Posted on 03/07/2006 5:14:24 PM PST by Skatergal
- nonprofits engaging in grassroots lobbying soon could be forced to reveal political strategies and financial backers under an amendment attached to one of the Senate’s two pending lobbying-reform bills.
The amendment, sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.), would require grassroots lobbyists such as Lux to register with the clerk of the House and disclose their spending within 45 days after starting an initiative.
Conservative nonprofit groups last month assembled a coalition called LobbySense to help bring down the Senate’s original grassroots lobbying-disclosure provision, authored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) but replaced with the Lieberman-Levin language at last week’s markup in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
LobbySense members include Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, Tom McClusky of the Family Research Council and Tom Schatz of Citizens Against Government Waste. Spokeswoman Kerri Houston said the coalition plans to recruit liberal partners if the new grassroots disclosure rules spring up in any future House lobbying-reform bills.
While critical of AFV’s political stance, Houston defended the group’s right to run the phone calls against Republican lawmakers without having to reveal its supporters.
“From an ideological perspective, I wish they would go away because I completely disagree with them, but I’d defend to the death their right to say things I disagree with,” Houston said. Echoing Lux’s argument in favor of preserving secrecy for grassroots-issue campaigns, Houston added that under the Lieberman-Levin provision, “you’re now explaining to your competition what your plans are.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
All the information is at LobbySense.com, a new site run by Kerri Houston and Jason Wright.
We need to call our Senators now. LobbySense says this is going to be voted on THIS WEEK in the Senate.
That is correct. I have been following this. Thanks to Cboldt's postings, I have been able to read the proposed legislation. I don't like it and this just confirms my discomfort. They are tired of havint the "little people" telling them what they want, from whatever side of the political spectrum they come from and I think this is an effort to put a stop to that. I was waiting to see what the "groups" had to say.
Isn't Dean's DNC campaign $ all about grass roots?
Campain financing is regulated separately from lobbying.
It's all a big mess because Washington has too much influence and a massive concentration of money, and the politicians are professional crooks.
GAARgghhHHH! FREE SPEECH BAD!!! GOVERNMENT GOOOOD! *growl* PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY MAKE TUMMY HURT! GRRRR!!!
(Stomps on copy of Bill of Rights. Attacks Mitch McConnell with Mothra.)
*sardonic laugh* That about sums it up.
He wants to endow foreign Muslim terrorists with rights that they aren't entitled to, and strip us of basic Constitutional rights.
He comes from a border state where people are sick and tired of our appeasment of the Mexican government, and yet he is the biggest OBL out there.
It just doesn't make sense.
Why is this man even a Republican?
Very important differentiation. The 'grassroots' being attached in S. 2128 are not political grassroots, but policy activist groups like NRA, Family Research Council, taxpayer groups and state think tanks. Go to the "member" section at LobbySense and look at all the groups that signed on. They put it very well that it is about fundamental first amendment rights ... like, speech, assembly, petitioning the government, etc.
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