By Peg Perl* Today is the sixth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The electorate has survived three election cycles of being bombarded by advertising funded by almost unlimited amounts of outside group spending in candidate races from local school board to President of the United States, most of it minimally disclosed—if at all. Yet, the major political parties are arguing publicly that they—not the voters—are the true victims of …
10th Circuit: Do Voters Really Need Political Spending Disclosure?
By Peg Perl* Over the last 10 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly struck down campaign finance spending bans and contribution limits while keeping disclosure requirements intact. According to the Brennan Center, the Roberts Court has invalidated six different major provisions in federal and state laws and “significantly reshaped the legal landscape dictating how much big money can flow into political races.” However, even the Citizens United case almost unanimously (8-1) …
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Thinking About an Agenda for a New Supreme Court, Part I
By Mark Tushnet Suppose that a Democratic president makes a “relevant” appointment to the Supreme Court – that is, a replacement for one of the Court’s conservative justices (among whom I include Justice Kennedy). What can progressive scholars and activists say about the new Court’s agenda? Some immediate qualifications: You shouldn’t think that the President will name and the Senate confirm someone who has exactly the agenda you’d like. The pool of potential nominees is already mostly set, …
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Campaign Finance Reform Defeated (Twice)
By Tom Watts Today, the Senate rejected a constitutional amendment that would have reversed many of the Supreme Court’s campaign finance decisions, most notably Citizens United. Combine this with the defeat of the lone Republican candidate for Senate who supported campaign finance reform and was backed by the Mayday SuperPAC, and the past couple days have not been good for campaign finance reform. This should come as no surprise: as I have recently argued, campaign finance reform is a dead end. …
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