As we continue our effort to keep you up-to-date on how money corrupts American government and politics, BillMoyers.com is pleased to publish this daily digest of money and politics news compiled and edited by Adam Smith of the non-partisan campaign finance reform group, Every Voice.
Here is a sentence I never expected to write: Donald Trump announced his presidential bid yesterday and criticized the influence of lobbyists in Washington. Specifically, he said politicians are “controlled fully — they’re controlled fully by the lobbyists, by the donors, and by the special interests, fully.”
Campaign Finance/Elections
Wall Street Journal: Speech Police, the First Amendment and ‘Dark’ Money –> Nice letters to the editor from Campaign Legal Center Founding President Trevor Potter and Harvard professor and former Solicitor General Charles Fried responding to the paper’s silly “speech police” editorial.
Salem News: Make this go viral: Dear Mr. President –> Letter in Massachusetts from Brian Watson: “Specifically, we request that you issue an executive order that will require all federal contractors to disclose their political spending. That spending would include all contributions — including those now legally hidden — to officials in the executive or congressional branches. It would also include all lobbying of the two branches.”
The Annenberg Public Policy Center has released a new report on “Democratizing the Debates,” with suggestions “to increase the value and viewership of presidential general election debate.”
Huffington Post: Maine Leading the Way on Government of, for and by the People –> Nice piece from the Brennan Center’s Benjamin Brickner on Maine Clean Elections and the ballot initiative to strengthen the system: “Maine is… providing a model for how states can push back against big money in elections without waiting for a divided and dysfunctional Congress to act.”
The Big Picture: How Big Money is Undermining Voting Rights –> Thom Hartmann spoke with Free Speech for People’s John Bonifaz about voting rights and money in politics being two sides of the same coin.
Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama’s campaign finance laws get stronger –> In Republican-controlled Alabama, strengthened reporting and enforcement of campaign finance laws: “The state’s campaign finance reform laws have been enhanced and clarified, which is one action of the Legislature worth celebrating.”
Congress/Admin/2016
AP: Johnson won’t respond to Feingold’s pledge request until more details emerge about PAC –> This is the silliest cop out from a senator I’ve seen in a while: Sen. Johnson won’t respond to Russ Feingold’s outside spending pledge until there are “more details” about Feingold’s PAC spending when there are literally no more details to be found (and the two stories are completely unrelated).
National Journal: Facebook the Vote –> Interesting Shane Goldmacher story on Facebook and political advertising: “That unprecedented combination is inching campaigns closer to the Holy Grail of political advertising: the emotional impact of television delivered at an almost atomized, individual level. It makes the old talk of micro-targeting soccer moms and NASCAR dads sound quaint.”
Huffington Post: Jeb Bush’s Declaration Leaves A Few GOP Candidates In Fundraising Gray Area –> “With his official entrance into the race, only a handful of prospective candidates continue to operate in the fundraising grey area Bush just exited. Chief among them is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R).”
New York Times: Pope’s Views on Climate Change Add Pressure to Catholic Candidates –> With the Pope’s encyclical on climate change due out tomorrow, this story notes one issue weighing on candidates Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio: “Both of their campaigns have courted influential and deep-pocketed donors, such as the billionaire brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch, who vehemently oppose such climate policies.”
Mother Jones: Marco Rubio Says Koch World Doesn’t Want Anything From Washington. Really? –> And speaking of the Kochs: They like to say they don’t want anything out of Washington, but, “Liberal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has released a study listing at least 22 companies in the Koch network that hired a registered lobbyist in 2014. Some of these companies spent significant sums on lobbying.” Full report.
Mitt Romney’s finance chair Spencer Zwick will be chairman of GOP oppo group America Rising PAC.
Wall Street Journal: Carly for America? Bad. CARLY for America? Fine. –> The FEC has very particular rules for naming PACs. If only they’d take action on everything else.
National Journal: Jeb Bush, Official Presidential Candidate, Begins His Bid to Lock Up New Hampshire –> “Bush said the US has ‘the strangest’ tax code he’s seen, and said he would gladly do battle with ‘lobbyists in Washington’ fighting to protect certain exemptions.”
Wall Street Journal: Candidates Accept Lobbyists’ Help Despite Tough Talk –> “Despite tough talk from presidential candidates of both parties on the stump who say special interests play a corrosive role in politics, they’re doing little to stop lobbyists from getting involved in the 2016 race.”
Bloomberg: SEC Chair’s Conflicts Fuel Sympathy for Wall Street, Group Says –> A new report from Rootstrikers “said US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White let her longstanding ties to Wall Street skew her ability to police the finance industry, adding to the litany of complaints by left-leaning groups about her tenure.”
Washington Post: Jim Webb: ‘I don’t want a Super PAC’ –> Sen. Jim Webb is still deciding whether to run for president but he knows one thing: “I don’t want a super PAC… I wouldn’t cooperate with one; it violates my sense of how the government system ought to work.”
NJ Advance: Menendez bribery trial stays in New Jersey, judge rules –> “A federal judge on Tuesday turned back US Sen. Robert Menendez’s attempt to move his political corruption trial to Washington, DC, noting that New Jersey is the senator’s ‘long-time home state and political base.'” CNN.
OpenSecrets: PhRMA companies push hard on House bill to ease testing of new drugs –> “Pharmaceutical interests are pushing hard in favor of a bill that could speed up Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of new drugs. But the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, which was approved last month by the the House Energy and Commerce Committee (the members of which have all sponsored the bill) and could reach the House floor by the end of June, has some health advocates up in arms.”
Washington Post: Coalitions of the willing are latest lobbying trend –> “Its creation, and clout, highlight how many of Washington’s biggest legislative and regulatory battles are now fought — via coalitions of the like-minded, at least on issues of convenience. These coalitions also serve as lucrative vehicles for K Street to do business.”
The Hill: Watchdog calls for ethics investigation of embattled NH lawmaker –> “A watchdog group is calling for a congressional ethics investigation into the financial disclosures of embattled Rep. Frank Guinta after he settled with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on campaign finance violations.”
OpenSecrets: New super PAC’s treasurer under indictment for tax evasion –> Buyer beware!
Poynter: Bloomberg launches campaign finance reporting team –> Nice: “Bloomberg is creating a team within its Washington, DC bureau dedicated to reporting on campaign finance and lobbying practices, Poynter has learned.”
Other/States
The Nation: Thousands of Voters Are Disenfranchised by North Carolina’s Voting Restrictions –> A new report from Democracy North Carolina finds the legislature and Gov. McCrory achieved their goal with new voting restrictions: “…There were lengthy lines and confusion at many polling places, and longtime voters were turned away from the polls.” And this story, “When the free ID isn’t free” is worth a read.
Los Angeles Times: Garcetti attended DC fundraiser as LA braced for Ezell Ford ruling –> But he also had a fundraiser: “As Los Angeles braced for a ruling last week in the high-profile police shooting of a mentally ill black man, Mayor Eric Garcetti hopped on a plane to the nation’s capital, saying he needed to talk to White House officials about community policing and funding for homelessness programs.”
To read more go to everyvoice.org.
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