Don't like Campaign Finance "Reform?" - Gotta Read This
"No Constitutionally Adequate Justification"
By Brad Smith Posted in FEC | FEC | First Amendment | mccain-feingold — Comments (7) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Yesterday a group called SpeechNow.org, represented by attorneys from the Center for Competitive Politics and the Institute for Justice, sued the Federal Election Commission in what one prominent campaign finance lawyer calls, "one of the more important and consequential [suits against campaign finance laws] in a long time," and which one supporter of broad campaign speech restrictions admitted is, "pretty brilliant."
There is much more to this suit than I have time to delve into here, but the basic claim is simple - if George Soros and other wealthy millionaires can Constitutionally spend whatever they want on politics, than under the Constitution groups of citizens banding together should also be able to spend whatever they want.
This page has a cornucopia of links to the pleadings in the case, a case "backgrounder," and tons of media links. If you care about free speech in America, check it out.
Note that I am one of the counsel for SpeechNow.org and am Chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics.
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Don't like Campaign Finance "Reform?" - Gotta Read This 7 Comments (0 topical, 7 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Soros and the far left cannot spend what they are spending, the way they are spending it. They are only doing so as the FEC (democrat controlled for a long time, and now stalemated in limboville) will not enforce an older law that renders 527's unable to do so. This is not a matter of 'if they can get away with breaking the law, so can we'. It is a matter of the FEC enforcing law already on the books, that they will not enforce.
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The FEC has always been 3-3 in makeup, not Democratic controlled (unless - satire - you count the years that John McCain's current counsel, Trevor Potter, held a GOP seat!) There is no "older law" that renders "527s" (by the way, did you know the Republican National Committee, McCain for President, NRA PAC, and your local dog catcher's campaign committee are all types of "527s"?) unable to spend money the way they are doing it. There is a law that renders them unable to spend money the way that SpeechNow.org wants to spend it, however. Moreover, the Supreme Court has been absolutely clear that George Soros or someone else can spend a gazillion individually without restraint - it is only if two or more people join together to spend over $1000 - like SpeechNow.org - that they are regulated. And finally, the FEC does enforce laws already on the books. I know - I was there enforcing them, and now I represent people they're being enforced against.
Brad Smith
Professor of Law
Capital University Law School
Capital University website
Center for Competitive Politics website
I see the judge in this case is James Robertson. Does anyone have any background on this guy or know where he leans?
...Robertson is a Clinton appointee to the federal bench for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Robertson ruled against Ken Starr in throwing out an indictment against Webster Hubbell in 1998. Although an appeals court reversed Robertson's ruling, the Supreme Court ultimately upheld Robertson's ruling.
Robertson ruled against the US government in the case of Gitmo detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan. Robertson's ruling said that the United States could not hold a military commission on Hamdan's case unless it was first shown that the detainee was not a prisoner of war. Again, although an appeals court reversed Robertson's ruling, the Supreme Court ultimately upheld Robertson's ruling.
Robertson seems to lean in the same direction as the Supreme Court, which would seenm to be the correct way to lean I would think. YMMV.
I really don't understand how a law that restricts political speech is passed into law an upheld by the Supreme Court.
It is literally mind boggling.
So is the apathy of citizens on both the right and the left.
No way in hell I would ever even consider voting for McCain.
And I hope McCain learns from this.
He was wrong to let himself become the leader of that movement.