Common Cause
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PRIMARY 7 26 COURT WIN VITER SUPPRESS
zoom 7 25 grassroots@commoncause .org
10 calls in a day on one issue will go to cos
12/21 briaN Carr says chan is new legis dir
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jayapal says law prevents her to ask CC to endorse hjr 48
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endorse schiff bill
ep 2 IRS investigated CC for looking at CREEP, secret window; richard scaife, ambassadors
lever master plan ep 4
MASTER PLAN, Ep 4: The Task Force That Took Over America
gerry ford disney mtg
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an 7 26
Trump just lost his 19th straight judicial case in an attempt to obtain state voter roles, continuing his failed track record of being rejected by courts when attempting to suppress voters.
“[Department of Justice] loses for the 19th time in efforts to obtain state voter rolls, this time in Colorado, courtesy [sic] of Judge Philip Brimmer, a George W. Bush appointee,” Politico’s Kyle Cheney posted on X on Tuesday.
In the case itself, Judge Brimmer declared that Trump’s administration has no legal authority to supersede the states and try to purge voters from the rolls.
“The authorities cited by the United States do not support its position,” Brimmer wrote on Monday, citing cases including Jud. Watch, Inc. v. Lamone in 2019, State of Ala. ex rel. Gallion v. Rogers in 1960 and Dinkens v. Att'y Gen. of U.S. in 1961.
“In order to state a claim for violation of” existing laws, Brimmer added, “the United States must allege that it requested a ‘record or paper required by section 20701.’” Yet “because the Court finds that Colorado's SVRL is not a record or paper that must be produced pursuant to” existing statues, the court denied Trump’s claim.
“Accordingly, the Court will grant the motions to dismiss of the Secretary, the Common Cause Intervenors, and the Alliance Intervenors, and deny the United States' motion to compel, and dismiss its claims,” Brimmer concluded.
Adam Klasfield, editor-in-chief of All Rise News, posted on X that this is an ironic loss for Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general who was just cleared by the Senate Judiciary Committee for possible confirmation to be full-time attorney general.
“On the day he clears Committee, reports emerge that Todd Blanche lost his 19th consecutive lawsuit seeking sensitive voter data,” Klasfield wrote. “Blanche has no victories in these cases. (Edited post: The ruling was dated Monday, first reported today.)”
Speaking with AlterNet in June, Senior Policy Director for Voting and Fair Representation at Common Cause Dan Vicuña argued that Trump’s various so-called voter reform efforts — including seeking states’ voter rolls — are all part of an effort to steal the midterms.
“What they all add up to is a desire to avoid any accountability to the voters in the midterm elections — to ensure, to preordain the outcome of a midterm that he thinks is going to go badly for him,” Vicuña told AlterNet. “We know, from the Big Lie of the 2020 election to spurring on a violent revolt to overthrow a free and fair election, that he has no respect for democratic norms, for the voice of the people.
This is entirely about his own power and his own ego. He will even invest in protecting that ego and protecting his power at the expense of the needs of the public. People are suffering with high gas prices and affordability issues, and he does not care. All that matters is protecting his power, and he has no interest in whether he does that through democratic means.”
He continued, “I think this all adds up to a desire to ensure that his party stays in power and his ability to do what he wants — to attack vulnerable communities — remains intact.”
As for the attempts to nationalize elections, Vicuña added that the efforts are likely illegal.
“I think some of these attempts to federalize, to nationalize elections are clearly illegal,” Vicuña explained. “You've seen some of that overreach already struck down — attempts to order independent agencies to force a strict voter ID requirement on people. That has been rejected.
Common Cause is in court challenging the latest executive order to turn the United States Postal Service into some election administration agency and to create a further bureaucratic layer to make it more difficult to vote by mail. In terms of the president's authority to order around USPS, it's illegal. In terms of USPS's authority to become some sort of national election administration agency, it far exceeds the legal authority that Congress gave to the postal service. The statute describing what kind of work the postal service would do is about postal service work — processing mail and selling stamps. It has nothing to do with election administration.”
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https://www.commoncause.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ALEC-anti-voter-letter.pdf
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:{June 14, 2021 We are writing to urge you to cease your association with, and end your funding of, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) based on its active efforts to restrict the American people’s freedom to vote and spread lies about the integrity of our elections to undermine American democracy. Faced with public outrage over legislation that creates barriers to voting rights enacted or proposed in more than 47 states , and the bills’ disproportionate impact on people of color, young people, and the elderly, hundreds of companies have publicly denounced any discriminatory legislation that makes it harder for people to vote. ii Perhaps your company is one of them. Nonetheless, your participation in ALEC serves to promote and legitimize the group’s anti-democratic efforts to create more barriers to voting.
Despite claiming it would stop working on electoral issues in 2012, ALEC has reengaged on highly controversial policies related to elections and redistricting in recent years, perhaps without your company’s knowledge. In 2019, ALEC created a secret working group on redistricting, ballot measures, and election law, known as the “ALEC Political Process Working Group.” iii The group is led in part by Cleta Mitchell, a controversial attorney who has spread disinformation about the results of the 2020 election and served as a legal advisor to former President Trump as he secretly pushed election officials in Georgia to overturn the results of a free and fair election.iv Another leader of ALEC’s secret working group is Arizona state Representative Shawnna Bolick, who recently proposed a bill to allow the state legislature to overturn the results of a presidential election.v}:
ALEC’s own CEO, Lisa Nelson, said in February 2020 that ALEC was already working with state legislators on efforts to challenge the 2020 election results and “question the validity of an election.”vi Nelson’s comments were made nine months before the election even took place. Then, in June 2020, ALEC held an exclusive call for its members on the topic of mail-in voting featuring the Honest Elections Projectvii, a group that pushes voter restriction laws and which spread disinformation about the integrity of mail-in voting during the 2020 election.viii But ALEC’s spread of disinformation about voting pre-dates the 2020 election cycle. In 2017, ALEC hosted a panel featuring three members of former President Trump’s disbanded and discredited election integrity commission (Hans von Spakowsky, J. Christian Adams, and Christy McCormick), where they made unfounded claims of voter fraud and pushed for legislation to restrict the right to vote.ix
Make no mistake, ALEC and its allies’ involvement in spreading disinformation about voting and undermining the integrity of our elections led to the violent insurrection we witnessed on January 6th at the U.S. Capitol. And now your company’s funding and support of ALEC is being used to pass new Jim Crow-style anti-voter laws at the state level and block federal voting reform from passing in Congress. In March 2021, ALEC held a briefing with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), one of the leading proponents to reject the results of the 2020 election, on a strategy to oppose a bill expanding access to the ballot box in Congress and support the national campaign to restrict voting rights at the state level.x U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has also recently said that he has “been speaking to legislators through ALEC” about election and voting-related policies.xi
2 2
In an internal memo, Heritage Action, an advocacy group leading the effort to pass voting restrictions at the state level, recently wrote that ALEC would be a key policy and lobbying partner in their multi-year campaign to push anti-voter laws, many of which specifically target and limit voting access for people of color, young people, and the elderly.xii One report has identified more than 100 state legislators connected to ALEC that are lead sponsors or co-sponsors of bills that limit voting access in Georgia, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas in 2021 alone.xiii In addition to restricting the freedom to vote, ALEC has also been actively promoting partisan gerrymandering strategies, despite the group’s nonpartisan, tax-exempt status. The public has little information about ALEC’s secret working group on elections, but in October 2019 Slate obtained an audio recording, documenting that ALEC was instructing state legislators how to gerrymander districts that benefit themselves and obscure the public’s access and knowledge about their work.xiv According to the Texas Observer, speakers at a 2019 ALEC conference encouraged legislators to throw away notes and avoid saying things in email on redistricting that they do not want the public to see, further undermining transparency in the redistricting process.xv
The Heritage Foundation’s Hans von Spakovsky -- a frequent speaker at ALEC conferences who has been described as a “polarizing figure in voting rights circles” by The Washington Postxvi for his work that has “led to disenfranchisement among poor and minority groups” -- encouraged legislators to use “citizen voting age population” in redistricting to skew the process to help Republicans win elections. This partisan admission is similar to that of Thomas Hofeller, the longtime Republican redistricting operative responsible for drawing many of the GOP-favored gerrymandered maps from the last few decades. Hofeller urged the use of citizen voting age population so redistricting would be “advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites.”xvii Also in 2019, ALEC filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court defending the Virginia legislature’s racial gerrymanders, which were ultimately struck down as unconstitutional.xviii And in 2018, ALEC adopted a “model” resolution stating that redistricting powers should remain with partisan politicians and the courts should not be able to provide relief to voters who have been discriminatorily gerrymandered.xix
Your continued financial support of ALEC is an active endorsement of these efforts to create more barriers to the freedom to vote and weaken representation for the American people in government. Intended or not, the money your company is contributing to ALEC helps fund this modern Jim Crow effort. Since its founding, ALEC has had a long history of pushing anti-voter and anti-democratic laws that limit the people’s ability to participate in our democracy. One of ALEC’s first leaders, Paul Weyrich, famously said: “I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people. They never have been from the beginning of our country, and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down."xx In 2012, after facing backlash for advocating for legislation that would restrict voting rights, particularly for people of color, ALEC told its members, donors, and the public it would no longer work on electoral issues and disbanded its “Public Safety and Elections Task Force.”xxi
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Now, ALEC has broken that promise. Apparently having forgotten their lesson, ALEC has rejoined the ranks of
hyper-partisan organizations perpetuating the “Big Lie” and is actively working to undermine American
democracy and restrict the people’s right to vote.
We, the undersigned organizations, work on a variety of issues and don’t always agree on every policy, but we all
believe in a strong American democracy, where every eligible American is able to exercise their freedom to vote
in free, fair, and safe elections. We believe that building a democracy that works for everyone is going to take all
of us in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors.
