In the News
More Soft Money Hard Law: The FEC Takes First Steps on a Disclosure Rulemaking
By Bob BauerThe FEC last week approved a Proposed Petition for Rulemaking that seeks agency action in various ways to clarify and strengthen public disclosure requirements and expand, as authorized by Congress, the Administrative Fines Program.The attorneys filing the Petition represent varied and bi-partisan professional backgrounds and experiences. Their point overall is that, while there are obviously major differences separating the Commissioners on a number of issues, the FEC can take effective action on administrative matters of importance over which there should be little disagreement. One point of departure is bringing order, clarity and consistency to its reporting form and guidance. This is a disclosure program around which the entire “regulated community” can rally, with clear benefits to the public.
In These Times: Storming the Corporate Castle: Does Shareholder Activism Work?
By Theo Anderson
Conservatives have noted the tactic’s power and potential, and they are sounding the alarm. In a 2011 report on “Activist Investing in Post-Citizens United America,” the right-wing Center for Competitive Politics warns that shareholder activists “see for-profit corporations as their political enemy, and seek partisan or ideological advantage by squelching corporate political speech.”In 2013, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce took another tack. It released a studysuggesting that union-backed shareholder activism punishes “the millions of individuals who rely on these investments for retirement,” including union members, because it doesn’t increase the value of a company’s stock.But for all the reaction it provokes among conservatives, some progressives doubt the power of shareholder activism to deliver genuine structural changes. After all, it relies on pragmatism and “constructive engagement” in dealing with corporations whose core mission progressives often oppose. And there are other limits to its appeal. It doesn’t have the visibility of mass marches and protests, and doesn’t usually achieve quick results.
Independent Groups
Washington Post: There is a ‘Draft Joe Biden’ super PAC now. It’s even hiring a fundraiser.
By Colby ItkowitzIf you’re a Joe Biden fan waiting wistfully by the phone, passing over the Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders draft efforts because there’s only one for you – it’s time to get out your checkbooks.The Draft Joe Biden super PAC is finally here, formally filing with the Federal Election Commission last week. And it’s hiring an “experienced fundraising consultant” to catch up.The job announcement posted on the Google group “JobsthatareLEFT” seeks someone who has worked the money side in at least two campaigns, better if they were federal. You need a “proven track record in fundraising,” as well as specific experience raising money online. You have to manage donor relations and put together a plan “with the end goal of a consistent revenue stream.” (It’s a long time until November 2016.)
First Amendment
NY Times: First Amendment, ‘Patron Saint’ of Protesters, Is Embraced by Corporations
By Adam LiptakWASHINGTON — Liberals used to love the First Amendment. But that was in an era when courts used it mostly to protect powerless people like civil rights activists and war protesters.These days, a provocative new study says, there has been a “corporate takeover of the First Amendment.” The assertion is backed by data, and it comes from an unlikely source: John C. Coates IV, who teaches business law at Harvard and used to be a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the prominent corporate law firm.“Corporations have begun to displace individuals as the direct beneficiaries of the First Amendment,” Professor Coates wrote. The trend, he added, is “recent but accelerating.”
SEC
Pensions and Investments: SEC pay-to-play critics get their day in court
By Hazel BradfordRepublican state committees in New York and Tennessee asked a federal appeals court in Washington on Monday to overturn the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pay-to-play rule.During oral arguments in the District of Columbia Circuit, the plaintiffs disputed the SEC’s position that its rule is not subject to judicial review.
Candidates, Politicians, Campaigns, and Parties
Wall Street Journal: The Cruz Candidacy
EditorialCan a smart, articulate, 40-something first term Senator trained in constitutional law, who disdains his colleagues and lacks executive experience, make the leap to the White House? President Obama proved it was possible in 2008, and now Ted Cruz will try to show that a Republican can do it too after announcing his campaign for the White House on Monday.Neither man will like this comparison, and their world views are as divergent as any two men in politics. Yet Messrs. Obama and Cruz are strikingly similar in their pedigrees and political style. They were raised middle-class but made their way to the Ivy League and beyond by dint of talent.They became lawyers but mainly as a launching pad to politics. The President was a state senator, Mr. Cruz the Texas solicitor general. Mr. Cruz is a better debater, and Mr. Obama a better speech-maker, but both are better talkers than listeners. Above all, they are political solo-artists in an age that rewards entrepreneurial candidates. They saw the Senate as a stepping-stone to the White House rather than a place to contribute or get something done.
AP: Sen. Menendez defiant amid reports of looming indictment
By David PorterMelgen has contributed nearly $200,000 to Democratic Party candidates since 1998, including $14,200 to Menendez, according to campaign finance disclosures. In 2012, during Menendez’s re-election campaign, Melgen gave $700,000 to a super political action committee that spent more than $580,000 to help Menendez.Menendez didn’t address specific allegations regarding his relationship with Melgen on Monday but criticized the leaking of information about the investigation and possible indictment.
Washington Post: Are you rich? Here’s how much you can donate to candidates in 2016.
By Chris CillizzaYou are someone with a wad of cash that you want to waste spend on the 2016 campaign. But, how much money can you actually donate? The Federal Election Commission is here to help!
Politico: Ted Cruz’s big-money crisis
By Anna PalmerAfter the theatrical launch of his presidential campaign Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz now faces a massive hurdle: raising the tens of millions of dollars it will take to mount a year-and-a-half long campaign.The Texas Republican and tea party darling is months behind his competitors in recruiting the megadonors and bundlers essential to a credible GOP primary bid. He’s not well-liked among cash-flush lobbyists. And his uncompromising policy positions and role in forcing the government shutdown in 2013 didn’t exactly excite the financiers and business executives who make up the elite donor class. Those considerations, along with the need to capture attention in a crowded field of conservatives, contributed to the decision to become the first Republican to formally enter the race.“From the standpoint of the fundraising circuit I think it is going to be difficult for him to convince major donors that he is substantive enough to be able to avail himself of their largesse,” said Joe Brettell, a Texas-based GOP operative. “His sweet spot is the conservative grass-roots faithful and it is a fundamentally different makeup and wish list than it is with Ken Langone, Woody Johnson and the rest of the typical cast of characters. When it comes to what have you done for me lately, his greatest accomplishments in the eye of the conservative movement of shutting down the government aren’t going to hold a lot of water.”
State and Local
Illinois –– Wall Street Journal: Pay If You Do, Pay If You Don’t
Under Illinois law, workers who don’t want to be represented by the union are still required to pay fees that can be as much as 97% of the dues paid by full fledged members. That requirement helps to finance and centralize union political clout, discouraging workers from opting out of a system in which they have to pay either way.
California –– Voice of San Diego: One San Diego: The Mayor’s Nonprofit That’s Not Really the Mayor’s Nonprofit
By Liam DillonLast November, Faulconer announced the creation of the nonprofit at a press conference in Logan Heights and the first effort One San Diego would support: an after-school program. The charity was new, but the name wasn’t. “One San Diego” is the brand Faulconer has been pushing since he was elected in February 2014. The phrase appears in his official biography. His staff has included the phrase in 57 different official press releases over the past year. When the mayor’s press team announced his involvement in the recent One San Diego fundraiser, it put the logos next to each other.Technically, though, the mayor has nothing to do with One San Diego. And that matters, for legal reasons.He’s not on the charity’s board of directors and neither are members of his staff. The board is made up of Faulconer allies, including its chairman, former City Council President Tony Young.
