From Buzzfeed: “I think for a lot of companies that have broad consumer bases and that have spent billions on a brand that people really like, to then go and throw a couple thousand dollars at a political issue is, well, stupid. And so not surprisingly you don’t see many of them doing it,” said [...]
CCP Experts Talk Ricketts and Big Donations
Published on May 21, 2012
Filed Under: Blog, In the News
Edwards Jury Instructions Defy Supreme Court Ruling
Published on May 21, 2012
DATELINE: Monday, May 21, 2012 CONTACT: Sarah Lee, Communications Director, Center for Competitive Politics, 770.598.7961 Edwards Jury Instructions Defy Supreme Court Ruling The Center for Competitive Politics (CCP) today harshly criticized the final juror instructions, issued Friday, in the trial of former president candidate John Edwards. “If Edwards goes to prison, we will have an Alice in [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Faulty Assumptions, Featured Content, Press Releases, John Edwards, Jury instructions, Mellon, North Carolina
The Changing Rhetoric of Campaign Finance — Illinois Democrats Offer Innovative Campaign Freedom Measure
Published on May 17, 2012
Illinois Democrats have an interesting proposal to “level the playing field” with independent expenditure committees. A Federal Court recently applied the SpeechNow.org logic to allow independent expenditure committees to speak out in Illinois statewide and legislative campaigns. This has caused a reaction in the Illinois General Assembly. From the Chicago Tribune: House Majority Leader Barbara [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Contributions & Limits, Featured Content, In the News, Super PACs, campaign finance reform, Chicago, Contribution limits, Illinois
Federal Court Strikes Down Three Montana “Clean” Election Laws
Published on May 17, 2012
United States District Court for the District of Montana Judge Charles Lovell yesterday struck down three state laws that violated First Amendment rights to political speech: a ban on corporate donations to independent expenditure PACs; a political-civil libel statute; and a vote reporting disclaimer requirement. “This ruling is a solid win for the First Amendment,” [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Featured Content, First Amendment, Independent Speech, Super PACs, corporate contributions, free speech, Montana, District Of Columbia, Montana
The Bizarre Common Cause Lawsuit
Published on May 17, 2012
Common Cause has filed a lawsuit in a bizarre attempt to end the Senate practice of filibustering. The pro-regulation group partnered with Democratic Representatives John Lewis and Hank Johnson of Georgia, Michael Michaud of Maine and Keith Ellison of Minnesota, as well as three DREAM Act students as plaintiffs in the case. Common Cause is [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Disclosure, Featured Content, Uncategorized, District Of Columbia, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota
Shareholders can continue to speak for themselves
Published on May 16, 2012
There have been a number of stories hitting the news cycle concerning an activist group called Change to Win — who most recently, according to this Wall Street Journal piece, actively sang about successfully bullying of businesses into dropping their support of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Now, according to the WSJ, they are [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Citizens United, Disclosure, Featured Content, Uncategorized, free speech, ISS, proxy season, shareholder votes, WellPoint, District Of Columbia
Keating on Edwards Trial
Published on May 14, 2012
CCP President David Keating was on ABC News this weekend discussing the John Edwards trial:
Filed Under: Blog, In the News
Outside Spending and Incumbency in Indiana
Published on May 9, 2012
Fox News reported that Senator Dick Lugar R-IN, lost his renomination bid after 35 years in office. Lugar is expected to be one of a very few incumbent senators to lose his primary bid, according to the article, having been defeated by Tea Party challenger Richard Mourdock. According to Fox: “Lugar’s campaign spent $6.7 million [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Super PACs, Indiana, Lugar, super PACs
The Ubiquitous Corporations Targeted by The People’s Rights Amendment
Published on May 9, 2012
The stupid idea de jour is brought to us today in the form of the People’s Rights Amendment, courtesy of Congressman Jim McGovern. Catering to the wacky paranoia of the Occupy movement and (less likely) his Massachusetts constituents, McGovern seeks to deny constitutional rights to any corporation, for profit, nonprofit, tribal, foreign, sole proprietorship – you [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Citizens United, Featured Content, First Amendment, corporations, free speech, McGovern, People's Rights Amendment, District Of Columbia