Category Archives: campaigns

“The McCain-Feingold Act May Doom Itself”

August 16, 2015, 9:04 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, political parties, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this oped for the National Law Journal. It begins: Did the congressional drafters of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law build within it the seeds for its own destruction? Tucked within the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (the formal… Continue reading

“Pro-Bush super PAC spending $10M-plus on initial TV campaign”

August 16, 2015, 4:58 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

AP reports.

“Pro-Republican ads funded by group with untraceable donors”

August 14, 2015, 8:55 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

AP: Opportunity News Media wants you to know it’s OK to be a Republican, and it is spending $3 million to say so in the presidential battleground states of Ohio and Colorado. Where that money comes from is anybody’s… Continue reading

“The Strangest Campaign Pledge; Why it makes sense to support a candidate who vows to straighten out democracy and then quit.”

August 13, 2015, 10:18 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Eric Posner on Lessig at Slate: So there is a mismatch between Lessig’s means—a dramatic run for office as an unprecedented “referendum president” who resigns as soon as his mandate is legislated—and his goal, which is at best incremental reform.… Continue reading

“Texas House Battleground Could Hinge on Voter-ID Law in Flux”

August 13, 2015, 8:27 amcampaigns, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

National Journal reports.

“Former lawmakers sit on tens of millions in campaign cash”

August 13, 2015, 7:43 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

USA Today: At least 141 former members of Congress retain campaign accounts containing a total of more than $46 million, a USA TODAY analysis found. Twenty are linked to campaign committees with more than $500,000 each. Nearly one-third of the… Continue reading

“Jeb Bush Super PAC Donors Also Spend Big To Influence Washington”

August 13, 2015, 7:42 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Paul Blumenthal reports for HuffPo.

“Campaign Finance Reform PAC Wants to Be a Player in 2016”

August 13, 2015, 7:32 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Roll Call reports.

“When Does a Candidate Become a Candidate?”

August 13, 2015, 7:30 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Brad Smith for the Daily Caller: CLC wants the FEC to undertake a “fact-based” investigation to determine the moment that Jeb Bush and others became “actual” candidates, or began “testing the waters.” If that approach were the law, there would… Continue reading

“Conservatives Beware: The Speech Police Are Coming For You”

August 13, 2015, 7:25 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Paul Jossey writes for The Federalist.

McCaskill Spokeswoman Says Allegation of Illegal Coordinating “Dumb”

August 12, 2015, 3:27 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Dave Helling: A McCaskill spokeswoman said any allegation of impropriety is dumb. “A candidate is always free to give another candidate advice,” she wrote. I don’t think it’s that simple.

Did Claire McCaskill Illegally Coordinate with Todd Akin’s Campaign?

August 12, 2015, 9:06 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

In an earlier post, I described how Sen. Claire McCaskill’s Politico oped shows how it is possible to get outside groups to follow your lead without breaking the coordination rules. The post was a response to a tweet by… Continue reading

Quote of the Day–@Lessig Edition

August 12, 2015, 7:31 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

“Ideally, I would resign in a day.” –Larry Lessig, quoted in Politico, Dissent in Bernie Sanders’ camp; The candidacy of Sanders adviser Larry Lessig could complicate matters.

How Candidates Get Outside Groups to Help Without Coordinating

August 12, 2015, 7:24 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Sen. Claire McCaskill on her strategy to boost Akin in the Republican primaries: My consultants put together a $1.7 million plan. Four weeks out we would begin with a television ad boosting Akin, which my campaign consultant Mike Muir dubbed… Continue reading