At a time when ALEC-backed legislation to undermine the right to vote has provoked unprecedented public and
corporate outrage, we urge your company to immediately cease all funding and sever all ties with ALEC. We also
urge your company to publicly oppose any efforts that create more barriers to voting and undermine confidence in
our democratic institutions.
Sincerely,
National organizations:
A. Philip Randolph Institute
Advancement Project National Office
AFL-CIO
African American Ministers In Action
Alliance for Climate Education
Alliance for Democracy
Alliance for Youth Action
Amalgamated Transit Union International
American Family Voices
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME)
American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
American Friends Service Committee
Andrew Goodman Foundation
Black Voters Matter Fund
Blue Future
Blue Wave Postcard Movement
BOLD ReThink
Build Back Better USA
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Common Ground
Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Media and Democracy
Center for Popular Democracy
Change The Chamber
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
(CREW)
Color Of Change
Common Cause
Common Defense
Communications Workers of America (CWA)
CongressMajority.org
CorpGov.net
DemCast USA
Democracy 21
Democracy Initiative
Democracy Matters
End Citizens United / Let America Vote Action Fund
Equal Citizens
Equal Justice Society
Equality Federation
Fair Fight Action
Feminist Majority Foundation/Ms.
First Affirmative Financial Network
Franciscan Action Network
Greenpeace US
Impact Fund
Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights
Inc.
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
Lambda Legal
Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG)
League of United Latin American Citizens
League of Women Voters of the United States
Lights for Liberty
Missionary Oblates
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Education Association (NEA)
Network for Responsible Public Policy
New American Leaders Action Fund
No Dem Left Behind PAC
Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment
Palestine Legal
People For the American Way
People's Action
Progressive Turnout Project
Public Citizen
Publish What You Pay--United States
Rock the Vote Action Fund
School Sisters of Notre Dame Cooperative Investment
Fund
Scrutineers LLC
Secular Coalition for America
Secure Elections Network
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Sierra Club
Sisters of the Holy Cross
Small Planet Institute
Solidaire Action Fund
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund
Stand Up America
State Innovation Exchange
State Voices
SumOfUs
The Black Heritage Museum & Cultural Center, Inc.
The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus
The Civics Center
The Ethical Capitalism Group
The Workers Circle
Tobaccofree Earth
True North Research
Un-PAC
Union of Concerned Scientists
Unitarian Universalist Association
UnKoch My Campus
ValueEdge Advisors
Vote.org
VoteAmerica
#VOTEPROCHOICE
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
US
Zevin Asset Management
20/20 Vision
44 Virtues
9to5
State and local organizations:
Alabama
Greater Birmingham Ministries
Alaska
Alaska AFL-CIO
Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AKPIRG)
Save Our State
Stand UP Alaska
The Alaska Center Education Fund
Arizona
AFSCME AZ Affiliates
CASE Action FUND
Progress Arizona
The AZ Ground Game
Arizona AFL-CIO
Arkansas
For AR People
Southern Progress Fund
California
California Common Cause
Courage California
East Valley Indivisibles
Equality California
Harrington investments, Inc.
Indivisible San Francisco (ISF)
Indivisible San Jose
Indivisible South Peninsula
Indivisible Ventura
KyotoUSA
Legal Aid at Work
Northridge Indivisible
Peace & Justice Community of St. Cross Episcopal
Church
Positive Women's Network-USA
Venice Resistance......
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citizens united case amicus
Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas have attended these events. (According to Salon, "Thomas claimed he just made "a brief drop-by" at the Koch brothers' January 2008 Palm Springs political retreat to give a talk; in fact he was reimbursed for four days of “transportation, meals and accommodations” by the Federalist Society.[56]"). The attendance of Thomas and Scalia has sparked debate over judicial ethics and the2010Citizens United decision.[57] Common Cause filed a petition with the Justice Department in January 2011 alleging a conflict of interest for these Justices, as David and Charles Koch operate foundations that contribute to political groups, which might benefit from relaxed campaign finance rules. ^[58] Common Cause has also noted that the Cato Institute, which Charles Koch founded, filed an amicus brief in Citizens United opposing campaign finance. ^[59] The Center for Competitive Politics also filed a brief in the case; the Center is headed by Bradley Smith, who is affiliated with the Institute for Humane Studies where Charles Koch is Chair of the board and funder. ^[60] SW ^koch ^ind
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an 6 22 pro publ
The dummied-up flyer bore the hallmarks of a real WANTED poster. A grainy photo of a woman outside an election office in the suburbs of Atlanta stamped with the word “WANTED.” An image of a sheriff’s badge and the phone number for the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office. The implication was clear: The woman was being sought by the local sheriff for voter fraud.
The flyer was fake, and though the sheriff’s office eventually called it out, the false poster went viral, amassing tens of thousands of shares, views and threatening comments on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok and raising fears that harm could come to the unidentified woman.
Stolen-election activists and supporters of former President Donald Trump have embraced a new tactic in their ongoing campaign to unearth supposed proof of fraud in the 2020 presidential race: chasing down a fictional breed of fraudster known as a “ballot mule” and using social media to do it.
Inspired by a conservative documentary film that has won praise from Trump and his allies — and debunking from critics including former Attorney General William Barr — self-styled citizen sleuths are posting and sharing photos of unnamed individuals and accusing them of election crimes. They are calling on their followers to help identify these “ballot mules,” who are accused of having violated laws against dropping off multiple absentee ballots during the 2020 election. A state lawmaker in Arizona has even encouraged people to act as “vigilantes” and catch future “mules.”
Promoting such false information violates the policies of Facebook, Twitter and TikTok. Facebook’s “Community Standards” says its policy is to remove content that incites harassment or violence or impersonates government officials. Twitter and TikTok have similar rules and guidelines for what can and can’t appear on their platforms.
ProPublica identified at least a dozen additional posts on Twitter, Facebook and TikTok that accuse unnamed individuals of being “ballot mules” and engaging in allegedly illegal activity. Some of these posts echo the “WANTED”-style language seen in the Gwinnett County meme, while others include similar calls to action to identify the individuals.
None of the posts reviewed by ProPublica include evidence that any of the people depicted in the posters engaged in illegal activity. Yet the social media companies have reacted slowly or not at all to such posts, some of which clearly violate their policies, experts say.
Disinformation researchers from the nonpartisan clean-government nonprofitCommon Causealerted Facebook and Twitter that the platforms were allowing users to post such incendiary claims in May. Not only did the claims lack evidence that crimes had been committed, but experts worry that poll workers, volunteers and regular voters could face unwarranted harassment or physical harm if they are wrongfully accused of illegal election activity.
So far, there is no sign that any of the people depicted have been identified or suffered any threats.
Emma Steiner, a disinformation analyst with Common Cause who sent warnings to the social-media companies, says the lack of action suggests that tech companies relaxed their efforts to police election-related threats ahead of the 2022 midterms.
“This is the new playbook, and I’m worried that platforms are not prepared to deal with this tactic that encourages dangerous behavior,” Steiner said.
Spokespeople for Facebook and TikTok said they would remove posts flagged by ProPublica for violating their respective community standards policies. A Twitter spokesperson did not comment.
Thirty-one states allow a third party to collect and return an absentee ormail-in balloton behalf of another voter. These laws help voters who are disabled or infirm, live in spread-out rural areas or reside on tribal lands with limited access to polling places or ballot drop boxes. In states with a history of absentee voting, both Democratic and Republican operatives have engaged in organized ballot-collection drives.
Critics, labeling the practice “ballot harvesting,” have sought to restrict its use, warning about the potential for fraud. However, incidents of proven fraud related to ballot collection are extremely rare. A database maintained by the conservative Heritage Foundation identifies just 238 cases of “fraudulent use of absentee ballots” since 1988. One high-profile case of fraud involving absentee ballots occurred in a 2018 North Carolina congressional race. A Republican operativeengaged in a ballot-tampering scheme involving hundreds of ballots. The state election board later threw out the election result and ordered a redo. It was likely the first federal election overturned due to fraud, according to historians and election-law experts.
The phrases “ballot mules” and “ballot trafficking” — with their intentional echoes of the language of drugs and cartels — started to gain traction online in 2021, according to Mike Caulfield, a misinformation researcher at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public. An analysis by Caulfield and his colleagues found that prominent Republicans including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel invoked “ballot trafficking” last spring.
But it wasn’t until conservative provocateur Dinesh D’Souza and a discredited conservative group called True the Vote last fall began to tease findings that would later appear in D’Souza’s movie “2000 Mules” that uses of “ballot trafficking” and “ballot mules” shot up, according to Caulfield’s research.
The “2000 Mules” film claims that a network of thousands of people illegally stuffed ballot boxes in swing states to steal the presidency for Joe Biden. It draws heavily on the work of True the Vote, which purported to use surveillance footage and geolocation data to make its claims of illegal ballot activity.
Numerous fact-checks of the film have cast serious doubt over its central premise. In a deposition with the Jan. 6 select committee, Barr said he found the conclusions of “2000 Mules” far from convincing. “My opinion then and my opinion now,” he said, “is that the election was not stolen by fraud, and I haven’t seen anything since the election that changes my mind on that, including the ‘2000 Mules’ movie.”
D’Souza and True the Vote did not respond to requests for comment.
Despite its flimsy conclusions, “2000 Mules” found an enthusiastic audience in Trump and his supporters. In early May, Trump screened the film at his Mar-a-Lago private club. The film has since earned nearly $1.5 million at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo. In a recent 12-page letter responding to the public hearings organized by the Jan. 6 select committee, Trump cited “2000 Mules” nearly 20 times.
As the film’s dubious claims have spread online, stolen-election activists are creating and sharing online content purporting to reveal more “mules” and accusing those individuals of illegal behavior without actual evidence of wrongdoing.
