[EL] Money from Corporations

Wed Mar 26 11:04:10 PDT 2014

I haven't talked to any high schoolers about this, but my general
conclusion is that corporate involvement in elections is wildly unpopular,
and that's why politicians are so eager to run against it in all its forms.
And, case in point, Khanna has been seen as the darling of corporate tech
execs and he knows it.

Corporate involvement in elections is wildly unpopular. It's probably why
election lawyers have been paid gobs of money to create the political front
groups that hide it!

On Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 11:14 AM, Smith, Brad <BSmith at law.capital.edu>wrote:

>  I think he could be too, and I considered going on to address that. But
> here's the thing - when you explain to people where and how a corporate PAC
> gets money, virtually no one I have ever spoken to doesn't think that that
> is a significant difference from "corporate money." They may not think it
> should matter legally or as a policy matter, but they still recognize that
> it is a difference.
>
>
>
> But that reflects the problem - people can't make realistic assessments of
> what should or should not be allowed, nor can they even begin to understand
> the law, when these distinctions are simply blurred over. And is there
> really much doubt that Khanna would be very happy if many voters thought
> that his opponents were getting direct (unlimited?) corporate contributions?
>
>
>
> Again, this type of low public understanding is hardly confined to
> campaign finance issues. But also again, I think there is some reason to
> believe that public understanding of campaign finance law actually declines
> among better informed voters, something of an upside down bell curve.
>
>
>
> *Bradley A. Smith*
>
> *Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault*
>
> *   Professor of Law*
>
> *Capital University Law School*
>
> *303 E. Broad St.*
>
> *Columbus, OH 43215*
>
> *614.236.6317 <614.236.6317>*
>
> *http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx
> <http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx>*
>   ------------------------------
> *From:* Byron Tau [btau at politico.com]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, March 26, 2014 12:08 PM
> *To:* Smith, Brad
> *Cc:* law-election at UCI.edu
>
> *Subject:* Re: [EL] Money from Corporations
>
>    I think Khanna -- the candidate in question -- is talking about
> corporate PACs.
>
>  I wrote about a to-do where corporate PACs were backing his opponent and
> the same corporate CEOs were backing him. Meaning that corporation PACs
> were betting against their own CEOs.
>
>  http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/silicon-valley-ro-khanna-99297.html
>
>  The Khanna campaign made a big to-do at the time about not taking
> corporate special interest PAC money. (As if taking cash from a wealthy CEO
> but not a corporate PAC makes a big difference... But that's another issue)
>
>
>   --
>
> Byron Tau
>
> Lobbying and influence reporter || POLITICO
>
> c: 202-441-1171
>
> d: 703-341-4610
>
> Follow: @byrontau <http://twitter.com/byrontau>
>
> Subscribe to: http://www.politico.com/politicoinfluence/
>
>
>
> On Mar 26, 2014, at 11:44 AM, "Smith, Brad" <BSmith at law.capital.edu>
> wrote:
>
>   CA Congressional Candidate Vows He Won't Take Money from Corporations<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59672>
> Posted on March 26, 2014 6:48 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59672> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Which he can't do anyway! Watch.<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXdr4ViVUHI>
>
>
> This is a pretty common misunderstanding these days. Indeed, I regularly
> find that people think that campaign finance laws are far less restrictive
> than they are. I recall some years ago speaking to one of the groups that
> brings high school kids to Washington in the summer, and in the evenings
> they would have debates. One of the debate proposals was over a campaign
> finance proposal the kids had drawn up to regulate money in politics - I
> had to point out to them that their proposal would actually be
> *deregulation.* There is at least some reason to believe that voters who
> are better educated and read the papers are actually *more *likely to
> misunderstand campaign finance law, and to overstate the amounts actually
> spent, than less informed voters and voters who don't follow the news.
>
> *Of course, there are lots of issues on which voters are ill-informed. But
> it seems unusual where the best informed voters might be most likely to be
> the most misinformed voters*.
>
>
>
> *Bradley A. Smith*
>
> *Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault*
>
> *   Professor of Law*
>
> *Capital University Law School*
>
> *303 E. Broad St.*
>
> *Columbus, OH 43215*
>
> *614.236.6317 <614.236.6317>*
>
> *http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx
> <http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx>*
>   ------------------------------
> *From:* law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [
> law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] on behalf of Rick Hasen [
> rhasen at law.uci.edu]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, March 26, 2014 10:23 AM
> *To:* law-election at UCI.edu
> *Subject:* [EL] ELB News and Commentary 3/26/14
>
>   New York Joins National Popular Vote Compact to Circumvent Electoral
> College <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59678>
> Posted on March 26, 2014 7:22 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59678> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Capital NY<http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/03/8542603/legislature-approves-national-popular-vote>:
> "With New York's 29 electors, the interstate compact would have 160
> electors, or the 60 percent of the 270 it needs to take effect."
>  <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D59678&title=New%20York%20Joins%20National%20Popular%20Vote%20Compact%20to%20Circumvent%20Electoral%20College&description=>
>  Posted in electoral college <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>
> "Fighting Words: NYC BOE Claims City Council is 'Cash Starving' it in
> Budget" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59676>
> Posted on March 26, 2014 7:19 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59676> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> A ChapinBlog<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/electionacademy/2014/03/fighting_words_nyc_boe_claims.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HHHElections+%28The+Election+Aacdemy%29>
> .
>  <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D59676&title=%E2%80%9CFighting%20Words%3A%20NYC%20BOE%20Claims%20City%20Council%20is%20%E2%80%98Cash%20Starving%E2%80%99%20it%20in%20Budget%E2%80%9D&description=>
