Free Republic

Is it a good thing or a bad thing that a presidential candidate demonstrates an ability to raise enough money to effectively reach the “inhabitants of America” with his political message? On Friday, National Public Radio’s The Diane Rehm Show took a further drag on our tax dollars to take incredulous note of the fact that four Super PACs supportive of Republican Ted Cruz’s campaign for president declared having collected, collectively, $31 million. One of Diane’s guests, Neal King, Jr., with the Wall Street Journal, explained that all four PACs associated with the Cruz effort sport the “Keep the Promise”...

WASHINGTON — In the latest barb of a recent conservative onslaught aimed at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a new watchdog group said Friday it has asked the Federal Election Commission to determine whether she has violated campaign laws by failing to formally declare her presidential candidacy. The complaint cited media reports that Clinton has already picked her staff, selected pollsters and that her team is feeding talking points to a new political group to try to defend her amid a controversy over her use, while secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, of a private email account to...

For months, White House hopefuls from both parties have been raising millions in unlimited contributions at upscale fund-raisers from Manhattan to Palm Springs, Calif. — all without officially declaring themselves candidates and becoming subject to federal caps on contributions. Only a few of some 20 would-be presidential candidates have even bothered to set up the exploratory committees that were once a time-tested way to declare interest in the White House — and that set off their own fund-raising restrictions. But two leading campaign finance groups charged on Tuesday that the spread of these unofficial campaigns in recent months was not...

In a new interview with Playboy, former Vice President Dick Cheney accused President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder of "playing the race card" and said that he could "go on for hours" about all of the ways Obama has "undone" the work of President George W. Bush.Although the article claims that Cheney's "preoccupations revolve around the books in his study and the purchase of just the right gifts for his grandchildren," it sounds more like he's kind of obsessed with Obama. Calling him "the worst president in my lifetime," Cheney said his criticism of Obama and Holder has nothing...

Politico scored a journalistic coup with its exclusive 2014 profile on Lois Lerner, the former IRS official at the center of the agency's targeting of conservative groups. But a former Illinois lawmaker who said Politico contacted him repeatedly that year with questions regarding claims he was targeted by Lerner in the mid-1990s has been left wondering why the news group chose to ignore his documented dealings with the former federal official. "I was shocked," Al Salvi told the Washington Examiner's media desk, describing what he characterizes as several "lengthy" interviews with Politico reporter Rachael Bade. Lerner went after his 1996...

(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) says, “corporations control the patterns of thinking” in the United States and that the Bill of Rights to the Constitution should be amended so that the government is given the power to restrict freedom of speech. "We need a constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to control the so-called free speech rights of corporations," said Johnson. “These corporations, along with the people they support, other millionaires who they’re putting into office, are stealing your government. They’re stealing the government and the U.S. Supreme Court was a big enabler with the Citizens United case,” Johnson...

A Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission wants to see changes that could narrow the scope of new net neutrality rules set for a vote on Thursday. Mignon Clyburn, one of three Democrats on the FCC, has asked Chairman Tom Wheeler to roll back some of his provisions before the full commission votes on them, FCC officials said. The request — which Wheeler has yet to respond to — puts the chairman in the awkward position of having to either roll back his proposals, or defend the tough rules and convince Clyburn to back down. It’s an ironic spot for...

**SNIP** So Thursday, the FEC sent Jackson’s campaign committee its eighth consecutive failure-to-file notice. It must file its end-of-the year report for 2014 or face a penalty. (Perhaps that threat rings a bit hollow when you’re already in jail?) In August 2014, the FEC fined Jackson for nearly $18,000 for not filing reports in 2013, according to the Chicago Tribune. He must formally terminate his committee to get the FEC off his back, but his treasurer quit in September 2013, and so it seems there’s no person responsible for doing the necessary paperwork. Since his last report in November 2012,...

Democrats on the Federal Elections Commission have begun the process of monitoring speech and press on the internet in order to supposedly tackle the issue of “too much money in politics.” The claim is that powerful corporations and rich “fat cats” are anonymously influencing elections through support of various blogs, news sites, and video publications online. The internet has turned the entire political dynamic in the United States on its head. People now have access to an unlimited wealth of information about every topic pertinent to policymaking. They don’t have to wait for an elected official or the mainstream media...

