"Addressing the Inequities of BCRA"

Rep. Bob Ney offers this Roll Call oped, which begins:

It should not come as a surprise that Roll Call columnist Norman Ornstein opposes the campaign finance legislation reported by the House Administration Committee recently. As he has acknowledged in the past, though notably not in his most recent column, he was personally involved in the drafting of BCRA, helped devise the strategy to get it passed and evidently takes great pride in the success of that effort. On other occasions, Ornstein has used his column to promote other pieces of legislation he has had a hand in drafting, specifically the continuity of government initiative and lobbying reform.

These three examples demonstrate the entirely unique position occupied by Ornstein. A journalist would normally tend to confine themselves to merely reporting or commenting on laws written by others. Those who actually make policy or write legislation usually have to convince journalists and commentators of the virtues of their proposals if they want favorable coverage in the media. By straddling these two roles, both journalist and policy maker, Ornstein is in a unique position that allows him to both write bills and then use his column to promote them.

Another snippet: "Finally, I have to respond to Ornstein’s utterly false suggestion that I have “avoided any efforts” to examine the implementation of the Help America Vote Act. In just the last year, our committee has held four separate hearings on election reform issues. We have examined the role of the Election Assistance Commission, taken testimony from its commissioners and regularly communicate with them. We have brought in technology specialists and election administrators to discuss voting system security, looked back at how HAVA was implemented nationwide during the 2004 election, and held a field hearing in Ohio to gain more information about how the 2004 election was conducted in that pivotal state. I expect to have further hearings on these issues in the months ahead and will continue to closely monitor progress on implementation of the act."

"Cunningham staying mum on home deal"

The North County Times offers this report, which begins: "U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham still has no timetable for releasing information about his relationship with a Washington contractor who purchased the congressman's Del Mar home in 2003 and shortly thereafter saw his company's defense contracts soar." Another snippet: "Cunningham has been under fire since a June 12 disclosure that Wade had purchased the congressman's Del Mar home in December 2003 for $1.675 million and sold it less than a year later in October 2004 for $700,000 less than the purchase price. Around the same time, MZM reported that the value of its defense contracts had soared, its revenues had tripled and its number of employees had grown substantially."

"Mr. Smith Leaves Washington"

The New York Sun offers this editorial, which begins: "All Americans who value the First Amendment will regret the retirement of Bradley Smith from the Federal Election Commission."

-- 
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