Posted on 05/06/2014 6:05:06 AM PDT by SoConPubbie
Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), laying out his views this week on campaign finance laws, says that donors to political candidates should be made public. But when it comes to donors to advocacy groups, he says, transparency would be a problem.
The difference, Mr. Cruz said, is that disclosure of donations to candidates is a hedge against corrupting public officials. But donors to advocacy groups, such as the National Rifle Association, must be able to give money without fear that people who disagree would use their contributions against them.
Requiring such groups to disclose their donors would chill free speech, he said.
Mr. Cruz addressed federal campaign finance law on Wednesday during a hearing of the Senate Rules Committee. Bemoaning contribution limits as unconstitutional, Mr. Cruz said it would be better to allow anyone to give whatever theyd like.
A far better system would to allow individuals unlimited contributions to candidates and require immediate disclosure, Mr. Cruz said. Mr. Cruz tweeted a video of his remarks from his Twitter
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
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That Rod Serling meme is perfect. We’re living in The Twilight Zone ever since this country *elected* a complete unknown, who wants to control every aspect of our lives.
As usual ‘The Cruz’ is correct!
We just witnessed the results of listing donors when the CEO of Mozilla was run off due to giving $1000 to prop 8 in California. $1000, 10 years ago, to a 3rd party group, cost him his ability to make a living. I agree with Cruz. If he had given money to a politician, we could watch if he received any undue benefit from said donation, but giving to a 3rd party influence group is the purest of free speech. Supporting an idea is much different than supporting a person. Its tough for an idea to be influenced by money but almost any person can be bought, we just have to negotiate a price. Even the purest pol will think twice about his vote if he knows it will cost him millions. Giving money to an advocacy group is just supporting an idea. They won’t change their mind if you don’t give. If donations fall off, they just go out of business. If they get more donations, they have the ability to support the idea more. That’s the beauty of the NRA. They are derided as the evil pro gun group drowning in money. That just means more people support the second Amendment than not. If Soros gives billions to a candidate, we are basically electing Soros. There should be limits and disclosure. As we found out in the Clinton elections, even China got a seat at the American table. What difference would it make if China gave to the NRA or to an abortion group?
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