The most striking example is the meme that depicts an older white woman leaving a ballot drop box in Georgia’s suburban Gwinnett County. The word “WANTED” appears above her head as does the image of a sheriff’s badge labeled “Gwinnett County” and the sheriff office’s phone number.
“Ballot mule,” the meme says. “If you can ID her, call Gwinnett Co. sheriff’s office.”
A spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office says the meme is fake. The sheriff’s office hasn’t received calls purporting to identify the woman. The spokeswoman said that the office was investigating who created the meme.
ProPublica was unable to identify the woman in the “WANTED” meme. A spokesman for the Gwinnett County elections office confirmed that the name tag worn by the woman in the meme matched those worn by county election workers in 2020. He also verified that the drop box in the video was located outside of the county’s election headquarters.
The origins of the woman’s photo in the “WANTED” meme appear to point back to a Georgia businessman and self-described election-fraud investigator named David Cross.
For months Cross has posted short clips of surveillance footage showing people depositing ballots at drop boxes in Gwinnett County. Cross sometimes narrates these videos and makes unverified accusations of illegal ballot harvesting. In a clip that Cross posted online on May 3, an older white woman — the same woman in the “WANTED” meme — deposits multiple ballots into the drop box outside the headquarters for Gwinnett County’s elections office. In his narration, Cross accuses the woman of depositing as many as 35 ballots, though it’s not at all clear from the video exactly how many ballots the woman deposited. “Totally illegal,” he says in the video. (Cross did not respond to requests for comment.)
Georgia law prohibits many third parties from submitting a ballot that’s not their own. However, the law makes exceptions for caregivers for the elderly and the disabled, immediate family members, members of the same household, in-laws, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and more.
Cross, the Georgia activist, has filed complaints with the State Election Board and secretary of state’s office alleging illegal ballot deliveries and citing his surveillance footage clips. Last month, the State Election Board dismissed three complaints alleging “ballot harvesting” after an investigation by the secretary of state’s office found that the alleged “mules” were voters dropping off ballots for themselves and family members.
A spokesman for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told ProPublica that the office has a pending investigation into the woman in the “WANTED” meme. The spokesman, Walter Jones, stressed that no one should assume that an individual shown in a video delivering multiple ballots is automatically guilty of a crime, nor would the ballots in question be invalidated even if someone had violated the state’s ballot-collection law.
The video published by Cross of the woman at the Gwinnett County drop box spread rapidly online. Twitter users accused the woman of being one of the “2000 mules” and urged their followers to “MAKE HER FAMOUS!” — in other words, reveal her identity and share it widely.
One Twitter user shared the woman’s image with the “WANTED” text and the fake Gwinnett County sheriff’s badge. “Once we find out who paid these people the whole story will become clear,” the account wrote. That tweet amassed more than 9,000 retweets and more than 14,000 likes before Twitter removed it.
The “WANTED” post spread across Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. A Facebook group called “Celebrities for Trump” shared it. “We need more if [sic] these,” the post said, referring to the WANTED sign. “Keep your eyes open. Report them all it is a crime.”
Several days after the “WANTED” flyer surfaced and reached a large audience, the Gwinnett County sheriff stated that the post was “false.” Yet despite the post impersonating a law-enforcement agency, social-media companies have been slow to remove it.
While Twitter removed dozens of posts with the “WANTED” sign, ProPublica was able to find instances of it still on the platform.
Disinformation researchers tell ProPublica that they also identified posts accusing people of being ballot mules in other states with laws that restrict third parties from submitting people’s ballots. “Mule right here in PA,” one TikTok post read. “Make this Upper Dublin resident famous #2000Mules #2000MulesDocumentary #2000MulesTheMovie.”
In Arizona, a Republican state senator named Kelly Townsend has encouraged people to camp out at ballot drop boxes and write down license plate numbers of people deemed to be suspicious. “I have been so pleased to hear of all you vigilantes that want to camp out at these drop boxes,” Townsend recently said. “So, do it. Do it.”
Even if “2000 Mules” were accurate — which experts stress it almost certainly is not — the ballot-trafficking theory put forward by the film would not change the result of any election. Rick Hasen, a professor and election-law expert at the University of California, Irvine, says he believes the rigged-election message in “2000 Mules” is just the latest attempt to more broadly lay the groundwork for challenging and overturning the outcome of a future election.
“If you believe the last election was stolen, you’re going to be more likely to take steps to steal the next one back,” Hasen said. “It’s pretty obvious that what’s going on here is using false claims of fraud as a potential pretext to engage in election subversion in 2024 or another future election. That’s very dangerous for American democracy.”
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:{aaron Scherbjoined Common Cause in May 2013 as the director of legislative affairs. In this role, he helps craft and gain support for various good-governance proposals, primarily related to campaign finance reform, voting rights, redistricting reform, and ethics/lobbying reform. Aaron also coordinates advocacy activities with members of Congress and their staff by helping plan and speak at congressional briefings and press conferences. Additionally, he works with key coalition partners to expand support for democracy reforms beyond the “good government” community and manages the Common Cause intern program. From working as a congressional staffer for three-and-a-half years, his knowledge and understanding of the legislative process, as well as his relationships with congressional offices, help advance Common Cause’s legislative goals. Aaron has been quoted or had work cited in the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, Baltimore Sun, Roll Call, The Hill, and other publications. Aaron has recently been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Denver Post,BBC, The Atlantic, and McClatchy.:{}:
}:
In his spare time, Aaron enjoys playing tennis, running, watching C-SPAN, and cheering on the Cubs. Aaron received his M.A. in government from Johns Hopkins University and his B.A. in political science from Haverford College.
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aaron s says bd must sign off
National Governing Board
Martha Tierney
BOARD CHAIR
Martha Tierney, Chair, is a founder and partner at Tierney Lawrence LLC in Denver. Martha specializes in government relations, election law, employment law and civil rights. Martha co-chairs the Colorado Lawyers Committee’s Election Task Force and is a member of the Colorado Voter Access and Modernized Elections Commission. She is a cooperating attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, a member of the Faculty of Federal Advocates, and serves on the Colorado Common Cause Board of Directors. She is a graduate of Colorado College and Vermont Law School.
Nancy Ratzan VICE CHAIR
Nancy Ratzan, Vice Chair, is a lawyer and community activist who champions women’s rights and social justice. She was the national president of the National Council of Jewish Women (2008-2011) and has led national awareness and advocacy campaigns focused on reproductive freedom, women’s economic security and judicial nominations. She served on President Obama’s Advisory Council to the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (2009-2010). She currently chairs Stop Sex Trafficking Miami, a collaborative community campaign to raise awareness about the sale of children for sex in order to engender the public activism and political will needed to create change.
Nicole Austin-Hillery
MEMBER
Ric Bainter
MEMBER
Emmet Bondurant
MEMBER
Rebecca Cokely
MEMBER
Dan Conley
Conley is the founder of Beacon Communications, a business-to-business public relations and marketing firm with a global client base of high-profile companies and institutions as well as innovative, emerging enterprises. The firm has published more than five thousand articles for clients in professional, trade and business periodicals, books through McGraw-Hill Professional, Financial Times Publishing, American Bar Association Publishing, Wiley, and Cambridge University Press, and has developed industry-leading surveys and indices.
He joined the National Governing Board in 2012, and currently serves as Chair of Common Cause Illinois. In 2014 Dan received the Bob Edgar Champions of Democracy Award for his role in helping to rebuild the state organization. He is also working to develop a wider base of support for Common Cause in Michigan, his home state.
Other board service includes the Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy, Ruth Page Center for The Arts, and advisory board of the American Health Information Management Association.
MEMBER
Greg Diskant
MEMBER
Archon Fung
MEMBER
William Hubbard
William N. Hubbard III is chairman and president of Center Development Corporation, a New York-based real estate development company. Bill served in the Volunteers in Service to America program and is a former associate of the Wall Street law firm of Thatcher, Proffitt, and Wood. He was a co-founder of the Environmental Action Coalition, former trustee and officer of the City Club in New York, and chairman of its Housing Committee. In addition, Bill serves on several boards, including the Community Board Five in mid-town Manhattan during the Koch administration and the Association for a Better New York.
He is a graduate of Williams College, the London School of Economics, and has a law degree from the University of Virginia.
MEMBER
Olga Kauffman
MEMBER
Olena Berg Lacy
MEMBER
Marilyn Melkonian
MEMBER
Lenny Mendonca
MEMBER
Chang Park
MEMBER
Shareen Punian
MEMBER
Robert Reich
BOARD CHAIR EMERITUS
Bilal D. Sekou, PhD
MEMBER
David Smith
MEMBER
Wes Tomer
MEMBER
Jessie Ulibarri
MEMBER
Tracy Westen
MEMBER
Alan Wiersba
MEMBER
Alan Wiersba received a Computer Science Bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984. He has been at Oracle Corporation for 26 years; now the fourth-longest serving employee out of 105,000. Mr. Wiersba is primarily involved with collaboration technology for end users: document sharing, word processing, spreadsheets, email, calendaring. Over the past 15 years, he has developed techniques to run better in-person and remote collaborative meetings. He is married to Jan Holden, who will also be present at Common Cause Board meetings.
Mr. Wiersba has been involved with Common Cause for 20 years, focusing on mitigating the effects of special interest money in politics. In 2002, he helped fund radio ads to get the swing votes for McCain-Feingold. In 2003, he helped fund the amicus brief before Supreme Court for McCain-Feingold. In 2008, Mr. Wiersba helped fund Election Protection work. In 2010, he helped train Common Cause staff in using Web Conferencing software and in running more effective meetings.
