All Things Reform blog notes 2008-01-11
Check in on a daily basis to see the latest notes from around the web concerning government reform. Labels:
All Things Reform, notes Both parties are in denial over the looming crisis that will accompany the retirement of the baby boomers. Estimates of the long-term fiscal imbalance in entitlement programs reach $60 trillion, dwarfing the government’s “official” debt of $8.6 trillion. Unless Congress takes action, the financial well-being of future generations will be jeopardized.
The Swine Line blog, from Citizens Against Government Waste, Jan 11 2008 Labels:
federal budget, federal debt The changes keep on coming in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Less than a month ago, former voting section chief John "minorities don't become elderly the way white people do: They die first" Tanner got canned. And today, his replacement, Christopher Coates, a veteran of the section, demoted Tanner's controversial deputy chiefs, Susana Lorenzo-Giguere and Yvette Rivera.
TPMmuckraker blog Jan 11 2008 Labels:
u.s. department of justice, civil rights, voting On January 11, the U.S. Supreme Court held a conference to decide which cases to take. It released the news of which cases it did accept, immediately after the conference. One of the cases is a campaign finance case, Davis v Federal Election Commission, 07-320. The lower court had upheld the law. The issue is part of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, called the “Millionaires’ Amendment.” The law says that restrictions on how much money individuals can give to federal candidates are eased, when one of the candidates in the race funds his own campaign with at least $350,000.
Ballot Access News blog Jan 11 2008 Labels:
U.S. Supreme Court, Federal Election Commission, campaign finance reform Columnist Richard Cohen of the Washington Post vigorously endorses publicly funded elections and calls on the presidential candidates to make it happen.
Common Cause blog Jan 8 2008 Labels:
Clean Elections, public financing of elections, campaign finance reform Congress will not grant blanket immunity to the telecom industry for allowing warrantless wiretapping by the government.
Common Cause blog Jan 22 2008 Labels:
wiretapping, telecom New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson just ducked out of the presidential race and his post-exit interview with Neil Cavuto at Fox News made a pitch for public financing of elections at the federal level to even out the playing field for candidates who have good experience, but lean resources.
Public Campaign Action Fund blog Jan 11 2008 Labels:
clean elections, public financing of elections, campaign finance reform Gmail - Illinois Legislature Sends National Pop...
mail.google.com/mail/?zx=1rp40kz7tywea&shva=1#inbo... The Illinois House of Representatives yesterday passed the National Popular Vote bill (HB 1685) and sent the bill to Governor Rod R. Blagojevich for his signature.
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee that the presidential candidate who receives the most votes in all 50 states (and the District of Columbia) will win the Presidency. The bill enacts an interstate compact called the “Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote.” Under the compact, all of the electoral votes of a member state would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC). The compact would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes. Thus, when the compact takes effect, it would guarantee the White House to the candidate with the most votes in all 50 states (and DC). The National Popular Vote bill now has 366 sponsors in 47 states. In addition, 391 other state legislators have voted YES on the bill. This total of 757 is more than 10% of the 7,410 state legislators in the country. The bill has been formally introduced in 44 states and is awaiting introduction in the remaining states. The National Popular Vote bill has now passed 13 legislative chambers since it was first announced at a press conference in February 2006, including
National Popular Vote newsletter Jan 10 2008 Labels:
National Popular Vote, HB 1685, bill Gmail - Taxpayers for Common Sense: Border Boon...
mail.google.com/mail/?zx=1rp40kz7tywea&shva=1#inbo... One thing we do know is that spending billions does not guarantee secure borders. Since passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, spending on border enforcement has increased more than tenfold and the number of border patrol agents tripled, while the number of illegal immigrants to the U.S. has skyrocketed. Border security needs to be about more than just political sound bites. Sen. Hutchison, Rep. Thompson and others deserve credit for asking tough questions and pushing DHS and Boeing to show that the border security efforts will actually increase security, not just increase taxpayer costs and burden local communities. DHS needs to take a step back to ensure we are securing the border and not just throwing billions at wasteful border boondoggles.Taxpayers for Common Sense newsletter Jan 11 2008 Labels:
borders, immigration, reform House. Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., is expected to announce as early as Friday whether he will resign his seat to become president of the Managed Funds Association, according to GOP sources. Baker notified the House clerk last week he was in talks with the group for a nearly $1 million annual salary. {He is] the ranking member of the House Financial Services Capital Markets Subcommittee. Over his time in Congress, Baker has received over $900,000 from
commercial banks and $655,000 from securities and investments firms.
