| Subject: news of the day 3/10/05 |
| From: Rick Hasen |
| Date: 3/10/2005, 8:35 AM |
| To: election-law |
The paper offers the following stories (paid subscription required):
FEC May Exempt Bloggers, which begins "Amid a growing hysteria sweeping the Internet over the idea that the Federal Election Commission intends to crack down on bloggers, some FEC officials say they are open to creating an exemption for those who maintain Web logs to ensure they are in no danger of being caught up in the agency’s regulatory framework." The article notes that Rep. Conyers has been circulating a letter to pass legislation extending the media exemption to some Internet activitivies. (The Conyer letter is reprinted here.) The article concludes with this quote from me: “I am concerned that if the FEC deals with nothing more than Internet advertising and we end up seeing multiple complaints against bloggers in 2006, that the existing framework is inadequate.”
Pence, Wynn Offer Bill to Strip BCRA Limits, which begins: "Leading what is likely to be one of many efforts to unravel part or all of campaign finance legislation enacted in 2002, Reps. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Albert Wynn (D-Md.) plan to introduce legislation today that would once again allow the national party committees to raise and spend soft money."
DSCC
to Emphasize Donors,
which begins: "Taking a cue from successful Republican fundraising
plans, Senate Democrats are dramatically expanding their contributor
programs both inside and beyond the Beltway in an attempt to mine new
dollars for the 2006 election cycle."
Roll Call offers this
report
(paid subscription required), which begins: "Illinois Democrats on
Capitol Hill said Wednesday they have essentially shut the door on
revisiting the state’s Congressional map as a means of retaliation for
GOP-led redistricting efforts elsewhere in the country, citing a lack
of consensus here and back home on how to proceed. In holding their
fire, Land of Lincoln Democrats also said they wanted to make a
statement that they are above recent Republican efforts in Texas,
Colorado and Georgia to redraw Congressional boundaries at will. "
The Los Angeles Times offers this
report,
with the subhead: "City clerk considers changes for the May runoff as
council members demand an explanation for delays in Tuesday's vote
count."
The court's order is here. The Bee
story is here.
No word yet on whether CALPIRG will participate as amicus. See also this
Dan Weintraub column, "Fight to regulate campaign cash is endless,
futile."
-- Professor Rick Hasen Loyola Law School 919 Albany Street Los Angeles, CA 90015-1211 (213)736-1466 - voice (213)380-3769 - fax rick.hasen@lls.edu http://www.lls.edu/academics/faculty/hasen.html http://electionlawblog.org