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fedsoc?! https://fedsoc.org/contributors/paul-ryan-1
3 events
James Bopp• Roger B. Clegg• Paul Josephson• Paul S. Ryan• Hans A. von Spakovsky
nat'l 2016
const, cts and democ theme
Paul S. Ryan
VICE PRESIDENT OF POLICY & LITIGATION
PROGRAM
LEADERSHIP
Paul Seamus Ryan is the vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause. He helps guide the organization's policy and litigation work in all substantive areas. Before joining Common Cause in October 2016, he worked as deputy executive director of the Campaign Legal Center. Paul has a law degree from the UCLA School of Law's program in public interest law and policy, and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Montana. huffpo ~ djt
Common Cause is pleased to announce that veteran campaign finance attorney Paul Seamus Ryan will join Common Cause as Vice President for Policy and Litigation in late October. Mr. Ryan will lead Common Cause’s national efforts to reduce barriers to a more representative democracy, including obstacles to full participation like money in politics, gerrymandering, and vote suppression, guiding public policy campaigns and litigation. He will also support efforts for the organization’s 35 state operations working to create a 21st Century democracy that works for everyone.
Mr. Ryan has spent the last 12 years at the Campaign Legal Center where he has served as deputy executive director. He has specialized in campaign finance, ethics, and election law for more than 15 years and litigated campaign finance issues before federal and state courts throughout the United States.
“Paul’s expertise is a perfect fit for the Common Cause team. He has one of the best legal minds working to make sure our democracy resolves problems with the common good in mind, not wealthy special interests or partisans seeking power,” said Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn. “Paul joins Common Cause at a moment of tremendous resurgence in public interest about the health of our democracy as demonstrated in public opinion surveys and our own growth, now 625,000 supporters strong.”
“Common Cause is rooted in the principles of open and transparent government that works for the people, and these roots have made it a good government icon,” said Ryan. “I’m incredibly excited about Common Cause’s future and Karen’s vision for broadening the democracy movement to more fully include and empower women, communities of color and all other underrepresented communities. Under Karen’s leadership, Common Cause will enable generations to come to hold power accountable to the people.”
Mr. Ryan has testified as an expert on election law before Congress and regularly represented the Campaign Legal Center before the Federal Election Commission. He has testified before state and municipal legislative bodies and ethics agencies, and lectures at universities around the nation. Mr. Ryan also regularly provides consultation and assistance to elected officials, government agency staff and grassroots activists regarding campaign finance and other election policy development.
Mr. Ryan has published extensively on the subject of election law in journals including the Stanford Law and Policy Review and the Harvard Journal on Legislation. From 1999 to 2004 he served as political reform project director at the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles.
He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law’s Program in Public Interest Law and Policy (2001) and the University of Montana (1998), and is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, the State of California, the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.'---
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New York Times Magazine: Can America Restore the Rule of Law Without Prosecuting Trump?
11.17.2020 / BY JONATHAN MAHLER
New York Times Magazine: Can America Restore the Rule of Law Without Prosecuting Trump?
Campaign-finance laws were designed to limit the influence of private actors in elections — “to prevent not only the actual corruption of public officials but even the appearance of corruption that could undermine voter faith in government,” asPaul S. Ryan, the vice president of policy and litigation at the election-watchdog group Common Cause, told me.
EARLY IN NOVEMBER, as President Trump challenged the integrity of the election with baseless lawsuits, Joe Biden delivered his first speech as president-elect, declaring it a “time to heal.” It was a phrase that many Americans were surely longing to hear, given the precarious state of the nation’s political culture. But it was also one that carried significant historical weight and possible implications for the future. When President Gerald R. Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal, he, too, spoke about the need for “healing.” (Ford titled his subsequent memoir “A Time to Heal.”) When President Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address during the waning days of the Civil War, he spoke in similar terms about the imperative to “bind up the nation’s wounds.” Whether Biden intended to do so, his words provided an early signal about one of the first questions he is going to confront as president: What to do about Donald Trump? Biden faces many daunting challenges — mitigating the ongoing damage from the pandemic, repairing institutions, restoring faith in government — but how to deal with his predecessor’s flagrant and relentless subversion of the rule of law is in many ways the most vexing.
Last year, one of Trump’s lawyers, William Consovoy, memorably argued in open court that a sitting president could shoot a man in public and not be prosecuted. The legal validity of this claim notwithstanding, there is nothing to protect a former president from prosecution. No ex-president has ever been indicted before, but no president has ever left office with so much potential criminal liability. …
The stakes of prosecuting Donald Trump may be high; but so are the costs of not prosecuting him, which would send a dangerous message, one that transcends even the presidency, about the country’s commitment to the rule of law. Trump has presented Biden — and America, really — with a very difficult dilemma. “This whole presidency has been about someone who thought he was above the law,” Anne Milgram, the former attorney general of New Jersey, told me. “If he isn’t held accountable for possible crimes, then he literally was above the law.” …
An election-law case against Trump might be more appealing to a Biden Justice Department. When Cohen pleaded guilty to violating two campaign-finance laws in the Southern District of New York, he testified in federal court that Trump directed him to arrange for the hush-money payments. Trump was part of the investigation, but was protected by the Justice Department policy against indicting a sitting president. He was instead named an unindicted co-conspirator in the case — “Individual-1,” as the prosecution’s filings called him.
There is not much disagreement among campaign-finance experts about whether Trump could be indicted. The hush-money payments to Daniels and McDougal were clearly meant to prevent the disclosure of information that could have damaged Trump’s campaign. As such, they almost certainly violated several campaign-finance laws, including the prohibition against accepting contributions in excess of $2,700 and the failure to properly report contributions to the Federal Elections Committee. And because the amount of money involved exceeded $25,000, the violations would be considered felonies; each one would be punishable by up to five years in prison. Judging from the facts, it looks like a strong case. There is already material evidence of the scheme: Cohen presented congressional investigators with copies of canceled checks from Trump and the Trump Organization — reimbursements for the payments that he made to Daniels and that the Trump Organization classified as legal fees.
Campaign-finance laws were designed to limit the influence of private actors in elections — “to prevent not only the actual corruption of public officials but even the appearance of corruption that could undermine voter faith in government,” as Paul S. Ryan, the vice president of policy and litigation at the election-watchdog group Common Cause, told me.
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Prop 49/59
“Voters across the political spectrum are clamoring for something to be done about the problem of big money in our political system.,” said Sylvia Moore, Southern California Organizer for California Common Cause. “Everyone should have an equal voice in our democracy – not just those with access to the biggest pocketbook.”
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august 7, 2018 by Mark Steininger
Recently, we’ve been asking citizen leaders from across the country why they support the 28th Amendment to get big money out of politics. While varied, the responses boil down to making our elected officials accountable to voters, not wealthy donors and dark money groups.
In this Q&A, American Promise Political Director, Ben Gubits, talks with Viki Harrison, recently named Director of State Operations for National Common Cause, a partner organization of American Promise
https://americanpromise.net/blog/2018/08/07/3_questions_with_viki_harrison_of_common_cause/
2016: Our friends at The American Promise are holding a National Citizen Leadership Conference this fall on ending corrupting influence of money in elections and reclaiming government by the people.
Speaking will be our president, Karen Hobert Flynn and many other dynamic advocates and experts. Over three days we will celebrate progress and convey lessons learned; listen and learn in an environment of civility and patriotism; build energy, strategy, and unity for the work ahead.
RSVP here: http://www.americanpromise.net/nclc
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https://www.commoncause.org/about-us/national-governing-board-2/
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li
sylvia so cal prop 59?
Advocacy and communications professional. Experience in political organizing, public speaking, and writing for newspapers, blogs and political campaigns. Able to gather and synthesize information from a variety of sources, and express ideas in a concise, persuasive and engaging manner. Able to work independently and collaborate on a team. Enthusiastic, creative and forward-thinking.
Specialties: Writing, interviewing, research, flexibility, time management, deadline pressure, critical thinking, problem-solving, social media/blogging.
Technology and Social Media: Action Network, PowerPoint, basic Excel, basic HTML, iPhoto, iMovie, Wordpress, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr
Experience
- ### Communications Lead
Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment
Apr 2020 - Present1 year 1 month
Los Angeles, California, United States
Southern California Organizer
California Common Cause
Jul 2015 - Dec 2018 3 years 6 months
Los Angeles, California
Responsible for educating Common Cause activists about issues, advocacy and tactics. Also helped build strategy and public support for Common Cause’s campaign and legislative work, supported and administered activist trainings, spoke to community groups, and managed communications and outreach efforts. Sylvia has more than a decade of activism in Los Angeles County-area politics, having volunteered or worked on several political campaigns. She has also volunteered on behalf of campaigns…
Show more
- ### Field Organizer
Han Political Campaigns
Mar 2014 - Jun 20144 months
Los Angeles
Helped manage field campaign for former 26th California State Senate candidate, Betsy Butler. Managed door-to-door canvassers for voter contact, and helped manage phonebanks
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~ gerry
https://www.commoncause.org/california/
https://www.commoncause.org/california/our-work/reduce-moneys-influence/money-influence-legislation/
Money & Influence Legislation
When big business pays for a measure or a candidate, voters deserve to know. Check out our bold new transparency measures:
2020 Legislation
Local Campaign Finance Transparency
AB 2151 (Gallagher – Yuba City)
California Common Cause supported this Legislation
Summary: Transparency is one of the most effective means of combating the influence of big money in politics. Unfortunately, most campaign finance disclosures for local offices – like city council or school board – are filed as paper copies with either the local city clerk or county registrar of voters. This means members of the public who wish to review these records have to either appear before the clerk or registrar in-person or make a formal public records request, both of which take time and reduce government transparency. This bill would require local governments to post these campaign finance disclosures online so that anyone – the public, the press, or opposing candidates – can see them.
