money 
and influence in Washington.  On the derivatives law heavily favored by 
the banking industry,the NYT explains 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/business/furor-over-move-to-aid-big-banks-in-funding-bill.html?ref=politics>: 
"The language in the spending bill was inserted by Representative Kevin 
Yoder, Republican of Kansas, but he did not write it.Citigroup did 
<http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/banks-lobbyists-help-in-drafting-financial-bills/?_r=0>. 
In 2013, the bank and its allies were able to corral a bipartisan vote 
to pass the rollback out of the House Financial Services Committee. In 
an analysis by The New York Times of Citigroup emails, more than 70 
lines of the committee's 85-line rollback bill came from Citigroup's 
recommendations. The banking industry strongly supports the rollback 
measure. James C. Ballentine, an executive vice president at the 
American Bankers Association, said financial instruments like credit 
deferred swaps are used to mitigate risk, not bolster it. To force their 
trading into units unprotected by federal taxpayers would be onerous, he 
argues."

On the campaign finance measure, this was not something that 
anti-regulationist Mitch McConnell forced on unwilling Democrats.  This 
wasnegotiated by Senate Majority leader Harry Reid 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69083>and likely supported by President 
Obama.No one has been a bigger hypocrite 
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2293979>on campaign 
finance than President Obama, who has always talked about the need for 
campaign finance reform while his actions did a tremendous amount to 
undermine and weaken existing law.

Neither of these provisions were the subject of hearings or 
deliberation. Both were snuck into a massive bill through the back door 
at the behest of the powerful.

The Citibank provision got in the law because those with wealth have the 
best access and the greatest ability to influence law, especially on 
technical issues which are unlikely to rile up the public. The campaign 
finance provision is inside baseball and not salient for most people, 
who already believe money is out of control because of /Citizens 
United/. What that analysis misses is that as the money gets even closer 
to the politicians, politicians get to demand more money from the 
wealthy for access and reward them with a greater ability to influence 
both policy and elections.

The problem here, as I am detailing in my book in progress, is that in 
times of rising economic inequality we are witnessing an unprecedented 
ability for the wealthy to translate their economic power into political 
power, undermining political equality and our democracy.

A very sad day indeed.

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,political 
parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,political polarization 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>

    "FEC Still Deadlocked on Enforcement 18 Months After Counsel's
    Departure" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69097>

Posted onDecember 11, 2014 9:10 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69097>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bloomberg BNA 
<http://news.bna.com/mpdm/MPDMWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=60302986&vname=mpebulallissues&jd=a0g0d1c2b1&split=0>: 
"The Federal Election Commission deadlocked in a 3-3 vote after a 
contentious debate on a long-pending proposal by Republican 
commissioners to limit the authority of FEC staffers in the agency's 
Office of General Counsel to investigate alleged campaign finance 
violations and share information with the Justice Department and other 
government agencies."

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,federal 
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

    "House Spending Bill Vote Includes Million Dollar Contributions for
    Party Committees: Statement of Meredith McGehee, Policy Director"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69095>

Posted onDecember 11, 2014 9:02 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69095>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CLC. 
<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2726:december-11-2014-house-spending-bill-vote-includes-million-dollar-contributions-for-party-committees-statement-of-meredith-mcgehee-policy-director&catid=63:legal-center-press-releases&Itemid=61>

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

    "Koch-backed group sues Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris over donor list"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69093>

Posted onDecember 11, 2014 8:57 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69093>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

LAT report. 
<http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-afp-kamala-harris-20141211-story.html>

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

    Electionline Exit Interview with Nevada SOS Ross Miller
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69091>

Posted onDecember 11, 2014 11:44 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69091>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here. <http://www.electionline.org/index.php/electionline-weekly>

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Posted inelection administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

    "Analysis: Rick Scott was one of ten governors to win election
    without a majority vote --- most in a century"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69089>

Posted onDecember 11, 2014 11:37 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69089>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

See here. <http://www.saintpetersblog.com/archives/170333>

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Posted inalternative voting systems 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>,campaigns 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

    "Who's Afraid of Shareholder Democracy?"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69087>

Posted onDecember 11, 2014 11:33 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69087>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy blogs 
<http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/whos-afraid-shareholder-democracy>.

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

    In the Election Law Mailbag <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69085>

Posted onDecember 11, 2014 11:15 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69085>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ethics Obligations and Standards: A Carter Center Assessment Manual 
<http://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/peace/democracy/cc-OES-handbook-10172014.pdf>

By the People: The New York City Campaign Finance Program in the 2013 
Elections <http://www.nyccfb.info/press/news/per-2013.htm>

Pippa Norris et al,Measuring Electoral Integrity Around the World: A New 
Dataset 
<http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPSC%2FPSC47_04%2FS1049096514001061a.pdf&code=2db95c97f0ad72805695a37a3d8fa71f>

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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

-- 
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://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org

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