In the News
Hot Air: The Ed Morrissey Show: Former FEC Commissioner Brad Smith, Jeff Dunetz
By Ed MorrisseyToday on The Ed Morrissey Show (4 pm ET), former FEC Commissioner and co-founder of the Center for Competitive Politics Brad Smith joins us for the first time to discuss the Supreme Court’s upcoming look at McCutcheon v FEC, which may overturn more campaign-finance reform laws than Citizens United. We’ll get the skinny on what the case means, and what options the Supreme Court has.
CCP
Media Watch: Missing the Point
By Luke WachobWith rare exception, media coverage has failed to address the important First Amendment questions in the case. What limits can government place on political speech, and for what reasons? These questions can’t be ignored.Then again, maybe it’s too much to ask the media to get campaign finance law right when the government can’t either. Responding to a question about last Tuesday’s oral arguments, President Obama said “I mean, essentially it would say anything goes; there are no rules in terms of how to finance campaigns.” That statement is ludicrously false, and even advocates of greater restrictions on campaign finance called him out on it.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
WSJ: The Founders Were Perfectly Clear on Political Speech
By Robert SchmidThe only legitimate way under our system of government to change the Constitution is to engage in the political activities necessary to amend it. In the case of the First Amendment and political speech, what proponents of campaign finance “reform” really seem to want is the ability to have the government regulate or even stifle speech or opinions with which they disagree. The Founders saw this issue clearly and addressed it over two centuries ago.
Candidates, Politicians, Campaigns, and Parties
Buzzfeed: Wall Street To Republicans: Quit Playing Games With The Economy If You Want Our Cash
By John StantonAsked by email about those threats, Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said New York money interests are indeed making their unhappiness with Congress’ dysfunction known.“I happened to be with one of biggest GOP donors [in New York] when I read this so I asked. He said ‘definitely true.’ No support until they solve debt ceiling and shutdown in an appropriate fashion. The implications for 2014 are real and very troubling. GOP seems to have no coherent strategy for dealing with these issues,” said Wylde, who is one of the most powerful lobbyists in New York’s business community.
FEC
The Hoya: Abramoff Talks Lobbying
By Sam AbramsAbramoff spoke about his peak lobbying years when he won multimillion dollar accounts to represent the interests of everyone from Native American casino owners to Russian energy companies in Washington, D.C.“People come to this city for power, and I was clearly one of them. I was brash, a bit arrogant, but it was because I had more connections than just about anyone,” he said. “I figured that I wasn’t really doing anything wrong, because every lobbying firm on Capitol Hill was giving the same improper benefits. I was just doing it on a much larger scale.”
State and Local
Michigan –– CBS News: Kwame Kilpatrick, former Detroit mayor, sentenced to 28 years in prison for corruption
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced Thursday to 28 years in prison for corruption, the apparent last step after a series of scandals destroyed his political career and helped steer a crisis-laden city even deeper into trouble.Kilpatrick, who served as mayor from 2002 until fall 2008, fattened his bank account by tens of thousands of dollars, traveled the country in private planes and even strong-armed his campaign fundraiser for stacks of cash hidden in her bra, according to evidence at trial.
New York –– WSJ: Cuomo Seeks to Resurrect an Ethics Deal
By Erica OrdenThe talks are centered around reviving some parts of an anticorruption bill known as the Public Trust Act that Mr. Cuomo proposed in the spring after several corruption cases involving state lawmakers, these people said. Mr. Cuomo’s proposal, as outlined, would have made it easier to charge public officials with bribery and created new penalties for those convicted of defrauding the government.Lawmakers balked at the measure—after it was ultimately packaged with other, more controversial ideas such as limiting campaign donations—and the bill died in June. Mr. Cuomo then convened the state panel, known as the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, which was designed to be independent from political influence.
New York –– WSJ: Liu’s Ex-Aide, Supporter Sentenced
By Sean GardinerThe 26-year-old former campaign treasurer for New York City Comptroller John Liu wept Thursday as she maintained her innocence before she was sentenced to 10 months in prison on her conviction stemming from an undercover campaign finance sting.“I stand before the court today to be sentenced knowing that I did not intend to commit the crimes I am convicted of,” Jia “Jenny” Hou told a Manhattan federal courtroom. “But I respect the court and the system of justice and know that I am obliged to accept the punishment.”
