News

Democracy 21 Statement on Rove-Backed Tax-Exempt “Social Welfare” Organization, Crossroads GPS, Which Reportedly Received a $10 Million Secret Contribution for Obama Attack Ads

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Crossroads GPS, the brainchild of Republican operative Karl Rove, and a group that claims tax-exempt status as a section 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, reportedly received a secret contribution of $10 million dollars to spend on ads attacking President Obama. According to an April 13 article in The Washington Post: An anonymous donor has given $10 […]

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Constitution Daily: “Constitution Check: Would the Supreme Court uphold a ban on Super PACs closely linked to candidates?”

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Following is a piece by Lyle Denniston, entitled “Constitution Check: Would the Supreme Court uphold a ban on Super PACs closely linked to candidates?” which was published on the Constitution Daily blog. According to Constitution Daily, “Lyle Denniston is the National Constitution Center’s Adviser on Constitutional Literacy. He has reported on the Supreme Court for […]

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U. S. Appeals Court Judge Richard Posner in blog post calls into question the Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision

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In an April 8, 2012 blog post, Judge Richard Posner has called into question the controversial Supreme Court decision in Citizens United. Judge Posner is a widely-recognized conservative Judge and former Chief Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.  A 2004 poll by Legal Affairs magazine named Judge Posner as one of […]

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Bloomberg News article: Republican Donor Simmons Seeks Rule to Fill Texas Dump

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Republican Donor Simmons Seeks Rule to Fill Texas Dump By Julie Bykowicz April 4, 2012 Harold Simmons built a West Texas dump for radioactive waste that is bigger than 1,000 football fields and he can’t fill it. To turn it into a profitable enterprise, the Texas billionaire hired lobbyists to urge the Obama administration to […]

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MSNBC interview with Fred Wertheimer on ending candidate-specific super PACs

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Fred Wertheimer, President of Democracy 21, appeared on MSNBC this morning to discuss his op-ed “How to stop super PACs” which was published yesterday by The Washington Post.  The op-ed explained how candidate-specific Super PACs like the ones currently operating in the 2012 presidential election are vehicles for corruption and are returning the nation to a system […]

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The Washington Post op-ed by Fred Wertheimer: How to stop super PACs

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How to stop super PACs   By Fred Wertheimer Here is the only good news about the super PACs flooding the 2012 presidential race with negative ads funded by huge contributions from the super rich: These vehicles for corruption can be eliminated. Congress can pass legislation to end these candidate-specific super PACs that is well within […]

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Federal District Court Strikes down FEC Regulation that Gutted Disclosure Requirement, DISCLOSE Act Still Essential to End Secret Money in Federal Elections

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 By Fred Wertheimer, President, Democracy 21 Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) won an important campaign finance disclosure victory in federal district court on Friday, March 30, 2012 in the case of Van Hollen v. Federal Election Commission.   Judge Amy Berman Jackson in her opinion struck down as contrary to law an FEC regulation that gutted […]

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Federal District Court Strikes FEC Regulation that Gutted Contribution Disclosure By Outside Spending Groups as Contrary to Law in Lawsuit by Representative Van Hollen

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A federal district court in Washington, DC today struck down a regulation issued by the Federal Election Commission in 2007 that gutted the contribution reporting requirements that apply to groups which make electioneering communications. “Electioneering communications” are defined in the law as broadcast ads that mention a candidate 60 days before the general election and […]

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Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Urges Support for the DISCLOSE Act of 2012 in Senate Testimony Today

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In testimony before the Senate Rules Committee this morning, Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer urged enactment of the DISCLOSE Act of 2012 and made the case for why this is essential disclosure legislation. According to the Wertheimer testimony: The legislation restores a cardinal rule of campaign finance laws:  citizens are entitled to know who is […]

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