The left lifts its boot toward the free flow of information We knew this was coming. Within the last couple of weeks, both the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Election Commission declared their intention to regulate the Internet. Fascists always explain their actions as efforts to either make something more efficient, “fair,” or to supposedly “protect” their target. Sometimes they simply lie, like saying they’re nationalizing health insurance to make it more affordable and to increase access to health care. Now, with the feds’ latest effort, their new slogan might as well be, “If you like your Internet, you...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog Even before adopting net neutrality, here are 26 actions by which the Obama administration has already proven itself to be incompetent when it comes to the internet The fact that Obama refuses to allow the public to see his 332 page net neutrality plan until after its implementation is voted on is, by itself, reason enough for me to oppose the plan.I would think that even the biggest supporters of net neutrality would be curious as to why Obama won’t let people see his plan until after it is implemented.However, in addition to that, here are...

The Federal Election Commission is considering expanding their regulatory power to include political speech online… Yeah, let’s regulate the internet. I mean, free speech can’t just be expected to run wild or anything, right? The FEC held an open hearing yesterday to determine if they will move forward on clamping down on political content online (such as blogs, YouTube videos, and other “free” messaging). According to CNS News:Last October, FEC Chairwoman Ann Ravel issued a statement in which she complained that the agency was not doing enough to monitor activity on the Internet.Right… Because I know I’m terrified that the feds...

The federal government, taking pages from the playbooks of Communist nations like China, is preparing regulations that will have profound impacts on free speech online. If the regulations succeed via the Federal Elections Committee, any posts, videos or news stories posted in support or opposition of a candidate will be considered a political contribution. The FEC closely regulates contribution limits, meaning that blogs and Youtubers would have their free speech capped once their content value surpasses the spending limit. In other words, your posts, comments or videos supporting or opposing a candidate will be treated like donations or campaign independent...

The internet is under assault. At the Federal Communications Commission, regulators are hard at work crafting a plan that would turn the internet into a taxable utility. In Congress, lawmakers are determining whether and how best to tax the sales that occur on the internet. And over at the Federal Election Commission, the regulation of political speech that takes place on the internet is back on the table. In October, then FEC Vice Chairwoman Ann M. Ravel promised that she would renew a push to regulate online political speech following a deadlocked commission vote that would have subjected political videos...

Claiming that thousands of public comments condemning “dark money” in politics can’t be ignored, the Democrat-chaired Federal Election Commission on Wednesday appeared ready to open the door to new regulations on donors, bloggers and others who use the Internet to influence policy and campaigns. During a broad FEC hearing to discuss a recent Supreme Court decision that eliminated some donor limits, proponents encouraged the agency to draw up new funding disclosure rules and require even third-party internet-based groups to reveal donors, a move that would extinguish a 2006 decision to keep the agency’s hands off the Internet.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is holding a hearing today to receive public feedback on whether it should create new rules regulating political speech, including political speech on the Internet that one commissioner warned could affect blogs, YouTube videos and even websites like the Drudge Report. The hearing is a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC last year, which struck down the FEC’s previous cap on aggregate campaign contributions from a single donor in an election cycle.

(CNSNews.com) -- The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is holding a hearing today to receive public feedback on whether it should create new rules regulating political speech, including political speech on the Internet that one commissioner warned could affect blogs, YouTube videos and even websites like the Drudge Report. The hearing is a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC last year, which struck down the FEC’s previous cap on aggregate campaign contributions from a single donor in an election cycle. Before the decision, individuals were limited to a combined total of $46,200 in contributions to all...

Video at link....

Democrats have been salivating for some time with their desire to control internet political speech The desire to kill political speech on the internet is nothing new, when it comes to the liberal left progressive Democrats. Their goal is not to win in the arena of ideas, but to eliminate any voice that dares to speak out against them in the arena of ideas. In the battle to silence dissent online, an attack is being launched by the FEC (Federal Elections Commission). Regardless of Congress, regardless of the First Amendment which tells the Federal Government to keep its hands off...

In 2014 censorship has become a product of the left. Arguably censorship in the United States has always been a product of the progressives. They have forever tried to link National Socialist book burnings with conservatives. In reality, it is modern liberals who want to censor free speech. The McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law sought to impose restrictions on who may speak prior to an election. The progressive law intended to limit speech to government approved speakers. Namely politicians and the mainstream press. Everyone else saw their right to speak restricted. The Citizens United case, which centered around the showing...