Category Archives: political parties

“Maine Democrats middlemen for wealthy donors and national party”

January 7, 2016, 10:21 amcampaign finance, campaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

Maine Sun Journal: A Cuban-born sugar tycoon. A California-based registered foreign agent for the government of Sri Lanka. A Chicago billionaire. All are recent large donors to the Maine Democratic Party via a complex fundraising strategy called the Hillary Victory… Continue reading

Trump Virginia Loyalty Pledge Case Looks Weak

January 7, 2016, 10:18 amcampaigns, political parties, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

WaPo: Three African American pastors who support Donald Trump filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday over a requirement that GOP primary voters sign a statement affirming that they are Republicans — a plan the presidential front-runner has condemned. The plaintiffs say… Continue reading

“Supporters Seek to Persuade Democrats to ‘Ditch and Switch’ for Donald Trump”

January 6, 2016, 8:21 amcampaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

NYT: At a campaign event for Donald J. Trump in Mississippi last weekend, Lynette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson — two African-American YouTube stars who go by the names Diamond and Silk — rallied the roaring crowd with a plea.… Continue reading

“How Campaign Finance Reform Contributed to Polarization”

January 5, 2016, 7:28 amcampaign finance, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Seth Masket reviews LaRaja and Schaffner’s new book.

“Trump’s Va. campaign threatens legal action against state GOP”

December 31, 2015, 8:46 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Here we go.

No Wonder Donald Trump Opposes Va Loyalty Oath

December 31, 2015, 8:29 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

A few days ago, Donald Trump tweeted against Virginia’s loyalty oath: “It begins, Republican Party of Virginia, controlled by the RNC, is working hard to disallow independent, unaffiliated and new voters. BAD!” Well this new analysis from Nate Cohn of… Continue reading

“The Consequences of California’s Top-Two Primary”

December 31, 2015, 8:09 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

The Atlantic: One of the immediate impacts of the top-two primary was that it had inadvertently created an incentive for candidates to broaden the field, recruiting additional candidates to dilute support for their most dangerous opponents. This became evident… Continue reading

David Frum on Republican Voter Suppression and Gerrymandering as Political Strategy

December 30, 2015, 10:07 ampolitical parties, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

@PeterBeinart and @DavidFrum both have excellent political articles in the upcoming issue of The Atlantic. Beinart’s pieces deal with the U.S. moving left, thanks in large part to demographic change and changing attitudes of millennials. (More on the… Continue reading

“Prominent Lawyer Outlines Nightmare Situations for G.O.P. Convention”

December 30, 2015, 9:14 ampolitical partiesRick Hasen

NYT: Mr. Ginsberg outlined two events that would leave Republican leaders scrambling to sort out who will represent the party in the general election: a “clear cluster” and a “party buster.” In the first case, several candidates would be hundreds… Continue reading

“These four reasons explain why bipartisanship is breaking out all over. Will it last?”

December 17, 2015, 11:07 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Must-read Sarah Binder.

“Unorthodox Lawmaking, Unorthodox Rulemaking”

December 16, 2015, 9:19 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Gluck, O’Connell, and Po have posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Columbia Law Review). Here is the abstract: The Schoolhouse Rock! cartoon version of the conventional legislative process is dead, if it was ever an accurate description in the first… Continue reading

“Legislative Dysfunction and Political Accountability”

December 16, 2015, 9:17 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Edward Stiglitz has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The inability of members of Congress to agree on legislation is arguably generating a slow motion crisis in our separation of powers system. Some legislative disagreements reflect genuine… Continue reading

BIG: Campaign Finance Disclosure Efforts Dealt Severe Blow in Omnibus

December 16, 2015, 7:58 amcampaign finance, political parties, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

While campaign finance reformers were busy fighting off an attempt by Sen. McConnell to include a rider in the omnibus which would allow for unlimited coordinated party spending with candidates, three other very bad campaign finance provisions slipped into the… Continue reading