Month: May 2011

-Democratic Governors Association:

Stop Vote Suppression!

Now that they control a majority of statehouses across the nation, Republicans are attempting a bold power grab to disenfranchise voters and repeat the Florida election debacle of 2000.

Right now, states with Republican governors or new GOP majorities are ramming through bills designed to make it harder for people to vote.

They'll stop at nothing to steal the Presidency.

We have to act now to stop these bills from becoming law. The Democratic Governors Association is the only organization devoted solely to electing Democratic governors who will veto any and all attempts to limit voter rights. Use the form at the right to stand with the DGA and demand that Republicans stop their politically-motivated attempts to suppress votes.

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Clarence Thomas wants a fight about his lying to the American people. So let's give it to him.

Here are the facts. Thomas' wife earned $700,000 from half the radical right-wing ideologues in Washington. Opposing health care reform was her specialty.

For 13 years, Clarence Thomas didn't disclose a penny of that income, even though he was legally and ethically obligated.

Thomas is trying to conceal a blatant conflict of interest. His family is getting rich off an issue that's very likely to come before the Supreme Court.

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May 17, 2011- AUGUSTA, Ga. – Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas opened up to an audience of attorneys in his home state of Georgia on Tuesday, comparing critics of the bench to die-hard sports fans and wondering aloud whether they suffer from a "disease of illiteracy or laziness."

Thomas, who was born in nearby Pin Point, told the Augusta Bar Association that the downward spiral of public discourse from people who are "drunk on their own opinions" must come to an end.

"You don't just keep nagging and nagging and nagging. At some point it's got to stop. Sometimes, too much is too much," he said. "I think we are reaching the point where we are beginning to undermine the integrity of the law we're going to need."

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May 17, 2011- If you are a Stephen Colbert fan you likely know that he is attempting to start the Colbert Super PAC in an effort to showcase the inanity of the FEC's campaign finance regulations.

Or in his words so that "the Colbert Nation could have a voice, in the form of my voice, shouted through a megaphone made of cash…the American dream. And that dream is simple. That anyone, no matter who they are, if they are determined, if they are willing to work hard enough, someday they could grow up to create a legal entity which could then receive unlimited corporate funds, which could be used to influence our elections."

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May 17, 2011- Republican officials beware! Two good-government groups are warning that GOP politicians will be violating federal law if they solicit unlimited contributions for the newly-minted "Republican Super PAC."

The new fundraising group is the brainchild of James Bopp Jr., a lawyer and Republican National Committee member who can take some credit for the "Citizens United" Supreme Court ruling last year that wiped out most of the post-Watergate campaign finance reform regulations.

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May 16, 2011- Attorney James Bopp Jr. spent much of the last two years trying to get rid of the ban preventing federal officials from raising unlimited contributions, or so-called “soft money.”

Now, he may have found a way around it.

Bopp and two other Republican National Committee members last week organized an independent political group called the Republican Super PAC, which will encourage state and federal candidates to direct any campaign cash the politicians can’t accept, such as unlimited donations, to the new Super PAC, which can accept them.

The new twist Bopp would usher in would be to turn federal and state elected officials essentially into his bundlers and fundraisers, lawmakers who would then solicit donations intentionally aimed at circumventing campaign finance regulations.

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A group argued that a state law hampers their free speech by chilling corporate giving. The appellate court disagreed.

May 16, 2011- By a 2-1 vote, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Monday sided with a federal judge in allowing a state campaign finance law to require corporations to disclose when they spend money to support or defeat a candidate.

The three-judge panel also said it was unlikely that a group arguing that such requirements are unconstitutional would prevail in their lawsuit.

The result of the Appeals Court decision is that the restrictions and requirements present in state law will continue.

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May 11, 2011- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has been busy with the veto pen this session, and the legislature has given him cause to use it again.

A bill requiring citizens to produce government-issued photo identification at the polls would create barriers for thousands of elderly and disabled Missourians, college students and minorities. Now is the time to stop it.

A supposed sweetener in the bill — the introduction of convenient advance voting in Missouri — is a red herring. Early voting would be subject to annual funding by the legislature and governor. The chances of finding money in a cash-strapped budget anytime soon are slim.

The odds of the GOP-dominated legislature scraping up funds to initiate the photo ID requirement are much better, given the current pressure to do so from national Republican-leaning interest groups.

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Applauds IRS Initiative to Enforce Gift Tax of Fraudulent Non-Profits

Announcement Comes Months After Campaign Accountability Watch Sends Letter on Issue to AG Holder

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Campaign Accountability Watch (CAW), a watchdog at the forefront in the battle against secret campaign contributions, today applauded the IRS for announcing it will seek payment of a gift tax of 35% for donations made to non-profit organizations involved in electoral campaigns. CAW called it a good "first step" to reigning in these organizations.

CAW sent a letter on October 25, 2010 to Attorney General Holder seeking a special prosecutor for the misuse of non-profit organizations to hide the source of electoral donations.

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