Posted on 11/28/2006 7:20:01 AM PST by presidio9
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday that First Amendment rights need to be expanded and cited the elimination of McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms as one solution.
Gingrich, a Republican, suggested allowing people to give any amount to any candidate as long as the donation is reported online within 24 hours.
"Just as tax lawyers always succeed in out-thinking the (Internal Revenue Service) because they stay after five and the IRS goes home, the private-sector lawyers will always out-think the (Federal Election Commission) because they stay after five and the FEC goes home," Gingrich told about 400 people at the Nackey Scripps Loeb First Amendment Awards Honors dinner.
Passed in 2002, the campaign finance law known as McCain-Feingold banned unrestricted donations from labor, corporations and the wealthy to the political parties. Gingrich said the reforms have failed and only led to more negative campaign ads via e-mail, television, direct mail and phone calls.
His attack on campaign finance reforms comes as he and one of the bills author's, Arizona Sen. John McCain, are eyed as potential 2008 GOP presidential candidates.
McCain has already formed a presidential exploratory committee while Gingrich says he will not make a decision until September.
Gingrich also spoke about the need to create different laws for fighting terrorism.
Noting the thwarted London terrorist attacks this summer, Gingrich said there should be a Geneva Convention for such actions that makes those people subject to "a totally different set of rules."
He also reaffirmed the Pledge of Allegiance, criticized attempts to ban its recitation and said the executive and legislative branches should watch over the courts.
In 2002, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled that the pledge was unconstitutional when recited in public schools because of the reference to God. The Supreme
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
All they do is help the Democrats and the labor unions.
I wish Newt were electable...
Hunter/Gingrich in 08? I could vote for that ticket. At least, they'd be a damn sight better than McStain/Guiliani/Romney type RINO's.
McCain-Feingold "reforms": hateful anti-liberty, anti-Constitutional, anti-free speech totalitarianism.
McCain and Feingold are both petty tyrants who deserve to be tossed into the garbage can of history.
Only registered voters in the district should contribute money. That eliminates control by out-of-staters, foreign countries, corporations, labor unions and PACs. Money talks but it's not free speech.
Amen!
Senator McPain is going to get his knickers in a twist over talk like this. Good!
even this is BS........if I wanna sell everything, house, car, clothes, etc. and give it to a candidate, i should be totally free to do so..........
He is.
Do you forget:
-"the Gingrich Who Stole Christmas"
-three marriages and MESSY divorces
-his overall bad reputation in the media
-the ethics charges (which IIRC were NOTHING compared to many pols ethics issues)
Sanford/Gingrich.
Or the other way around since Sanford's young and Newt's getting old.
I'm beginning to grow fond of Newt again.
I make an annual donation to NRA and Ron Paul of Texas...
I'd like to think so, but here's my analysis:
Bush won because he got conservative turnout and enough of the independent vote.
Gingrich would get almost NONE of the Indy vote unless people have forgotten all the (mostly trumped-up) "corruption" he was accused of by the media in the 90s. He'd get the fiscal wing of the GOP for sure, and depending on his immigration stance and WOT views, he could probably get those too, but a lot of evangelicals would sit out. And he would get virtually NO Dem crossovers, he's as hated by the Dems as Hillary is by us.
Has Hillary reported the money that she is being sued over????
The Peter Paul scam she says she doesn't remember about, nor does she know Mr. Paul, nor does she remember being in California at his home with his wife and her husband?????
Amazing how the smartest woman in the world has such a lapse of memory /sarcasm on!
On every point Newt makes he is intellectually superior to the media darlings. For that reason alone, he is unelectable. The MSM will savage him 24/7.
Newt would never run with Tancredo.
Newt was warning years ago that this nutiness would lead to giving two groups effective control of the debates: The liberal media and the labor unions.
It's happened and it worked.
A 'new' Geneva Convention?????????????????????
Exactly. It was a big disappointment to me when Bush signed it.
Against Hillary he is.
George Bush signed McCain-Feingold. The buck stops there.
You think so?
I mean, both of them have a book-deal scandal under their belts...so at least we're even there.
I'm thinking he means he'll propose repealing it if/when he becomes President...
I agree. Bush, McCain, and Feingold should be blamed for restricting freedom of speech that was promised by the First Amendment. Newt has a great idea, and the law should be repealed.
Nancee
No need knocking our guys. Why do the MSM's work? I want the best man to run, not a man that maybe can win. That strategy loses the base, and elections.
I do, but what do I know. My two most serious beliefs about the last election were intensely wrong.
Running a guy hated by 55% of the country is another sure-fire way to lose.
I'm not saying Newt is hated by 55%, I really have no idea, I just guess his unfavorables are unfortunately pretty high.
Not saying he can't change that. Two months ago I didn't think he was even a contender. Now I'm to the point I may well support him in the primaries if I can be convinced he can win.
"I also have reservations about the constitutionality of the broad ban on issue advertising, which restrains the speech of a wide variety of groups on issues of public import in the months closest to an election. I expect that the courts will resolve these legitimate legal questions as appropriate under the law."
"As a policy matter, I would have preferred a bill that included a provision to protect union members and shareholders from involuntary political activities undertaken by their leadership."
Individuals have a right not to have their money spent in support of candidates or causes with which they disagree, and those rights should be better protected by law. I hope that in the future the Congress and I can work together to remedy this defect of the current financing structure.
With these kind of reservations why sign a bad bill?
Mine too. Sigh...
Newt is appealing to the Rep base. This won't go anywhere in a Dem congress whose first issue will be ethics reform.
This is rich coming from Newt who also recently said that a "different set of rules" should be considered to reduce the ability of terrorists to use the Internet and abuse free speech to get out their message. Selective free speech is not free speech Newt. Of course this is the same "family values" hypocrite who is also notorious for his abysmal treatment of his ex-wives, one of whom he dumped so that he could marry a former aide young enough to be his daughter. Give it up Newt, your day in the sun is over.
Where'd you get that 55% figure? Not the media, I hope.
The man cuts to the quick. Much like Rush Limbaugh. And honesty hurts.
Love your haircut, btw.
Gingrich is right.
Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich are the best minds in media save Dr Thomas Sewell that is.Newt has my vote the second he asks for it.
Nowhere, I just made it up. I'm saying we need to research all that.
He's a good balance of optimistic and realistic. That's what we need.
If he would just come out strong about doing something about illegals, then I'll officially jump the Newt bandwagon.
THAT, my friends...is why Newt would be difficult to elect.
McCain-Feingold is a clear violation of the First Amendment.
THAT, my friends...is why Newt would be difficult to elect.
MCCAIN is a clear violation of the First Amendment.
How could he not be electable? He's got my support...
BUSH [to McCain]: Your call for campaign finance reform will hurt conservatives & the Republican Party.
(GOP debate, Jan 7, 2000)
Because of posters like the post in #37...
Gee, how times have changed around here.
If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny.
Wonder what was on the menu???
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