[EL] [Leg] Joint Fundraising Comm

[Rick Hasen]

See exchange below between Jim Bopp and Trevor Potter.

On 5/30/14, 9:04 AM, Trevor Potter wrote:
> Every time a press account comes out reporting the creation of new joint fundraising committees--now a veritable river of them, and still only weeks after the McCutcheon decision opened the floodgates--Jim Bopp says "well, this not as bad as reformers said it could get, so they were obviously wrong."
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> The point various amici made to the Court was that the McCutcheon case was NOT just about Mr. McCutcheon making another contribution or two to favored candidates above the aggregate contribution limit. Instead, the joint fundraising vehicles permitted by FEC regulations would allow candidates and party committees to form multiple JFCs and officeholders to solicit large sums for such fundraising entities. That  is exactly what we are now seeing happen. The fact that "very few" to date involve direct solicitations from the Speaker, or than no committees have yet included enough members to ask for a $3.5 contribution (the mathematical theoretical limit) only shows that things are not yet as bad as they can get...merely on the way.
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> We will know after  an election or two--say after the 2016 Presidential year--how all this has played out. But we already know that money is flowing to numerous new JFS created to take advantage of McCutcheon. How close to the worst case scenarios these will end up we will see. So I will forgo any further comments on Jim's "the sky has only partially fallen" postings until 2017.
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> Trevor Potter
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> ________________________________
> From: law-legislation-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [law-legislation-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] on behalf of JBoppjr at aol.com [JBoppjr at aol.com]
> Sent: Friday, May 30, 2014 8:26 AM
> To: rhasen at law.uci.edu; law-legislation at uci.edu
> Subject: [Leg] Joint Fundraising Comm
>
> It is interesting that not a single one of these joint fundraising committees are the scary ones the "reformers" tried to scare the Supreme Court with.  None involve a bunch of candidates in safe districts who are funneling their receipts to one candidate.  None involve one donor giving the JFC $3.5 million. Very few involve the Speaker asking for any money much less $3.5 million. These claims were "wild hypotheticals" then and are "wild hypotheticals" now.  Jim Bopp
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> In a message dated 5/30/2014 12:03:49 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, rhasen at law.uci.edu writes:
>
> “Costly Midterms Fuel Hundreds of Joint Fundraising Committees”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61882>
> Posted on May 29, 2014 8:57 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61882> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
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> Roll Call reports<http://blogs.rollcall.com/beltway-insiders/fundraising-campaign-committee-kay-hagan-mitch-mcconnell/?dcz=>.
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-- 
Rick Hasen
Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
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