[EL] NYT/Secret GOP Records Reveal Corporate Donors Paying for Access to Governors

[Mark Schmitt]

David, you've been in Washington long enough that I'm sure you know the
glossary:

"Honorary co-chair" or "Honorary host": These terms mean that the senator
or member of Congress has accepted this title *specifically *on the
condition that they don't have to show up for anything. If you want access,
you'd be more likely to bump into them at the Hawk 'n' Dove than at this
event.

"*(invited)": There is a very tiny chance this member might show up to this
event, if his scheduler ever returns one of our calls.

Plus, these members lending their support to an organization they like is
not comparable to the RGA, which involves Republican governors raising
money for themselves and other Republican gubernatorial candidates.


Mark Schmitt
202/246-2350
gchat or Skype: schmitt.mark
twitter: mschmitt9

On Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 5:35 PM, David Keating <dkeating at campaignfreedom.org
> wrote:

> The kind of access Craig seems concerned about appears available through
> Public Citizen too, but seems like a better deal.  And unlike the RGA, it’s
> tax deductible.
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>
> The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader • Senator Richard
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> Harkin • Senator Edward J. Markey • Senator Robert Menendez • Senator
> Barbara A. Mikulski • Senator Sheldon Whitehouse • Representative Bruce
> Braley • Representative Steve Cohen • Representative John Conyers Jr. •
> Representative Peter DeFazio • Representative Rosa L. DeLauro •
> Representative Donna F. Edwards • Representative Keith Ellison •
> Representative Alan Grayson • Representative Raúl M. Grijalva •
> Representative Barbara Lee • Representative John Lewis • Representative
> Michael H. Michaud • Representative George Miller • Representative Mark
> Pocan • Representative John P. Sarbanes • Representative Janice D.
> Schakowsky • Representative Chris Van Hollen • Representative Henry A.
> Waxman
>
>
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> President’s Circle • $10,000 / Year
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> • 2 complimentary tickets to all Public Citizen events, including our
> annual gala
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> • invitations to participate in teleconferences with Public Citizen
> president Robert Weissman
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> David
>
> _________________________________________________
>
> David Keating | President | Center for Competitive Politics
>
> 124 S. West Street, Suite 201 | Alexandria, VA 22314
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> *From:* law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:
> law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] *On Behalf Of *Craig Holman
> *Sent:* Thursday, September 25, 2014 1:04 PM
> *To:* law-election at uci.edu
> *Subject:* [EL] NYT/Secret GOP Records Reveal Corporate Donors Paying for
> Access to Governors
>
>
>
> Colleagues:
>
>
>
> Upon reading the RGA documents – which break their corporate donors down
> into special classes of contributors based on donation amount (Statesmen,
> $250,000+; Cabinet, $100,000+;  Board, $50,000+; Council, $25,000+), and
> then detail the rising scale of access to public officials each class of
> donors receives – brings to mind the *McConnell v. FEC* decision, in
> which a more reasoned Supreme Court upheld BCRA’s ban on corporate soft
> money contributions precisely to prevent such buying of access.
>
>
>
> From the *McConnell* decision:
>
>
>
> Many of the "deeply disturbing examples" of corruption cited by this Court
> in Buckley, 424 U. S., at 27, to justify FECA's contribution limits were
> not episodes of vote buying, but evidence that various corporate interests
> had given substantial donations to gain access to high-level government
> officials. See Buckley, 519 F. 2d, at 821, 839-840, n. 36; nn. 5-6, supra.
> Even if that access did not secure actual influence, it certainly gave the
> "appearance of such influence." Colorado II, supra, at 441; see also 519
> F. 2d, at 838.
>
> The record in the present case is replete with similar examples of
> national party committees peddling access to federal candidates and
> officeholders in exchange for large soft-money donations. See 251 F. Supp.
> 2d, at 492-506 (Kollar-Kotelly, J.). As   one former Senator put it:
>
> " 'Special interests who give large amounts of soft money to political
> parties do in fact achieve their objectives. They do get special access.
> Sitting Senators and House Members have limited amounts of time, but they
> make time available in their schedules to meet with representatives of
> business and unions and wealthy individuals who gave large sums to their
> par- ties. These are not idle chit-chats about the philosophy of
> democracy. . . . Senators are pressed by their benefactors to introduce
> legislation, to amend legislation, to block legislation, and to vote on
> legislation in a certain way.'" Id., at 496 (Kollar-Kotelly, J.) (quoting
> declaration of former Sen. Warren Rudman if7 (hereinafter Rudman Decl.),
> App. 742); 251 F. Supp. 2d, at 858 (Leon, J.) (same).
>
> So pervasive is this practice that the six national party committees
> actually furnish their own menus of opportunities for access to would-be
> soft-money donors, with increased prices reflecting an increased level of access.
> For example, the DCCC offers a range of donor options, starting with the
> $10,000-per-year Business Forum program, and going up to the
> $100,000-per-year National Finance Board program. The latter entitles the
> donor to bimonthly conference calls with the Democratic House leadership
> and chair of the DCCC, complimentary invitations to all DCCC fundraising
> events, two private dinners with the Democratic House leadership and
> ranking members, and two retreats with the Democratic House leader and
> DCCC chair in Telluride, Colorado, and Hyannisport, Massachusetts. Id., at
> 504-505 (Kollar-Kotelly, J.); see also id., at 506 (describing records
> indicating that DNC offered meetings with President in return for large
> donations); id., at 502-503 (describing RNC's various donor programs);
> id., at 503-504 (same for NRSC); id., at 500- 503 (same for DSCC); id., at
> 504 (same for NRCC). Similarly, "the RNC's donor programs offer greater
> access to federal office holders as the donations grow larger, with the
> highest level and most personal access offered to the largest soft money
> donors." Id., at 500-503 (finding, further, that the RNC holds out the
> prospect of access to officeholders to attract soft-money donations and
> encourages officeholders to meet with large soft-money donors); accordingly,
>  id., at 860-861 (Leon, J.).
>
>
>
> Craig Holman, Ph.D.
> Government Affairs Lobbyist
> Public Citizen
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> Holman at aol.com
>
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