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2019 Legislation
Local Contribution Limits
AB 571 (Mullin – South San Francisco)
California Common Cause sponsored this Legislation
Summary:Existing law sets campaign contribution limits for statewide elective offices. This bill would set the same contribution limits for county and local elections. It would also allow jurisdictions to set their own contribution limits, should they decide to do so.
Disclose Act on Initiative Petitions
SB 47 (B. Allen – Santa Monica)
California Common Cause supported this Legislation
Summary:The Disclose Act on Initiative Petitions would bring much needed transparency to state and local petition campaigns. This bill would require the Official Top Funders of a petition committee to be identified in the petition materials. It would also require the committee to create a public website identifying their top contributors and to share updated contributor information with the Secretary of State.
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2018 Legislation
Political Party Committee Disclosures
AB 84 (Mullin -South San Francisco)
California Common Cause opposed this Legislation
Summary:AB 84 is a gut-and-amend bill that will be the biggest rollback of the Political Reform Act’s campaign finance laws in at least a decade. It allows the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Assembly and Senate to form and control their own “political party committees,” which enables them to solicit and receive contributions up to $36,500 for their targeted state races — that’s more than eight times the $4,400 maximum currently permitted by law. The bill makes it legal for legislative leaders, from these committees, to give unlimited amounts of money directly to state candidate committees. And it even enables legislative leaders, for the first time, to receive unlimited contributions that they can then spend in unlimited amounts on independent expenditures for and against candidates – something that is illegal under current law. It also makes modest changes to financial disclosures.
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Social Media Disclosure Act
AB 2188 (Mullin – South San Francisco)
California Common Cause is sponsoring this Legislation
Summary: This bill follows up on last year’s AB 249, the California Disclose Act, which was a major victory for California Common Cause. AB 2188 requires all online social media platforms to include a “Who funded this ad?” link on all sponsored posts on social media websites. Clicking on the link will take the user to a list of top three funders of the ad. AB 2188 will create clear, informative disclosures on social media advertisements and provide the public with a convenient way to see who is funds political ads on social media.
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Ballot Initiative Transparency
SB 651 (B. Allen – Santa Monica)
California Common Cause was involved in the drafting of this Legislation
Summary: SB 651 will improve disclosure on ballot measure petitions by requiring circulated initiative, referendum and recall petitions to include — either on the petition or on a separate document — an updated, accurate disclosure of the committee that paid for the petition, plus that committee’s top 3 funders. The measures proponents may also list up to three other supporters of the measure, in order to show broader support. Understanding who is funding and who supports an initiative campaign can provide valuable context to registered voters, and may inform their decision to sign or to more closely inspect the circulated petition.
related, no bills?
We deserve a democracy where each of us is represented and has a voice — and a government that works for every American, not just the wealthy few. It’s time to add much-needed balance to our democracy and enforce tougher rules to ensure politicians can’t be bought by the highest bidder.
Wealthy individuals and corporations don’t give away huge campaign donations for nothing. They’re buying influence and access from public officials who know how campaigns are funded in the current landscape, where big money dominates.
California Common Cause has been active in promoting campaign contribution limits, to limit the influence of a few wealthy donors, and ensure that elected representatives represent all Californians. Recently, we’ve carried legislation that would place default campaign contribution limits on city and county races. Unfortunately, powerful special interests, who are now taking advance of lax contribution restrictions, oppose our efforts—and that’s why we need your help.
prez
A civil rights attorney and long-time democracy reform advocate, Jonathan became the Executive Director of California Common Cause on May 1, 2020, after 10 years on the California Common Cause Board of Directors and four years as Board Chair. Jonathan previously spent four years as the head of the Voting Rights & Census Program at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, where he worked to increase access to California’s democracy for historically disenfranchised communities, including immigrant and limited-English speaking voters, communities of color, low-income communities, and people with disabilities. His work at AAAJ-ALC included California’s passage of the strongest state-level law in the nation ensuring language access in voting, multiple appellate litigation wins that expanded access to democracy for communities of color, five poll monitoring programs including the nation’s largest in November 2016, and several community organizing campaigns that won better election systems at the local level for historically disenfranchised communities.
Jonathan previously worked as a voting rights staff attorney for the ACLU of California, served as a commissioner and chair of the City of Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and hosted a web video series, produced by UC Berkeley, called “In the Arena.” While receiving his MPP and JD from UC Berkeley, Jonathan served as the Student Regent on the University of California’s Board of Regents, where he fought for access, diversity, and affordability and advocated for the interests of the 230,000 students of the UC system. Prior to graduate school, Jonathan spent four years at Mother Jones magazine as a researcher, assistant editor, blogger, and campaign correspondent during the 2008 presidential elections.
helen grieco norcal petaluma
Common Cause Northern California Organizer Helen Grieco, right, speaks up about ALEC's actions towards climate change at Google headquarters, on Feb. 18, 2014. They are protesting Google's financial funding of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) because of ALEC's actions toward climate change
https://www.facebook.com/commoncauseca/posts/1084962671539211
Helen works with community activists, young professionals and students in the Bay Area. She teaches advocacy, organizing and activism tactics. She leads educational events, lobbying campaigns and actions to address campaign finance reform, government accountability, voting rights/reform, redistricting, media reform, fair elections campaigns, legislation and ballot initiatives.
Helen has decades of experience as an advocate and spokesperson for social, political and economic justice. She has trained community activists and leaders and is an author and producer of educational media. She was the founder B.R.A.V.E. People and is a former executive director of the California National Organization for Women. Helen holds a B.A. from San Francisco State University and an M.A. from Antioch University.
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const, cts and democ theme
Paul S. Ryan
VICE PRESIDENT OF POLICY & LITIGATION
PROGRAM
LEADERSHIP
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Cressman was working for Common Cause in the fall of 2012when he and his colleagues discovered $15 million in contributions from undisclosed donors to oppose Prop 30, which sought to raise taxes on wealthiest in the state, and to support Prop 32, a so-called "paycheck protection" measure to further limit how unions can raise money and spend money during election season.
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cc supports HR1
https://www.commoncause.org/people/aaron-scherb/
Aaron Scherb joined Common Cause in May 2013 as the director of legislative affairs. In this role, he helps craft and gain support for various good-governance proposals, primarily related to campaign finance reform, voting rights, redistricting reform, and ethics/lobbying reform.
Aaron also coordinates advocacy activities with members of Congress and their staff by helping plan and speak at congressional briefings and press conferences. Additionally, he works with key coalition partners to expand support for democracy reforms beyond the “good government” community and manages the Common Cause intern program. From working as a congressional staffer for three-and-a-half years, his knowledge and understanding of the legislative process, as well as his relationships with congressional offices, help advance Common Cause’s legislative goals.
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https://www.commoncause.org/people/karen-hobert-flynn/
Karen Hobert Flynn, a democracy reform activist and leader for more than three decades, including 25-plus years on staff and in state and national leadership positions with Common Cause, is the organization’s ninth president.
As Senior Vice President for Programs and Strategy, Karen has led the program and development of Common Cause from 2012- 2016. During that time, she oversaw the strategy and planning for the organization and raised significant resources to support Common Cause’s national and state efforts to curb the outsized influence of big money in politics and to protect voting rights. She launched Common Cause’s campaign to expose and stop the dangerous movement in the states for a constitutional convention that would put in jeopardy every constitutional right or protection currently available to American citizens. She oversaw a dramatic expansion of Common Cause’s digital presence, bringing in hundreds of thousands of new members and supporters. From 2013-2014 Karen also served as Interim President of Common Cause after the sudden passing of Common Cause president Bob Edgar, guiding the organization through an unexpected transition.
...Karen also serves as the co-chair of the Democracy Initiative and is on the board of Democracy21.
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gun control, disinfo
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aha: civil society moderating protects norms eg CLC: Comm Cause in news 10/20
https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/transparent-political-ploy-florida-attorney-general-asks-fbi-to-investigate-bloombergs-efforts-to-restore-felon-voting-rights/
florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican, has asked the FBI and the state’s Department of Law Enforcement to investigate former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg‘s efforts to help felons in the state regain their voting rights by paying their court fees, citing “potential violations of election laws.”
Bloomberg has over the last week raised more than $16 million from individuals and private organizations, which he said would go towards paying down fines and fees for nearly 32,000 Black and Latinx Florida voters with felony records. A controversial Florida law forbids former felons from voting unless and until they pay off all money they owe the courts or other legal parties. Critics have called it a “modern day poll tax.”
Florida attorney general Ashley Moody said in the letter that the office of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis had asked her to look into the issue, CNN reported Wednesday.
“After preliminarily reviewing this limited public information and law, it appears further investigation is warranted,” Moody wrote in a letter to the agencies....
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https://billmoyers.com/story/gop-led-legal-inquest-into-bloomberg-helping-florida-felons-vote-condemned-as-attempted-voter-suppression/
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s call for state and federal investigations into billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s effort to raise millions to pay off court fees to help Florida felons restore their voting rights was a “gross abuse” of power, “voter suppression,” “a fear-mongering tactic used before” and based on a “fundamental misconception” of anti-corruption laws, according to experienced campaign lawyers and former federal election regulators.
“It’s not just that an investigative process and grand jury proceedings would likely extend past Election Day, but also that we’ve seen this fearmongering tactic used before,” said Jonathan Diaz, legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C., founded by Trevor Potter, a Republican and ex-Federal Election Commission (FEC) chair. “There are countless examples of elected officials or law enforcement announcing ‘bombshell’ investigations like this with no evidence of actual wrongdoing (for example, recentlyin Texas and Georgia) and indeed, no actual conclusions that any misconduct has taken place.”
It’s “outrageous and likely an extortionate threat designed to suppress the vote and deny citizens their constitutional right to vote,” said Benedict Kuehne, the Miami attorney whose team recently won a settlement to save digital images of ballots if there’s a presidential election recount. “Not at all unexpected. But still an abuse of power.”...
