| Subject: Electionlawblog news and commentary 2/16/06 |
| From: Rick Hasen |
| Date: 2/16/2006, 8:49 AM |
| To: election-law |
The Los Angeles Times offers this
report. A few snippets:"In seeking to reach his goal,
Schwarzenegger is offering large donors personal access. Invitations to
a March 20 dinner in Beverly Hills offer 'head table seating with the
governor' for two and six photos of couples with the governor for those
who contribute at least $100,000 to his reelection campaign and the
state GOP. The dinner's star speaker is Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a
champion of campaign finance reform." "An aide to McCain, meanwhile,
denied that the Arizona senator's plan to appear at a Schwarzenegger
fundraiser was awkward. McCain, who is weighing another presidential
bid in 2008, has been collecting political chits around the country by
helping candidates raise money under state rules that are far more lax
than the restrictions on federal campaigns. 'The important thing is
that all the rules within the state are followed, and the senator
himself is not soliciting large donations,' said John Weaver, a McCain
strategist." Very interesting.
Brad Smith has this
post on Redstate.
The Baltimore Sun offers this
report.
BNA Money and Politics offers this report (paid subscription required) about many nonprofit groups' opposition to lobbying reform. A snippet: "'These bills are flawed,' AFJ President Nan Aron said of the half-dozen or so measures introduced in the Senate and House aimed at strengthening current lobbying disclosure, ethics, and campaign finance rules. Of particular concern are new proposals for disclosure of payments related to 'grass-roots lobbying,' such as broadcast, mail, or telephone advertising to stimulate public support or opposition to particular legislation or policies." But the concern of at least some in this community is finding a way to gut the existing laws which prevent the use of corporate and union money to pay for election-related broadcast advertisting before elections. Bob Bauer reports: "Today a coalition of groups filed with the Federal Election Commission a request for a Petition for Rulemaking, seeking an exemption for certain grassroots lobbying communications from the pre-election 'electioneering communication' prohibitions of McCain-Feingold. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Alliance for Justice, the AFL-CIO, OMB Watch and the National Education Association joined in the Petition. The Petition notes recent legal developments, such as the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in WRTL v. FEC, affirming the constitutional protections afforded grassroots lobbying and specifically noting the FEC's regulatory authority to clarify these protections by rule."
In my view, it may be a bit premature to rely upon WRTL for anything of substance. In any case, reading the "test" that these groups would put forward for "grassroots lobbying" (summarized in Bob Bauer's post) makes it clear that this would create a gaping hole in BCRA, essentially allowing virtually all sham issue advocacy to be paid for by corporate and union funds. To paraphrase one of these ads (with toungue firmly planted in cheek): "Call Bob Bauer. And tell him what you think of his test that would gut one of the major provisions of McCain-Feingold."
In the Wall Street Journal, John Fund reviews
Mudslingers: The
Top 25 Negative Political Campaigns of All Time by Kerwin C. Swint.
Thanks to Steven Sholk for the link.
See this
post on Daily Kos. Here is my
earlier argument for mandatory disclosure of the practice.
You can find this
statement on the FEC website.
-- Rick Hasen William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law 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