Money and Politics – How to Buy a Vote
February 14, 2008
No matter how often supporters of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) – a.k.a McCain-Feingold – tell us that they got the money out of politics, every day more cash is being thrown around by national politicians.
During the 2000 election cycle, campaign finance reform was the issue. Soft money had to be removed from the political machine. It was “out of control.”
The BCRA was a mixed bag for those who wanted to remove the money from politics. It eliminated all soft money donations to the national party committees, but it also more than doubled the contribution limit of hard money, from $1,000 to $2,300 per election cycle, with a built-in increase for inflation.
In addition, the bill aimed to curtail ads by non-party organizations by banning the use of corporate or union money to pay for “electioneering communications,” a term defined as broadcast advertising that identifies a federal candidate within 30 days of a primary or nominating convention, or 60 days of a general election.
This provision of McCain-Feingold, sponsored by Maine Republican Olympia Snowe and Vermont Independent James Jeffords, as introduced applied only to for-profit corporations, but was extended to incorporated, non-profit issue organizations, such as the Environmental Defense Fund or the National Rifle Association, as part of the “Wellstone Amendment,” sponsored by Senator Paul Wellstone.
So what we’re left with are Political Action Committees and 527s. From boston.com:
Superdelegates get campaign cash
Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor February 14, 2008 03:54 PMMany of the superdelegates who could well decide the Democratic presidential nominee have already been plied with campaign contributions by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, a new study shows.
“While it would be unseemly for the candidates to hand out thousands of dollars to primary voters, or to the delegates pledged to represent the will of those voters, elected officials serving as superdelegates have received about $890,000 from Obama and Clinton in the form of campaign contributions over the last three years,” the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics reported today.
About half the 800 superdelegates — elected officials, party leaders, and others — have committed to either Clinton or Obama, though they can change their minds until the convention.
Obama’s political action committee has doled out more than $694,000 to superdelegates since 2005, the study found, and of the 81 who had announced their support for Obama, 34 had received donations totaling $228,000.
Clinton’s political action committee has distributed about $195,000 to superdelegates, and only 13 of the 109 who had announced for her have received money, totaling about $95,000.
Yeah, really got the money out of politics didn’t they? All of this is perfectly legal, but the money that I send to the NRA can’t be used for political advertising in support of my positions within 30 days of a primary, or 60 days before a general election. So much for the 1st Amendment.
“Safe” is a Relative Term [Updated]
February 14, 2008
Just watching Fox News with their first live report concerning the tragedy that is unfolding at Northern Illinois University. Another sad day for students, as a white male walked into a packed lecture hall with three firearms and started shooting. He then killed himself. As of this writing, he’s murdered four students.
Update: Six Five killed as of Friday morning, and the shooter identified as 27-year-old Steven Kazmierczak — former Northern Illinois University graduate student.
Prayers go out to the faculty, staff and students at NIU. No one wants these events to happen on campus. Young adults at that age should be having a good time, making life-long friends and learning a few things along the way.
A freshman being interviewed by the Fox correspondent mentioned an incident in December that led university officials to close the campus during finals week.
The school was closed for one day during final exam week in December after campus police found threats, including racial slurs and references to shootings earlier in the year at Virginia Tech, scrawled on a bathroom wall in a dormitory. Police determined after an investigation that there was no imminent threat and the campus was reopened.
The young lady being interviewed was heading home. She said she was “too close.” She also mentioned that after the incident in December that the university staff and police said “they were safe.”
No, you were not. Safe is defined as being secure from danger, harm, or evil. Safe is a relative term.
NIUs Student Code of Conduct (PDF, 1.65mb) prohibits weapons including shotguns and handguns on campus. If students wish to bring firearms onto campus, they must get permission and leave them at the University Security Office. Reports state that the shooter was not a NIU student, but may have been a student from another school.
After the Virginia Tech tragedy, a dialog began concerning students carrying concealed weapons on campus. Many law-biding, qualified citizens are allowed to carry a concealed weapon, but they are being denied that right at some schools.
We must be open to allowing these young adults – and teachers – to carry a firearm so they have an opportunity to defend themselves. It’s their right to do so. Give them the opportunity to level the playing field during tragedies like this.
Students will never be safe on campus, and we need to stop giving the impression that schools are safe just because the code of conduct bans weapons.
More at Malkin and Instapundit.
Note: Illinois is one of two states – the other being Wisconsin – where your right to carry is denied. (Washington D.C. also denies this right) You may not carry a pistol concealed or open. When traveling with firearms, laws require that they be locked up and inaccessible. You can find more information concerning your state laws at one of the Web sites listed below, or at your state government’s Web site.
He Said, He Said – Congress Investigates Steroid Use
February 13, 2008
I have not thought too much about steroid use in baseball, but there is one thing that I’m certain of, Congress has specific responsibilities listed in the U.S. Constitution and there is no mention of hearing on steroids in baseball.
Fox News is covering the hearings live. Here is the opening statement from Roger Clemens.
When the commissioner of baseball named former Senate majority leader George Mitchell to run baseball’s investigation into the issue, that was fine. But why are we now in front of some Senate committee?
How did the committee get access to Clemens’ medical records? Maybe Clemens provided them, I do not know, but I feel uncomfortable with a senator reading private medical documents in this hearing; and you should too.
This is a complete waist of time and dollars. What will the result of these hearing be? Must be some federal legislation – yeah, we need more of that.
For Conservatives – Race Not an Issue
February 12, 2008
But it certainly always is for liberals and most Democrats.
Rendell: Race Factor Could Hurt Obama
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Ed Rendell, one of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s most visible supporters, said some white Pennsylvanians are likely to vote against her rival Barack Obama because he is black.“You’ve got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate,” Rendell told the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in remarks that appeared in Tuesday’s paper.
Bill Clinton must have made a call: “Hey Ed, since I can’t attack Obama anymore, I’m going to need to to remind everyone that Obama is black. And while your doing that, why not let people know that whites probably won’t vote for him either.”
If that isn’t racism, I’m not sure what is.
I won’t vote for Obama specifically because he’s a liberal populist. I can list many reasons I do not think he is qualified to represent me as president, and not one of them has to do with race. The white folk in Pennsylvania should be outraged.
Attendees Fainting at Obama Rallies
February 12, 2008
We have not posted too much about the Democrat candidates for president, but something I heard near the end of Jim Vicevich’s Sound off Connecticut show on WTIC AM this morning made me laugh.
It seems as though the ladies are fainting as they cry and laugh with Obama at rallies across the country. Ladies are dropping in Seattle, Hartford, Kansas, Los Angeles, Wisconsin, and Dartmouth, N.H.
They seem to be fainting close enough to the stage for Obama to reach for some water and hand it to the crowd to provide some assistance. This is happening over and over. The faintee is always close to the stage and Obama seems to react the same way.
The phenomenon is not just limited to Obama rallies it seems. Clinton attendees are dropping in New York, St. Louis, Arizona, and Missouri. She’s ready with the water too.
I’m quite certain that folks are fainting at McCain and Huckabee events, but Google huckabee fainting and then mccain fainting and you don’t get too much other than references to the Democrat rallies above. I found the links above by searching for clinton fainting and obama fainting.
I’m not making light of these events, some of the attendees need to wait hours in line in the cold before they are crammed into auditoriums where it can get quite warm as they wait for the candidates. I just find the comparisons between R and D candidates pretty interesting. Maybe it’s global warming?