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an 820
A new report published Wednesday details months of wilful failures to confront the coronavirus pandemic by the White House and paints President Donald Trump’s authoritarian tactics during that national crisis as an overt assault on the nation’s democratic institutionsahead of elections in November.
The report by Common Cause—titled “Intentional Disregard: Trump’s Authoritarianism During the Covid-19 Pandemic,” (pdf)—highlights Trump’s coronavirus response as part of a larger effort by the president to attack U.S. democracy.
As evidence to support its thesis, Common Cause points to the president’s repeated claim that mail-in voting—favored by 58% of Americansaccording to a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday—will result in a “rigged” election. The report also shows how the administration is actively undermining the U.S. Postal Service by naming a top GOP donor with no USPS experience as postmaster general.
“The Trump administration’s failed response to the Covid-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented public health crisis leading to a worsening economic crisis. What is becoming clearer each day is President Trump’s intent to use this chaos to create a crisis for our democracy,” said Common Cause president Karen Hobert Flynn....
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jason boles dirty tricks JOK NC
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http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2020/09/18/pw-special-report-trump-linked-effort-to-infiltrate-progressive-nc-groups-prompts-investigation/
no lnx grafx, pix map table
PW special report: Trump-linked effort to infiltrate progressive NC groups prompts investigation
By Lisa Sorg - 9/18/2020 - in News, Policy Watch Investigates, Top Story
The man who identified himself as James Fortune, photographed on a fishing boat off Cape Hatteras. He asked to accompany an employee of a nonpartisan voter education organization on the day-long trip, claiming he was an experienced fisherman. It turns out Fortune appears not to be who he claims to be. (Photo courtesy of the employee)
Man who went by “James Fortune” was a gateway to network of far-right operatives
Shortly after dawn on a recent steamy July morning, a man who said his name was James Fortune showed up off NC Highway 12 in Cape Hatteras. He had flown in from New York City and rented a car for arendezvous with an employee of a North Carolina nonpartisan election education organization for a long day of deep-sea fishing.
“I told him this was not a pleasure boat,” the employee told Policy Watch. “We were going to be out in the Gulf current, rough seas.”
Policy Watch is not naming the employee or the organization because of concerns over security and safety.
No worries, Fortune said, he was an experienced deep sea fisherman, having been to Hatteras many times as a youth.
But Fortune caught nothing except a bad case of seasickness. He spent the next 12 hours 30 miles at sea, alternating between heaving over the side of the boat and sleeping next to his sea sickness bag.
This was one of many indications that the mysterious man from New York City might not be who he claimed to be — and that he was on a different type of fishing trip. A Policy Watch investigation has found links between Fortune, who progressive organizations in the state say has tried to infiltrate their groups, and many far-right political operatives, some as high-level as a one-time member of the Trump White House.
The tactic is similar to that used by Project Veritas, which for years has tried to infiltrate progressive organizations and Democratic campaigns in hopes of catching them in violating election law.
Earlier this week, the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal reported that Project Veritas had deployed people who misrepresented themselves as documentary filmmakers to gain access to several progressive and nonpartisan voter education organizations.
Fortune could not be reached via Direct Message on Twitter or email. His phone number is no longer valid.
There is no evidence the organizations took the bait; instead they reported the activity to law enforcement. Now the State Bureau of Investigation has reportedly launched inquiries into Fortune and his tangle of connections. As part of its standard protocol, the SBI does not confirm the existence of investigations.
Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause, told Policy Watch that his group contacted Wake District Attorney Lorrin Freeman and that her office has started a preliminary review into whether a criminal inquiry is warranted.
Fortune has since disappeared. But he left behind a crucial thread that could unravel what appears to be a sprawling scheme by far-right groups with ties to the Trump administration to entrap several North Carolina nonpartisan voter education nonprofits into violating election laws.
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If Corporations Are People, They Should Act Like It
Companies deserve many of the same rights as citizens, but must also shoulder the same responsibilities.
KENT GREENFIELD
FEBRUARY 1, 2015
The American left is notoriously fractious. But one belief that unites more than most is this: Corporations are not people. “Corporations are people, my friend,” said Mitt Romney in 2012, and Democrats skewered his cluelessness. “I don’t care how many times you try to explain it,” Barack Obama said on the stump. “Corporations aren’t people. People are people.” During the 2014 midterms, Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren barnstormed the country to rally the faithful. Her most dependable applause line? “Corporations are not people!”
The main target of the corporations-are-not-people crowd is the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling striking down limits on independent corporate spending in elections. After that case, groups sprang up to fight corporate personhood. Others rebranded themselves by newly taking aim at it. But they do not limit themselves to attacking the Court’s campaign finance jurisprudence. Most groups make a broader attack on corporations being able to assert any First Amendment speech rights at all; and some have called for disabusing all corporations or businesses of any constitutional right.
Common Cause, for example, uses Robert Reich to tout its support for “a constitutional amendment declaring that ‘Only People are People’ and that only people should have free speech rights protected by the Constitution.” Public Citizen, the liberal litigation group founded by Ralph Nader, argues that “rights protected by the Constitution were intended for natural people.” Free Speech for People, one of the groups most influential in the anti-personhood movement, is pushing a “People’s Rights Amendment.” A version has already been sponsored in the U.S. Senate by Jon Tester of Montana and in the House by Jim McGovern of Massachusetts. It would declare that “the rights protected by this Constitution” are “the rights of natural persons.” A range of liberal groups have signed on to the anti-personhood project—MoveOn, Sierra Club and NAACP chapters, and steelworker and SEIU locals. By their count, sixteen states and nearly 600 localities have endorsed some kind of anti-personhood amendment. Even in a moment when the progressive left seems otherwise to be fighting rearguard actions, this movement has genuine energy.
...[quite long]
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oppose convention
https://www.commoncause.org/our-work/constitution-courts-and-democracy-issues/article-v-convention/
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prop 49
When it ruled Monday that California lawmakers can ask for voters’ opinions on campaign-spending laws, the state Supreme Court underscored “that the ultimate power of our government is vested in the people,” Common Cause senior vice president Karen Hobert Flynn declared in the wake of the decision.
By upholding the legality of Proposition 49—which would ask voters whether Congress should propose an amendment overturning the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United—the court spoke “directly to the question we have faced since the Citizens United ruling,” Hobert Flynn continued. “Are we a democracy of, by, and for the people, or are we to be ruled by an elite, moneyed class, where the power of government rests in the hands of a few wealthy special interests?”
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https://www.huffpost.com/author/miles-rapoport
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The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) [1] has threatened public interest group Common Cause with a lawsuit [2] for pointing out what the public record has made clear: ALEC denies the scientific consensus on climate change [3].
As first reported by The Washington Post [4], ALEC's lawyers Alan Dye and Heidi Abegg wrote a cease-and-desist letter to Common Cause president Miles Rapoport. Dye and Abegg demanded that Common Cause stop calling ALEC a cog in the climate denial machine.
“We demand that you cease making inaccurate statements regarding ALEC, and immediately remove all false or misleading material from the Common Cause, and related, websites within five business days,” they wrote [2]. “Should you not do so, and/or continue to publish any defamatory statements, we will consider any and all necessary legal action to protect ALEC.”
ALEC critics call the organization a “corporate bill mill [5].”
Dye and Abegg also demanded an immediate and public retraction of statements the Common Cause has made about ALEC with regards to climate denial.
ALEC Climate Denial Lawsuit [2]
Image Credit: Common Cause [2]
Further, Dye and Abegg argued that ALEC — contrary to the vast amount of evidence [6] collected by those who research the organization — does not deny climate change.
Common Cause Fires Back
Common Cause, through its legal counsel at the firm Wilmerhale, have hit back and stands by its initial claims.
“Common Cause rejects ALEC's allegations and stands by the fairness and accuracy of its statements and reporting,” wrote Wilmerhale attorney Vinita Ferrera in a March 25 letter [7]. “Common Cause's statements are legitimate assertions of opinion based on the public record and entirely consistent with how ALEC had discussed, characterized, and approached the issue of climate change.”
The organization also said it will not retract its statements, nor will it offer any public corrections, as requested by ALEC.
Image Credit: Common Cause [7]
“Strong-Armed into Silence”
In a press release [8], Common Cause called ALEC's legal maneuvering “meritless.”
“ALEC’s demands and legal threats are an effort to shut down debate about its policies and matters of national importance. They seek to chill our right to advocate for the public interest,” said Rapoport, “We stand by our opinion, will continue to participate in these important national debates and will not be strong-armed into silence.”
As The Washington Post reported, the legal threat by ALEC comes as the group feels the heat after numerous companies have dropped their ALEC memberships [9] due to its climate change stance.
