"Elections board votes to allow Cranston mayor back on air"

Following up on this post, the ABC affiliate in Rhode Island offers this report.

"Pence-Wynn Bill Is No Vehicle for Reform"

Donna Brazile offers this commentary in Roll Call (paid subscription required). A snippet:

Here’s how it would work in the real world. It would allow federal officeholders (including Members of Congress) to solicit contributors to give more than a million dollars to a party, and more than $2 million to federal candidates. The Pence-Wynn bill would also relax restrictions designed to keep corporations from pressuring rank-and-file workers to make contributions to corporate political action committees, and ease the way for trade associations to pressure the employees of their members to solicit PAC contributions.

If this bill is allowed to pass, can you imagine the pressure some workers would be under to pony up their hard-earned wages to help support someone who, for instance, opposes raising the minimum wage? The Democratic Party has no business getting behind any of this bill, which would only contribute to the sense of powerlessness most citizens feel about their lives. No reasonable campaign finance system should allow one person to give millions of dollars directly to the parties and candidates.

In somewhat related news, The Hill offers ACT to Spend $30 Million, which begins: "America Coming Together (ACT), a 527 soft-money group allied with the Democratic Party, has raised nearly $6 million since early January and plans to spend roughly $30 million in a handful of battleground states this year and next."

"Wallets Opening Wide for Election"

The Los Angeles Times offers this report on the campaign financing behind the California special election Gov. Schwarzenegger called yesterday. The article's subhead reads: "Rivals on measures that could be on the Nov. 8 ballot are expected to tap donors for more than $100 million." In somewhat related news, Roll Call offers Redistricting Reform on Fall Ballot (paid subscription required).

"Hard Cash Is Main Course for GOP Fundraiser"

The Washington Post offers this report, with the subhead: "Selling of $2,500-a-Plate Tickets Is Laborious but Necessary, Lawmakers Say."

My Article on Contribution and Expenditure Limits Now Available

Although it won't be available in hard copy for several weeks, you can now download a copy of the final version of Richard L. Hasen, Rethinking the Unconstitutionality of Contribution and Expenditure Limits in Ballot Measure Campaigns, 78 S. Cal. L. Rev. 885 (2005) at this link. The article is part of a symposium on The Impact of Direct Democracy. If the rest of the issue becomes available on line (including comments by Bernie Grofman and Dan Ortiz in part on my paper), I'll provide another link.

"Frist's finances questioned"

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution offers this fascinating report (link via Political Wire).

A Comment on Comments

I think the experiment in comments has for the most part been a positive one. There have been a number of thoughtful posts and debates in the comment section so far.

Unfortunately, I need to temporarily suspend comments on the site. I discovered this morning that a number of marketers (for casinos, sexual dysfunction products, and worse!) have been filling the comments section with links selling their wares.

I need to figure out how to approve comments before they post to avoid this garbage appearing on the list. When I get this worked out, the ability to comment will be restored. Thanks for your patience.

-- 
Rick Hasen
William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA  90015-1211
(213)736-1466
(213)380-3769 - fax
rick.hasen@lls.edu
http://www.lls.edu/academics/faculty/hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org