News

Fred Wertheimer for Huffington Post: “Citizens United Consequences Part Two: Super Rich Empowered, Ordinary Americans Undermined, Democracy Subverted”

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This op-ed is the second in a three part series on the consequences of the Citizens United decision. The first op-ed, entitled “Citizens United and its Disastrous Consequences: The Decision”, can be found here. The Huffington Post  Citizens United Consequences Part Two: Super Rich Empowered, Ordinary Americans Undermined, Democracy Subverted  By: Fred Wertheimer  January 20, 2015  […]

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Fred Wertheimer for Huffington Post: “Citizens United and its Disastrous Consequences: The Decision”

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  January 21 marks the sixth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, one of the worst and most damaging decisions in the Court’s history. In the case, the Supreme Court, by a 5 to 4 vote, ruled that it was unconstitutional to ban corporations from making independent expenditures […]

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Wertheimer: Maine Sun Journal article shows candidate & party limits being undermined by Hillary Victory Fund

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According to Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer: The Supreme Court in the McCutcheon decision struck down the aggregate limit on the total amount an individual donor could give to all party committees. By doing so, the Supreme Court made it possible for candidates and officeholders to solicit and for donors to give very large checks […]

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Riders on Party Spending Limits & Public Financing Left Out of Omnibus But Other Damaging Campaign Finance Riders Included

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Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Democracy 21 thanks and commends President Obama, House Democratic Leader Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Reid, and other Democratic members of Congress who worked on this, for their successful efforts to keep three very damaging campaign finance riders out of the final Omnibus spending bill. We also join […]

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Reform Groups Urge Democratic Leaders to Oppose Any Efforts to Kill Presidential Tax Checkoff System in Omnibus

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  Reforms groups sent a letter today enclosed below to President Barack Obama, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid urging them to block any last minute efforts to kill the presidential tax check off system in the Omnibus spending bill. The reform groups include Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, CREW, […]

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Wertheimer: “Reported Possible “Compromise” on McConnell Rider Would Destroy Candidate Contribution Limits”

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  According to an article in today’s Washington Post on the omnibus spending legislation currently being negotiated: Campaign finance could be another area of compromise. Conservatives worry that the proposed changes would give greater electoral control to mainstream party leaders. Aides said the campaign finance rule could possibly be adapted to ease those concerns by including […]

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Democracy 21 and Campaign Legal Center Call for Justice Department Investigation of Group Supporting Rubio Campaign and Improperly Claiming 501(c)(4) Status

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 In a letter sent today to the Tax Division of the Justice Department, Democracy 21, joined by the Campaign Legal Center, called for an investigation of the Conservative Solutions Project (CSP), an organization claiming tax-exempt status as a social welfare organization under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code. According to the letter, “The investigation should […]

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Reform Groups Urge Members of Congress to Reject Damaging Campaign Finance Riders

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In a letter sent today, reform groups strongly urged senators and representatives to reject damaging campaign finance riders that have been attached to pending House and Senate Appropriations Committee bills and to oppose any new campaign finance riders that would weaken or undermine the campaign finance laws. The groups included Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, […]

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Democracy 21 and Campaign Legal Center Urge FEC Commissioners to Reject Proposal from Commissioner Goodman

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  Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center sent a letter today to the FEC Commissioners urging them to reject a proposal to be offered at the agency’s October 29 meeting by Commissioner Lee Goodman to provide “regulatory relief for political parties.” According to the letter: The most alarming suggestion in this proposal is to […]

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Watchdog Groups File FEC Comments Supporting Rulemaking to Revise Flawed Regulations

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  Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center filed comments today in support of a Public Citizen rulemaking petition seeking revisions of the FEC’s flawed disclosure and coordination regulations. The comments noted that the two organizations also filed comments last January, in a similar rulemaking proceeding, also seeking new disclosure and coordination rules.  The comments […]

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