Thanks Mo!
Bringing this over from other thread.
Senator Obama's clean and articulate remarks:
That is why I am reintroducing the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act. It's a bill that makes voter intimidation and deception punishable by law, and it contains strong penalties so that people who commit these crimes suffer more than just a slap on the wrist. The bill also seeks to address the real harm of these crimes--people who are prevented from voting by misinformation--by establishing a process for reaching out to these misinformed voters with accurate information so they can cast their votes in time.
Senator Schumer has joined me in introducing this legislation, and we are joined by our colleagues, Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Senators Cardin, Feingold, Kerry, Feinstein and Clinton as original co-sponsors to this bill.
There are some issues in this country that are inherently difficult and political. Making sure that every American can cast a ballot shouldn't be one of them. There is no place for politics in this debate--no room for those who feel that they can gain a partisan advantage by keeping people away from the polls. It's time to get this done in a bipartisan fashion, and I believe this bill can make it happen.
I ask unanimous consent that a New York Times editorial from January 31, 2007, be printed in the Record.
Yes, let's bring election deception to the floor for a debate.
More quoting of the NYT's editorial on the floor of the Senate.
Mr. Feingold:
Mr. President, I am pleased to be working once again with my partner in reform, the senior Senator from Arizona, Senator McCain, to introduce the 527 Reform Act.
Our purpose is simple--to pass legislation that will do what the FEC could and should do under current law, but, once again, has failed to do. Current Federal election law requires these groups to register as political committees and to stop raising and spending soft money. But the FEC has failed to enforce the law, so we must act in the Congress. This bill will make it absolutely clear that the federal election laws apply to 527 organizations.
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This bill will require all 527s to register as political committees unless they fall into a number of narrow categories. The exceptions are basically for groups that Congress exempted from disclosure requirements because they are so small or for groups that are involved exclusively in State election activity. Once a group registers as a political committee, certain activities, such as ads that mention only Federal candidates, will have to be paid for solely with hard money.
Etc, Etc