DeSmogBlog, the Center for Media and Democracy, Common Cause and many other organizations have launched the website ALECClimateChangeDenial.org [10], which documents ALEC's long history of climate denial.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock [11] | zimmytws [12]
Tags:
Common Cause [13]
Vinita Ferrera [14]
Heidi Abegg [15]
Miles Rapoport [16]
Alan Dye [17]
Corporate Bill Mill [18]
ALEC Climate Denial [19]
ALEC Climate Change Denial [20]
Law [21]
Legal [22]
lawsuits [23]
litigation [24]
Cease-and-Desist Letter [25]
Cease-and-Desist [26]
climate skepticism [27]
ALEC [28]
american legislative exchange council [1]
climate change [29]
climate denial [30]
WilmerHale [31]
ALECClimateChangeDenial.org [32]
The Washington Post [33]
Read more: American Legislative Exchange Council Threatens Lawsuit Against Critics Who Point Out ALEC's Climate Denial [34]
Source URL: http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/04/05/alec-climate-denial-lawsuit-against-critics
Links:
[1] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/6907
[2] http://www.commoncause.org/issues/more-democracy-reforms/alec/alec-cease-and-desist-letter.pdf
[3] http://alecclimatechangedenial.org/
[4] http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/04/05/this-conservative-group-is-tired-of-being-accused-of-climate-denial-and-is-fighting-back/
[5] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/ALEC_Corporations
[6] http://www.commoncause.org/issues/more-democracy-reforms/alec/fact-sheet-on-alec-and-climate-change.pdf
[7] http://www.commoncause.org/issues/more-democracy-reforms/alec/wilmerhale-common-cause-response-to-alec.pdf
[8] http://www.commoncause.org/press/press-releases/alec-tries-to-silence-critics.html
[9] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Corporations_that_Have_Cut_Ties_to_ALEC
[10] http://alecclimatechangedenial.org/climate-denier-speakers-1
[11] http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=lGidWAGWV6pezkN_5RU_qQ&searchterm=litigation&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=182158421
[12] http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-50527p1.html
[13] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/5710
[14] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/20234
[15] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/20232
[16] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/20233
[17] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/20229
[18] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/9753
[19] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/20230
[20] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/20231
[21] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/6404
[22] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/10100
[23] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/5790
[24] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/9000
[25] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/20225
[26] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/20226
[27] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7453
[28] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/6853
[29] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/939
[30] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/3062
[31] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/20227
[32] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/20228
[33] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/8891
[34] http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/04/05/alec-climate-denial-lawsuit-against-critics
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4/15
“Common Cause’s statements concerning ALEC’s position and activities on climate change are statements of opinion, are neither false nor defamatory, and as such are not legally actionable,” said Common Cause’s attorney Vinita Ferrera in responding to ALEC’s attorneys. “For these reasons, Common Cause declines ALEC’s request to retract or alter any statements appearing on Common Cause’s website or in other Common Cause materials.”
“We don’t appreciate the attempt to silence LCV just because we disagree with ALEC’s positions,” LCV’s senior vice president for communications David Willett told the *Washington Post*. “Usually if someone wants to get serious about tackling climate change, they ask about working with us, they don’t threaten to sue us.”
The Washington Postpointed out that the increasing amount of negative publicity ALEC has gotten as it’s emerged in the past several years from the shadows where it preferred to reside seemed to have had an impact on the group.
“The legal spat is an escalation of the conflict and suggests ALEC is feeling the heat of the activist groups’ efforts,” it said. “It also suggests a new risk to organizations that rely on the donations from companies that do not want to be associated with organizations accused of denying that human activity is warming the atmosphere at an alarming rate.”
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Sen. Whitehouse Calls Out ALEC for Role in Funding Climate Deniers
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Dumping ALEC Is Not Enough to Combat Climate Change
==
Jeffersonian Project Used to Lobby for BBA
ALEC's new lobbying arm, the Jeffersonian Project, appears to have been used to lobby for the bills.
According to a memo written by ALEC lawyer Alan Dye and reported by The Guardian, the new 501(c)(4) group was created in 2013 to resolve "questions of ethical violations made by our critics and state ethics boards." Groups like Common Cause, the CMD, the Voters Legislative Transparency Project and others alleged in IRS complaints that ALEC was violating its 501(c)(3) charitable status by engaging in excessive lobbying. Although ALEC publicly dismissed the complaints, the formation of the 501(c)(4) Jeffersonian Project indicated that behind the scenes, ALEC was taking the threat of an IRS audit seriously.
The memo advises, "Any activity that could be done by ALEC may be done by Jeffersonian Project if legal counsel advises it would provide greater legal protection or lessen ethics concerns."
A key element of Common Cause’s 2012 IRS complaint was evidence of ALEC sending hundreds of so-called “issue alerts” to legislators urging the passage or defeat of particular pieces of legislation – but never registering as a lobbyist in any state, and repeatedly telling the IRS that it engaged in zero lobbying.
Soon after the IRS complaint was filed, ALEC appeared to stop sending “issue alerts.”
Yet with the 501(c)(4) Jeffersonian Project up-and-running, the “issue alert” lobbying messages have once again begun to flow.
In March 2014, for example, the Jeffersonian Project sent an "issue alert" to state representatives in Utah asking them to support HJR 8, Utah's balanced budget bill. The alert highlights the ALEC connection, noting that "The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has adopted a model resolution calling for an Article V Convention to propose a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment."
Documents obtained by the CMD show that the Jeffersonian Project has also sent "issue alerts" to legislators in Arizona, suggesting that the BBA is the focus of a nationwide lobbying effort.
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BUSTED koch dark $ CA:
California Secretary of State candidate Derek Cressmanhas made a career of fighting the billionaires who are trying to hijack democracy.
His biggest victory so far was a 2012 case that resulted in the largest fine for a campaign-finance violation in California history.
While he was working at Common Cause, Cressman and his colleagues discovered a dark-money trail that led directly from the Koch brothers to political work on twoCalifornia referenda, Prop 30 (which raised taxes on the wealthiest Californians), and Prop 32 (which limited unions' ability to raise money for political purposes). The discovery propelled a dramatic $1.3 million judgment, made headlines, and kicked off a new wave of campaign reform in the state.
Last week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill to make the sort of money-laundering subterfuge that case uncovered more difficult, and grassroots excitement is building for the prospect of real reform.
“Making Big Money Toxic”
Now, after twenty years of advocacy work with Common Cause and U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Cressman says people who care about the corrupting influence of money in politics need to take that message directly to the voters.
"The movement needs to be more election-focused," he says. "We need to show that candidates who are anti-reform … are losing candidates."
Disclosure is not enough, Cressman says. In California, "corporate Democrats" are winning races where both candidates take special interest money.
"Disclosing campaign contributions by itself doesn't give voters a choice, or present a downside to taking that money," he says.
"The only way to change things is to find a way for candidates to run without taking that money," he says. "We have to make big money toxic."
That's not such an outlandish goal in the Secretary of State race, which is a relatively low-dollar affair.
"Unlike Congressional races or even the state legislature, it doesn't draw nearly as much corporate money, because the office doesn't have the power to regulate any particular industry," Cressman points out.
Cressman's $500,000 in funds raised so far puts him second in a field of eight candidates. The frontrunner, Democratic state senator Alex Padilla, has outraised Cressman by a margin of 4-to-1, with $2 million.
Still, $2 million is a pittance for a statewide race in California, Cressman points out, where an effective TV ad buy costs $6 million per week.
Social media, word of mouth, and grassroots networking are critical to the outcome of the race.
Koch Brothers’ Network Partially Unmasked (and Fined)
Much of the energy behind Cressman's campaign comes from the high-profile case that exposed and turned back the Koch brothers' influence in California in 2012.
That story involved a dramatic unmasking of the corrupting influence of dark money groups in state and local politics.
Cressman was working for Common Cause in the fall of 2012 when he and his colleagues discovered $15 million in contributions from undisclosed donors to oppose Prop 30, which sought to raise taxes on wealthiest in the state, and to support Prop 32, a so-called "paycheck protection" measure to further limit how unions can raise money and spend money during election season.
"I noticed the donations were linked to a guy named Sean Noble--that name rang a bell from previous research I'd done into the Koch Brothers," Cressman says. "We started digging and found an address in Virginia for a group that turned out to be 'ground zero' for dark money groups."
Cressman uncovered an illegal money-laundering operation. Californians – including big names like Eli Broad, Charles Schwab, and the Fisher Family, who own the Gap stores – were laundering their contributions through an out-of-state front group, in order to hide their support for the ballot measure.
Under California law, donors who seek to influence the outcome of a particular ballot measure -- unlike those who give money to more general causes-- must disclose their contributions.
Charles Schwab Emailed David Koch, Noting "Your Man," Sean Noble, Was Key
Common Cause filed a complaint, and the California Supreme Court met in an extraordinary emergency session by conference call on the Sunday before election day.
"Literally, it was front page news in all the papers on election day 2012," Cressman says.
The articles exposed that the donors had violated campaign law. This was particularly important because one of the measures they pushed, the anti-union paycheck protection act, purported to be about campaign finance reform.
Ten months later the state's Fair Political Practices Commission imposed a record settlement of $1.3 million, the largest campaign finance violation fine in California history.
The Court found that an in-state network of donors had approached the Koch brothers’ network to launder money for them, so they would not be associated with the effort.
In one juicy email, Charles Schwab urged David Koch to become involved and noted "your man" Sean Noble was part of the effort. Schwab also wrote, "I look forward to seeing you on the golf course."
Following on the news of that case, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to make such money-laundering subterfuge more difficult.
"That's important," says Cressman, "Because if they'd been slightly more careful, they could have got away with it. If it was a wink and nod: 'Here's $5 million and spend it how you want.' Then, 30 minutes later, 'Hey, we really care about this issue.'"
Under the new law those sorts of winking deals will be more difficult.
Whose “Return on Investment?”
Cressman is running on a platform that includes publicizing the "return on investment" corporate lobbyists get from the politicians they bankroll--including Padilla.
In the state senate, Padilla authored and passed "the most anti-consumer bill ever introduced in California," according to Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network. The bill, which deregulates Internet-to-phone service, has the backing of the rightwing, pro-corporate American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC has been uncloaked by the Center for Media and Democracy’s ALECexposed.org project. The Center and ALECexposed.org are now part of Progressive Inc., the publisher of The Progressive and progressive.org).
"It takes the public utility commission out of Internet-to-phone, which is the future of phone service," says Cressman, who calls the bill "disastrous" for consumers.
Telecom firms gave Padilla $108,732, Cressman reports in a campaign document titled "Cumulative Return on Investments in the Padilla Portfolio Since 2006".
"The Secretary of State race is a rare opportunity to talk about these issues," Cressman says.
The Power of the Secretary of State: Remember Florida’s Reviled Katherine Harris
Cressman's run was propelled, in part, by the realization that the next secretary of state will make critical decisions about the future of democracy in California.
