Category Archives: campaigns

“Let’s have an honest debate on the debates”

June 18, 2015, 8:14 pmcampaigns, third partiesRick Hasen

Larry Diamond and David King in The Hill. Political debates matter. They can alter the course of a campaign, propel a candidate or an idea, and provide voters an unfiltered window into how potential leaders handle tough situations. For the… Continue reading

“Presidential candidates defy campaign finance limits through well-funded outside groups”

June 18, 2015, 8:49 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

AP: Republican Jeb Bush and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton are asking donors to write the checks to get their campaigns started. Yet these “new” candidates have been fueling their presidential ambitions for months — years, in Clinton’s case — thanks… Continue reading

The Astroturf Presidential Campaign

June 18, 2015, 8:44 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Donald Trump Campaign Offered Actors $50 to Cheer for Him at Presidential Announcement.

Murphy: Super PAC Donors are “Killers;” Cannot Coordinate “Any More” with Jeb! But “Well-Informed” as of Last Week

June 17, 2015, 3:14 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Mike Murphy on the crashed Right to Rise super pac conference call: “So I can tell you, we are excited,” Murphy continued. “And, just keep doing what you’re doing. And I keep coming back to this pitch, because, like any… Continue reading

“Bipartisan Group Urges Overhaul of General Election Debates”

June 17, 2015, 9:36 amcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT on an Annenbeg-led effort that seems quite sensible. Anita Dunn and Beth Myers co-chair, and Bauer and Ginsberg have a hand too.

“Pillar of Law Institute Files Brief in Washington Free Speech Case”

June 17, 2015, 7:49 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Release: The Pillar of Law Institute filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the United States Supreme Court today in the case Utter v. Building Industry Association of Washington(BIAW), urging the Court to hear the case and reinforce free speech protections… Continue reading

“CLC Blog: Charles Fried and Trevor Potter Respond to Wall Street Journal Editorial Attacking CLC’s Work”

June 16, 2015, 7:01 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Here.

Right to Rise PAC Disclaimers Buried in Jeb Bush Campaign Page Source Code [corrected]

June 16, 2015, 6:58 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

What? Correction: The disclaimers actually appear to be for Bush’s leadership PAC, not the super PAC. Why the confusion? Note the similarity in the names: Leadership: http://righttorisepac.org/ Super: https://righttorisesuperpac.org/ Note: the original headline said it was code related to… Continue reading

Whose party is it anyway?

June 16, 2015, 1:43 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, election law and constitutional law, political parties, UncategorizedCampaign finance, political parties, shadow partiesHeather Gerken

Coauthored with Joseph Fishkin, University of Texas Law School In yesterday’s post, we described how major functions once performed by official party organizations are migrating instead to what we call shadow parties—groups situated outside the official party apparatus, but clearly… Continue reading

“No ‘Sharp Warning’ From Recent Coordination Case”

June 16, 2015, 12:07 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Steve Klein blogs.

“What Happens to Surplus Super PAC Money?”

June 15, 2015, 7:05 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT’s Taking Note ed blog.

NJ Legislators Will Try Another Bill to Make Voting Easier

June 15, 2015, 2:25 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Putting Gov. Christie in position to veto?

“The Outlaw Candidate”

June 15, 2015, 2:22 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Larry Noble on Jeb Bush for U.S. News.

“Russ Feingold’s PAC funded fees, salaries for former staffers, himself”

June 15, 2015, 1:07 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Must-read Daniel Bice: Former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold — long a champion of campaign finance reform — founded a political action committee that has given a mere 5% of its income to federal candidates and political parties. Instead, nearly half… Continue reading