CCP
Media Watch: Media Watch: Undisclosed? Off-the-Radar? Underground Elections? Hardly.
By Joe Trotter
First of all, an election is this thing that happens when people go and cast a ballot to vote for who they want to be their elected leaders (or for or against a ballot measure). In general, there is an election day that is publicly announced, after which votes are counted and winners are declared. Unless we’re talking about voter suppression – which this article is not – there simply is no “underground midterm election that’s increasingly hidden from view.”
Second, if it is “already well known that unreported political spending is rising,” and that “undisclosed political spending was three times higher than at the same point in 2012,” how is this spending “undisclosed?” If a foundation can gather this information and a respected journalist can report on it in a widely-read publication without having to resort to illegal measures to gather this information, then the information simply isn’t “undisclosed” and “off-the-radar.” Quite to the contrary, this issue has been reported on so often in so many mediums that the only way it could actually be “off-the-radar” for people is if they actively avoid any sort of reporting that has to do with politics.
Finally, this is an article about TV broadcast advertising. Broadcasting literally means to “tell (something) to many people; make widely known.” These ads are beamed into many thousands of people’s homes, hardly qualifying as being “off-the-radar.” Not being able to pull up internet records of every single cent Crossroads spent on broadcasting issue advertisements from one’s perch in Washington DC does not mean that there is some sort of “underground” movement, it simply means that people speak about politicians and political issues in other parts of the country without having to inform people in DC every time they do so.
Amending the First Amendment
The Hill: Insults should not dominate debate over First Amendment
By Sen. Ted Cruz
Erwin Chemerinsky is a passionate liberal and a distinguished scholar and dean. We have been opposing counsel before the Supreme Court, and I consider him a friend.
Sadly, last week he wrote a column in the Hill that called me a liar and attacked my effort to defend the First Amendment from Democrats who are seeking to regulate political speech.
It is unfortunate that public debate has descended to the point that such personal insults are commonplace.
It is particularly unfortunate because Dean Chemerinsky’s attack is predicated on an objective mistake, a simple error that routine fact-chcking should have caught.
IRS
Wall Street Journal: Emails Point to IRS Officials Using Instant Messages: Messages Weren’t Routinely Archived, Adding to Lawmaker Concerns About Document Handling
By John D. McKinnon
WASHINGTON—Lawmakers investigating the Internal Revenue Service’s treatment of conservative groups released new emails Wednesday suggesting that top IRS officials communicated through an instant-messaging system that wasn’t routinely archived.
The revelation adds to lawmakers’ concerns about the agency’s handling of documents related to their inquiry into the IRS’s alleged targeting of conservative tea-party groups for burdensome scrutiny as they sought tax-exempt status.
Republicans already have criticized the IRS for losing about two years’ worth of emails that could be important to the probe, largely because a computer hard drive belonging to a former top IRS official, Lois Lerner, crashed in mid-2011. Backup tapes storing the messages were routinely reused after six months.
Independent Groups
Free Beacon: Democracy Alliance in Turmoil as Member Dissatisfaction Mounts
By Lachlan Markay
The documents detail nearly $70 million in financing in 2013 by individuals and organizations associated with the DA, more than double the previously reported totals.
Last year, that money financed a network of 132 left-wing groups, a progressive infrastructure far larger than 21 “aligned network” organizations previously reported as DA beneficiaries.
However, Democracy Alliance president Gara LaMarche is not satisfied with the scale of the organization’s fundraising apparatus.
Huffington Post: Ready For Hillary Starts Spreading Its Money Around To Key States
By Amanda Terkel
Ready for Hillary, the organization setting the stage for Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016, has strategically distributed more than $175,000 to 33 state Democratic parties and national Democratic organizations.
On May 28, Ready for Hillary shifted from being a super PAC to what’s known as a “hybrid PAC.” With the new designation, the group can contribute directly to federal candidates while still making unlimited expenditures like a super PAC (provided it’s not coordinating with campaigns).