>  Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>
> "Scott Brown is right to avoid the 'People's Pledge' politicians' pact"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59674>
> Posted on March 26, 2014 6:52 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59674> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Eric Wang commentary<http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/25/scott-brown-is-right-to-avoid-the-peoples-pledge-politicians-pact/#ixzz2x1l4Syr5>in the *Daily
> Caller.*
>  <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D59674&title=%E2%80%9CScott%20Brown%20is%20right%20to%20avoid%20the%20%E2%80%98People%E2%80%99s%20Pledge%E2%80%99%20politicians%E2%80%99%20pact%E2%80%9D&description=>
>  Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
> CA Congressional Candidate Vows He Won't Take Money from Corporations<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59672>
> Posted on March 26, 2014 6:48 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59672> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Which he can't do anyway! Watch.<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXdr4ViVUHI>
>  <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D59672&title=CA%20Congressional%20Candidate%20Vows%20He%20Won%E2%80%99t%20Take%20Money%20from%20Corporations&description=>
>  Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,
> campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
> "Jean-Pierre Kingsley: Election bill puts right to vote at risk"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59669>
> Posted on March 25, 2014 8:56 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59669> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> CBC reports. #CanadianVotingWars<http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jean-pierre-kingsley-election-bill-puts-right-to-vote-at-risk-1.2585400>
>  <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D59669&title=%E2%80%9CJean-Pierre%20Kingsley%3A%20Election%20bill%20puts%20right%20to%20vote%20at%20risk%E2%80%9D&description=>
>  Posted in The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
> Read the CA Reed Decision on Candidate Controlled Committee Contributions
> to Super PACs <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59666>
> Posted on March 25, 2014 8:51 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59666> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Following up on this post <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59644>, thanks
> to a few readers for passing along Chuck Reed v. FPPC.<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Chuck-Reed-candidate-IE-decision.pdf>
>
> I hope to have some analysis of this at some point.
>  <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D59666&title=Read%20the%20CA%20Reed%20Decision%20on%20Candidate%20Controlled%20Committee%20Contributions%20to%20Super%20PACs&description=>
>  Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
> "Are Koch Brothers Republicans or Just Kochs?"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59664>
> Posted on March 25, 2014 8:46 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59664> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Frank Wilkinson writes
> <http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-03-25/are-koch-brothers-republicans-or-just-kochs>for
> Bloomberg View.
>  <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D59664&title=%E2%80%9CAre%20Koch%20Brothers%20Republicans%20or%20Just%20Kochs%3F%E2%80%9D&description=>
>  Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
> "Former offender acquitted in Iowa voter fraud case"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59662>
> Posted on March 25, 2014 8:37 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59662> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> AP<http://bigstory.ap.org/article/jury-acquits-ex-felon-iowa-voter-fraud-case>
> :
>
> A former drug offender who believed her voting rights had been restored
> when she cast a ballot last year was acquitted of perjury Thursday, a
> public rebuke of Iowa's two-year investigation into voter fraud.
>
> The 12-member jury took less than 40 minutes to reject the prosecution's
> argument that Kelli Jo Griffin intentionally lied on a voter registration
> form she filled out for a municipal election in the southeastern Iowa town
> of Montrose.
>
>  <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D59662&title=%E2%80%9CFormer%20offender%20acquitted%20in%20Iowa%20voter%20fraud%20case%E2%80%9D&description=>
>  Posted in felon voting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>
> "Publius Was Not a PAC: Reconciling Anonymous Political Speech, the First
> Amendment, and Campaign Finance Disclosure"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59660>
> Posted on March 25, 2014 8:32 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59660> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> *Wyoming Law Review* article: Publius Was Not a PAC: Reconciling
> Anonymous Political Speech, the First Amendment, and Campaign Finance
> Disclosure<http://www.uwyo.edu/law/_files/docs/WY%20Law%20Review/V14%20N1/barr-klein.pdf>by Benjamin Barr and Stephen R. Klein.
>  <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D59660&title=%E2%80%9CPublius%20Was%20Not%20a%20PAC%3A%20Reconciling%20Anonymous%20Political%20Speech%2C%20the%20First%20Amendment%2C%20and%20Campaign%20Finance%20Disclosure%E2%80%9D&description=>
>  Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
> "Law and Politics: What's the Matter with Kansas (and Arizona)?"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59658>
> Posted on March 25, 2014 10:36 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59658> by
> Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Jerry Goldfeder has written this commentary<http://reaction.stroock.com/reaction/RSProcess.asp?RSID=VWhNspef20CCB5_lAc9y3Q&RSTYPE=OPENATTACH>for
> Law.com.
>  <share_save_171_16.png><http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D59658&title=%E2%80%9CLaw%20and%20Politics%3A%20What%E2%80%99s%20the%20Matter%20with%20Kansas%20%28and%20Arizona%29%3F%E2%80%9D&description=>
>  Posted in Elections Clause <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=70>, NVRA
> (motor voter) <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=33>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
>
> --
> Rick Hasen
> Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
> UC Irvine School of Law
> 401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
> Irvine, CA 92697-8000949.824.3072 - office949.824.0495 - faxrhasen at law.uci.eduhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/http://electionlawblog.org
>
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