[EL] Money from Corporations

Wed Mar 26 12:36:01 PDT 2014

Let us not confuse "unpopular[ity]" as a motive with the more likely
motives of avoiding unofficial and, regrettably, offical, retaliation.

Best,

Steve
On Mar 26, 2014 2:06 PM, "Josh Orton" <orton at progressivesunited.org> wrote:

> 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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