New York Times: Why Teenagers May Grow Up Conservative
By David Leonhardt
But the temporary nature of the 1960s should serve as a reminder that politics change. What seems permanent can become fleeting. And the Democratic Party, for all its strengths among Americans under 40, has some serious vulnerabilities, too.
Kochs
Washington Post: Justice Ginsburg’s Hobby Lobby dissent does not mention Koch Industries
By Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz
To illustrate her point, one would think that the two best examples would be the two largest privately held companies. And, according to Forbes, Cargill is indeed the largest by revenue. But Mars is not #2; it is #5. When Justice Ginsburg took a look at the Forbes list, why did she choose #5 Mars for her second example rather than the much larger #2?
As it happens, the second-largest privately held company in the United States, by revenue, is Koch Industries.
So why Mars and not Koch? Did Justice Ginsburg sense that, even as written, her dissent might be accused of a somewhat partisan tone? See, e.g., “The Political Ginsburg,” Editorial, The Wall Street Journal, July 2 (“Justice Ginsburg’s dissent is … a political opinion whose purpose seems to be to mobilize opposition to the Court and perhaps even motivate Democrats to turn out at the polls.”). Was she concerned that a reference to Koch Industries might make her opinion seem more political?
Candidates, Politicians, Campaigns, and Parties
BuzzFeed: Ted Cruz Won’t Step Down As Senate Campaign Arm’s Vice Chairman
By Kate Nocera
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is pretty angry at the Senate Republican’s election arm for getting involved in primaries this cycle but he has no plans to step down from his official role on the committee as a vice chairman.
The latest chapter of the spat between Cruz and the National Republican Senatorial Committee comes after the NRSC aggressively helped Mississippi’s incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran beat State Sen. Chris McDaniel in one of the most contentious (and strange) primaries of the cycle. McDaniel has yet to concede in the race and is mounting a legal challenge to contest the results.
Politico: Paul Ryan sets fundraising record
By Jake Sherman
Rep. Paul Ryan raised more than $1.6 million in the second quarter of 2014, as he continues to fill his campaign coffers at a record-breaking clip.
The haul breaks his previous quarterly fundraising record of $1.4 million, which he set in the first three months of 2014.
The Wisconsin Republican reported Tuesday afternoon that he has more than $3.8 million in his campaign account, a few thousand less than he had at the end of March.
Wall Street Journal: The Fundraiser in Chief
By Karl Rove
For example, the afternoon following the Sept. 11, 2012, murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Libya, Mr. Obama left the White House for a fundraiser in Las Vegas and a campaign appearance in Colorado.
As Russian troops stormed into the Crimea on Friday, Feb. 28, 2014, Mr. Obama clinked his glass at a DNC fundraiser, declaring “this is now officially happy hour with the Democratic Party. I can do that. It is an executive action. I have the authority.” Vladimir Putin must have been amused.
When Islamic terrorists captured Mosul, Iraq’s second most populous city, and menaced Baghdad in mid-June, Mr. Obama did not hunker down in the Situation Room. He headed to a Laguna Beach, Calif., fundraiser where 25 people wrote checks of up to $32,400.
After raising money at an event for Sen. Mark Udall in Colorado Tuesday—Mr. Udall bailed at the last minute—Mr. Obama is now completing a two-day fundraising swing through Texas.
Washington Post: A guide to planning your summer vacation around political fundraisers
By Jaime Fuller
Summer is finally here, which means that people are planning their escape plans for vacation. But what if you are a campaign donor who wants to get the most political bang for your buck? Lucky for you, some politicians are trying to put the “fun” in fundraiser this summer (groan), trying to coax people to focus on the upcoming election while they are eating ice cream and barbecue.
Here are some of the fundraisers that could double as Travel section destinations. Also, if you actually consider planning your vacation around these fundraisers, please get help immediately.
