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Faulty Assumptions
Shredding the First Amendment?
Published on February 25, 2010 01:56 PM
Category: Faulty Assumptions, Independent Speech, Jurisprudence & Litigation
The bloviating about the Citizens United decision has demonstrated, if anything, an extraordinarily weak understanding of the campaign finance landscape. Starting with the President's outlandish claims in his State of the Union Address, followed by the fear-mongering by congressmen (such as the ineffable Alan Grayson), we've been getting the feeling that the lambasting of the Supreme Court has a lot to do with nearing midterm elections and very little to do with the facts. Cue Sen. Chris Dodd's
Schumer's 'barely true' comments on Citizens United
Published on January 24, 2010 11:11 AM
Category: Faulty Assumptions, Jurisprudence & Litigation
PolitiFact.com, a project of the St. Petersburg Times, shredded a statement by Sen. Chuck Schumer (and implicitly all other "reformers" using similar demagoguery) that in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, "the (U.S. Supreme Court) decided to overrule the 100-year-old ban on corporate expenditures." On its trusty "Truth-o-Meter" the site rated Schumer's comments "Barely True." Ouch. Here's more: Schumer said the Supreme Court "decided to overrule the 100-year-old ban on corporate
... even so, Schultz might blame progressives like himself
Published on January 9, 2010
Category: Faulty Assumptions, Press
Monitoring Ed Schultz's MSNBC talk show for campaign speak does seem ridiculous. But the reason for it comes from policies by progressives ... like Schultz.
A ten point plan for reformers on Citizens United messaging
Published on December 15, 2009
Category: Faulty Assumptions, Jurisprudence & Litigation
Air America Media President Mark Green took to the digital pages of The Huffington Post today to wail about the pending Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC. Green's piece provides an illuminating look into the mind of the campaign finance reformer, and I'll summarize the tactics behind the "reform" talking points in Citizen United v. FEC: Make up stuff and spew hyperbole: a ten point plan 1. Pretend that the Supreme Court is about to overrule "100 years of federal laws restrictin
'Reform' puppet Public Campaign Action Fund's ridiculous new campaign
Published on December 3, 2009 09:44 AM
Category: Faulty Assumptions, Taxpayer Financed Campaigns
Public Campaign Action Fund recently launched a shameful campaign, slurring U.S. Senators who don't support the health care bill as "Insurance Puppets." It blasted out a release today naming Sen. Chuck Grassley an "Insurance Puppet," announcing an online advertising campaign in Iowa and Washington, D.C. The group has also named Sens. Mitch McConnell and Joe Lieberman "puppets." Their alleged offenses? "Sen. Grassley has done all he can to derail passage of meaningful health care reform this y
Welfare for politicians is libertarian?
Published on November 23, 2009 04:36 PM
Category: Faulty Assumptions, Taxpayer Financed Campaigns
Rep. John Larson, the Democratic caucus chair in the House, recently told National Journal that H.R. 1826, the Fair Elections Now Act, has a "very libertarian streak to it." National Journal: Are there other strongholds of potential Republican support for this? Larson: It's the kind of thing that perhaps would appeal to... House member Ron Paul [R-Texas]*. It's got a very libertarian streak to it. Umm... Does Larson know what libertarians stand for — at all? The American Heritage Dictio
New report highlights failures of Wisconsin taxpayer financing
Published on November 19, 2009
Category: Faulty Assumptions, Taxpayer Financed Campaigns
While misguided legislation to expand taxpayer financing schemes in Wisconsin awaits the governor's signature or veto, the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI) released a study that details exactly how the state's earlier experiment with taxpayer financing has actually played out in the state. Wisconsin enacted a system of partial public financing in 1977 in order to "supplant campaign donations from political action committees, ensure those of modest means had money to run and
Common Cause rant disguised as research
Published on November 6, 2009 02:30 PM
Category: Faulty Assumptions, Jurisprudence & Litigation, Taxpayer Financed Campaigns
In anticipation of the Supreme Court's upcoming ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, Common Cause was kind enough to release a summary of the apocalyptic-level events that will happen if Citizens United is victorious and the restrictions on corporation and union political expenditures are ruled unconstitutional. For starters, corporations and unions will "unleash a flood of money into the political system and further diminish the public's voice," leading to greater public distrust of the governmen
Senator Feingold completely loses track of reality
Published on October 26, 2009
Category: Faulty Assumptions, Independent Speech, Jurisprudence & Litigation, Political Committees & 527s
Skeptics of so-called campaign finance "reform" are used to a certain degree of hysteria, hyperbole, hokum, hypocrisy, and half truths coming from the "reform" community. Much of it simply boils down to the "reformers" unrealistic view of money in politics, although lurking under much of what the campaign finance "reform" community wants is a clear desire to silence and limit the free speech of those Americans who do not share their other political priorities and
A Belated Comment on Bauer's Critique of Justice Kennedy
Published on September 25, 2009 06:00 AM
Category: Expenditure, Faulty Assumptions, Independent Speech, Jurisprudence & Litigation
The Citizens United case is submitted, and, yet, the editorial pages and others continue to opine. Perhaps, then, there is time to consider an earlier, erroneous, critique by Bob Bauer.