California is almost the last state in the union to create a statewide voter database. Even after getting a $40 million Federal grant for the purpose, state Secretaries of State have, for the last decade, failed to produce a database, a failure which prevents the state from implementing same-day voter registration and other important reforms.
It's part "bureaucratic ineptitude," Cressman says, and partly due to the fact that past Secretaries of State have been term-limited state legislators who, according to Cressman, lack the managerial experience or will power the job requires.
"The stakes are so high," Cressman says. "We've got to try something different than a termed-out state senator looking to use this office as a stepping stone to Congress."
Cressman: The State Democratic Party Is Filled with Activists on Campaign Reform
Meanwhile, Cressman is trying to capitalize in his campaign on the public sense that citizens can fight the corrupting influence of money in politics and win.
"I've been incredibly pleasantly surprised at the vibrancy of the grassroots within the Democratic Party," says Cressman. "As an outsider, you have this impression of a party full of hacks, where everything is rigged," he adds. "In California, that is not true. The party is full of activists, and my message has been incredibly well received."
In his stump speech, Cressman says he will hold hearings in every Congressional district on amending the U.S. Constitution to overcome the Supreme Court's Citizens United and McCutcheondecisions, which have opened the floodgates to corporate and non-profit money to influence who wins elections.
He also calls for adding the top ten donors to every candidate and ballot measure to the official "voter information guide," which the California Secretary of State sends out.
He has been getting a lot of spontaneous applause at campaign events for these ideas.
Even in the wake of the Supreme Court's McCutcheon decision, which further expanded uncontrolled spending on elections by wealthy donors, Cressman is hopeful.
An “’All of the Above’ Strategy” for Restoring Democracy and Reforming Campaigns
At Common Cause, he says, he spent the last few years working on anti-Citizens United ballot measures.
"One year ago we attempted a statewide referendum, and it completely died in the legislature," Cressman says. "But this year, it sailed through committee. We could have a statewide ballot measure in 2014 in California. I've been leading with this in my stump speech."
Cressman favors an "all of the above" strategy to fight money in politics: tough disclosure laws, a Congressional drive for a constitutional amendment, state and local ballot measures, and electoral campaigns.
"One thing that holds us back is that individual activist get too focused on one silver bullet approach," he says by phone from California, adding that he was on his way to join in a citizens march against Citizens United.
"We need protests, marches, ballot measures, campaigns. We need all of that," he says.
- See more at: http://progressive.org/node/187707#sthash.0ysCxB3M.dpuf
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Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas have attended these events. (According to Salon, "Thomas claimed he just made "a brief drop-by" at the Koch brothers' January 2008 Palm Springs political retreat to give a talk; in fact he was reimbursed for four days of “transportation, meals and accommodations” by the Federalist Society.[56]"). The attendance of Thomas and Scalia has sparked debate over judicial ethics and the 2010Citizens United decision.[57] Common Cause filed a petition with the Justice Department in January 2011 alleging a conflict of interest for these Justices, as David and Charles Koch operate foundations that contribute to political groups, which might benefit from relaxed campaign finance rules. ^[58]^ Common Cause has also noted that the Cato Institute, which Charles Koch founded, filed an amicus brief in Citizens United opposing campaign finance. [59] The Center for Competitive Politics also filed a brief in the case; the Center is headed by Bradley Smith, who is affiliated with the Institute for Humane Studieswhere Charles Koch is Chair of the board and funder. ^[60] sw ^koch ^ind
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Parnell, S LT GOV ALASKA UNDER PALIN?! NOW GOV? CTR COMPETITIVE POLITICS bs
Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
CCP President Sean Parnell represents CCP on the Public Safety and Elections Task Force of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). At the 2011 ALEC Annual Meeting, he introduced the "Resolution in Support of Appropriate Disclosure Requirements" model policy for adoption by the Public Safety and Elections Task Force.[7]
On July 20, 2011, Parnell published an article in The Daily Caller (conservative/Republican news spin organization founded by conservative reporter Tucker Carlson and former Dick Cheney aide Neil Patel) criticizing Common Cause for requesting that the Internal Revenue Service look into claims that ALEC, in violation of the laws governing 501(c)(3) organizations, has engaged in lobbying.[8]
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^http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Common_Cause
Acccording to the organization's web site, Common Cause was "founded in 1970 by John Gardner, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. Gardner envisioned a movement propelled by the focused and concerted grassroots lobbying activities of Common Cause members and reinforced with professional lobbying on Capitol Hill. His nonpartisan, citizens' lobbying group made an immediate impact. Within a year, more than 100,000 citizens had joined Common Cause and its agenda quickly grew to include ending U.S. involvement in Vietnam, reforming the campaign finance system, and pressing for civil rights, ethics, financial and lobby disclosure, and open meeting laws. Recognizing the need for fundamental reform at the state level, Common Cause soon began organizing parallel lobbying efforts in the states and establishing Common Cause state organizations."
"Common Cause regularly publishes investigative studies on the effects of money in politics and reports on a variety of ethics and integrity-in-government issues. These studies and background materials on a wide range of reform issues on the national and state levels can be found on Common Cause's web site - www.commoncause.org - along with special "Take Action" components that allow citizens to act on issues of open, honest and accountable government."
Contents [hide] |
Organization
"The Interim Chair of Common Cause is Martha Tierney; the President and CEO is Bob Edgar. Edgar previously served as head of the National Council of Churches"
"Common Cause's 30-member National Governing Board serves as its policy-making body. The members of the Board are elected by the membership to three-year terms. Board members meet in Washington three times a year to discuss, determine and oversee Common Cause's issue, organizational and financial activities."
Governing Board Members
- Archibald Cox was Chairman Emeritus.
- Benjamin Barber - Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland
- Margery Bronster - Attorney, Former Attorney General of Hawaii
- Michele Demers - President, Tattersall Consulting
- Bob Edgar - General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA
- Edward Thaddeus Foote II - President Emeritus and Chancellor, University of Florida
- Margaret Fung - Executive Director, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
- Elizabeth Garrett - Sydney M. Irmas Professor of Public Interest Law, Legal Ethics, and Political Science, -University of Southern California
- Ellen Golombek - SEIU
- Jack Gould - Past Chair and Issues Chair, Common Cause Nebraska
- Leonard Hill - Leonard Hill Films
- Charles Kolb - President and CEO, Committee for Economic Development
- William Kraus - Co-chair, Common Cause Wisconsin
- Eric Liu - Author, Fellow, The New America Foundation
- Maya MacGuineas - President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, New America Foundation
- Spencer Overton - Associate Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School
- Harold Pachios - Managing Partner, Preti Flaherty
- Bradley S. Phillips - Attorney
- Martha Phillips - Former Executive Director of the Concord Coalition
- Nancy Rhodes - Former Director of Campus Compact
- John Shattuck - Chief Executive Officer, JFK Library Foundation
- Martha Tierney - Attorney
National Governing Board Members
Funding
"Common Cause is financed, in large part, by the dues and contributions of its individual members. Because it is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization, such contributions to Common Cause are not tax deductible." The Common Cause Education Fund, the 501(c)(3) "affiliate, conducts research, education, and outreach activities and is supported by foundation grants and tax-deductible contributions from individuals and institutions. The combined annual operating budget of Common Cause and the Common Cause Education Fund is approximately $10 million. Common Cause does not solicit contributions from labor unions or corporations."
Contact
1133 19th Street NW, 9th Floor
Washington D.C. 20036
Phone: (202) 833-1200
Email: grassroots AT commoncause.org
Web: http://www.commoncause.org
Related SourceWatch Resources
- lobbying firms
- soft money
- David Cohen - served as president of Common Cause from 1975-81
- Robert A. Pastor - former director [1]
- Nicholas Johnson
- William Belding - former chief of staff ^[1]
- Kirk Clay
- Democracy Matters
- Matt Keller
External links
- Hamilton Nolan, "ANALYSIS Tom DeLay: DeLay facing pressure as groups question his ethics", PR Week, May 9, 2005. (Sub req'd.)
Cite error: tags exist, but no tag was found
...Carney, who spoke on Sunday at the conference, and other conservative journalists came in for criticism after the leaked memo revealed that they attended last year’s Koch meeting in Aspen – along with major GOP donor Phil Anschutz, who owns the Washington Examiner.
Afterwards, Carney voluntarily disclosed that he has received small payments from Koch-affiliated non-profits over the years for speeches, editing and mentoring. He told POLITICO Saturday that he considers it healthy for there to be scrutiny of people across the political spectrum “who spend money and get involved in politics – which is what’s going on in Palm Springs.”
But he said the way the White House and ThinkProgress have highlighted the Kochs’ activity has “has been silly and misleading and probably at times dishonest.”
Inside the resort at the beginning of the conference, “there was an atmosphere almost of paranoia,” said Gary Ferdman, a Common Cause official.
Ferdman had reservations at the resort and stayed there Thursday and Friday night. He said he was told Saturday that his lunch reservations at the resort restaurant had been canceled and was urged to check out and leave promptly by a member of Koch’s large security detail.
Security manned every doorway and stairwell near the ballrooms where Koch events were held, and threatened to jail this POLITICO reporter while he waited in line at the resort’s café, after he stopped by a Koch conference registration table.
The resort grounds were “closed for a private function,” the resort’s head of security, James Foster told POLITICO, ushering the reporter outside, where private security guards, wearing gold lapel pins bearing Koch’s “K” logo, threatened “a citizen’s arrest” and a “night in the Riverside County jail” if the reporter continued asking questions and taking photographs.
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Hobby Lobby and the legacy of Citizens United - Common ...
www.commoncause.org › democracy-wire › hobby-lob...
Corporate Accountability - Common Cause
www.commoncause.org › our-work › money-influence
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