FEC
Clarion-Ledger: PAC connected to Jackson church registered with FEC
By Jimmie E. Gates
The Federal Elections Commission says All Citizens for Mississippi, which paid for an ad featuring Bishop Ronnie Crudup urging black voters to oppose Chris McDaniel in the GOP primary runoff for U.S. Senate, officially registered as a political action committee on June 6.
But there is a question whether All Citizens for Mississippi ran an earlier ad in a weekly black newspaper prior to officially being registered with the FEC.
State and Local
New York –– NY Daily News: Daniel Halloran accused of arranging $15G bribe for ex-Bronx GOP chairman
By Sabrina Caserta
“Tell me you love me,” then-City Councilman Daniel Halloran gleefully wrote in a text message to Bronx County Republican Party Chairman Joseph (Jay) Savino on Valentine’s Day, 2013.
Savino, who would later resign his party post, had just pocketed a $15,000 cash bribe arranged by Halloran, he testified Tuesday in Halloran’s corruption trial.
New York –– City and State: Cracks in the CFB
By Nick Powell
Mere months ago, Liu was the second highest ranking elected official in the city, a smooth-talking, savvy and telegenic politician who had effectively wielded the bully pulpit of his office to be one of the sharpest thorns in the side of former mayor Michael Bloomberg. The most prominent Asian-American elected official in New York history, from the moment he took office in 2009 Liu immediately vaulted into the top tier of contenders to be the next mayor. By the time Liu officially announced his candidacy for the mayoralty in March of 2013, however, his campaign was immediately dismissed as quixotic at worst and a long shot at best—though not because of anything that had to do with his personality or politics.
In October 2011 The New York Times cast a spotlight on Liu’s campaign finance reporting, noting roughly two dozen irregularities that raised questions as to the legitimacy of his donations and indicated a failure to comply with basic campaign finance laws. A federal investigation would eventually ensnare Liu’s 25-year-old campaign treasurer, Jia “Jenny” Hou, and Xing Wu “Oliver” Pan, one of his fundraisers, both of whom would be convicted—she for attempted wire fraud, obstruction of justice and making false statements, and he for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and attempted wire fraud—for taking contributions from “straw donors,” people whose names were entered as campaign contributors even though someone else had provided the money.
Virginia – Times Dispatch: McDonnell says wife was interviewed under false pretenses
By Andrew Cain
Former Gov. Bob McDonnell’s lawyers acknowledge that he was angry after his wife’s February 2013 interview with law enforcement officials.
But they say he was irked not because of her statements, but because authorities interviewed first lady Maureen McDonnell under false pretenses.
“The evidence will show that Mr. McDonnell was angry because he and his staff had been deceived about the purpose of the interview,” Jonathan A. Berry, a lawyer for Bob McDonnell, writes in a document filed Monday in U.S. District Court.
Maine –– Seacoast Online: Cutler supports file campaign finance lawsuit
By Christopher Cousins
Four supporters of independent Eliot Cutler’s bid for governor filed a suit Monday in U.S. District Court over what they argue are inequities in Maine campaign finance laws.
The injunction asks that individual contribution limits for donations to Cutler’s campaign be the same as they are for major-party candidates — and in time for the 2014 election.
At issue is a law that allows major-party candidates to collect the maximum individual contribution of $1,500 for both the primary and general elections, which means those candidates can collect a total of $3,000 from each individual whether they have a primary opponent or not.
Montana –– Montana Standard: Lewis jabs Zinke with super PAC ‘cooling off’ plan
By Matt Volz
Democrat John Lewis is heating up Montana’s U.S. House race by proposing a “cooling off” period for political groups before they spend money to support the campaigns of their former leaders.
Lewis proposed extending the rules that require a waiting period before members of Congress can become lobbyists to independent-expenditure only committees, also known as super PACs. That period is now a year, and Lewis said he would like to see it extended to two years to eliminate a “revolving door” between Congress, lobbyists and super PACs.
“This is about making sure that … we all play by the same rules,” Lewis said. “There should be a cooling off period before you become a candidate yourself, so that you can’t turn around and have that super PAC benefit you.”