" Hedging his bet"; Public Campaign Action Fund blog Jan 09 2008 Labels:
revolving door, lobbying Gmail - Voter File: Back to work - poetspirit@g...
mail.google.com/mail/?zx=1rp40kz7tywea&shva=1#inbo... Wisconsin voters strongly support
a proposal to offer a full public financing option to candidates
for the [Wisconsin] state Supreme Court.
Public Campaign Action Fund newsletter Jan 11 2008 Labels:
clean elections, public financing of elections, campaign finance reform Gmail - Voter File: Back to work - poetspirit@gmail.com
mail.google.com/mail/?zx=1rp40kz7tywea&shva=1#inbo... Eighty-six percent of incumbents and 76
percent of returning 2006 candidates say they will participate,
or are inclined to participate, in the [Connecticut] Clean Elections full
public financing program.
Public Campaign Action Fund newsletter Jan 11 2008 Labels:
clean elections, public financing of elections, campaign finance reform Gmail - Voter File: Back to work - poetspirit@gmail.com
mail.google.com/mail/?zx=1rp40kz7tywea&shva=1#inbo... Sen. McConnell has been instrumental in
de-fanging the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC), the lone
regulatory body standing between us and the Wild West of
campaign fundraising. The FEC is currently short two
commissioners, without which the agency is powerless
to issue binding rulings on campaign finance questions and
complaints. Just what you want in an election year that promises
to be the most expensive in history! McConnell, along with
President Bush, is attempting to strong-arm the nomination of
Hans von Spakovsky for one of the open seats. Von Spakovsky has
drawn criticism from ethics watchdogs and voting rights
organizations for his support of partisan redistricting
proposals and voter suppression schemes in the South.
Public Campaign Action Fund newsletter Jan 11 2008 Labels:
federal election commission, campaign finance reform, voting Some of the details by some in the Bush Administration to politicize the Justice Department’s law enforcement efforts are now well known, thanks in large measure to Senate and House Judiciary hearings held last year. Those hearings should continue in the year ahead for a couple of reasons. First, we have yet to learn fully about misconduct and possible crimes committed by DOJ officials and White House personnel during this period. Second, the current election cycle presents yet another opportunity for DOJ partisans to use law enforcement machinery to affect the outcome of this year’s elections. So there is some urgency to get to the bottom of all this and ensure that the problem is corrected going forward.
Campaign Legal Center blog: Is DOJ Still Steeped in Politics? Posted Jan 11 2008 by J Gerald Hebert Labels:
u.s. department of justice, Bush, ethics, corruption Gmail - Legal Center Weekly Report: January 11,...
mail.google.com/mail/?zx=1rp40kz7tywea&shva=1#inbo... In an e-mail reportedly sent New Year's Eve, von Spakovsky told
supporters that his time at the FEC had come to an end and that he recognized
that his nomination could not muster the votes necessary for confirmation.
Hebert urged the President to reach the same conclusion and to end the
stalemate created by his controversial nominee in order to allow the FEC to
continue its work in an election year.
Legal Center Weekly Report: Jan 11, 2008; Campaign Legal Center Labels:
von Spakovsky, Spakovsky, federal election commission Gmail - Legal Center Weekly Report: January 11, 2008 - poetspirit@gmail.com
mail.google.com/mail/?zx=1rp40kz7tywea&shva=1#inbo... Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral
argument in cases considering the constitutionality of an Indiana statute
requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls (Crawford v. Marion County Election Board and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita). A
decision in the case will be rendered later this year.
Legal Center Weekly Report: Jan 11, 2008, Campaign Legal Center Labels:
voting, voter ID, photo identification |