The First Amendment Action Network- a joint project between
The American Conservative Union and FreeRepublic Network
Posted on 03/20/2002 1:06:31 PM PST by diotima
WHY CAMPAIGN FINANCE "REFORM" IS BAD FOR AMERICA!
1. IT STIFLES FREE SPEECH! The First Amendment of the Constitution states...
"CONGRESS shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances."
The restrictions this bill places on political advertising 60 days before an election and 30 days before a
primary directly impact the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment. The Representatives,
Senators and President that we elect all swear an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution - NOT to
ignore and undermine the Constitution.
2. IT EMPOWERS THE MEDIA! While groups are restricted in putting on ads before an election, the
broadcast media will increase its power to “educate” voters. TV and radio reporters have a long history of
putting their own bias into candidate profiles and interviews, and the media conglomerates are highly
selective about what they cover. An opponent's events are just politics, but anything the incumbent does is
considered news.
3. IT EMPOWERS INCUMBENTS! By making less information available about candidates in the critical time period before elections, incumbents are removing another source of criticism about their records. Shortly before elections is the precise time when most voters are seeking out such information. That's why knowledgeable people refer to this bill as: The Incumbent Security Act. The impact of this bill would mean that incumbents are more likely to stay in office than ever before.
4. IT KEEPS VOTERS IN THE DARK! As a voter, you deserve the opportunity to make up your own
mind about the candidates with information from any source you choose.
5. IT DISCOURAGES VOTER PARTICIPATION! Campaign reform proponents say voter apathy and cynicism demands that the influence of "special interests" in politics be reduced. Voters are not cynical
because of how much money is spent on election campaigns. They are cynical because they believe their
elected officials rarely do what is best for the country, but more often do what is best to stay in office. AND BINGO! Campaign Finance Reform will help keep incumbents in office!
RELEVANT QUOTATIONS ABOUT FREEDOM OF SPEECH
In the free society ordained by our constitution, it is not the government, but the people--individually as citizens and candidates and collectively as associations and political committees--who must retain control over the quantity and range of debate on public issues in a political campaign. - U.S. Supreme Court, Buckley v. Valeo
The liberty of speaking and writing guards our other liberties. - Thomas Jefferson
View Message from David Keene: The chairman of the ACU discusses the next stage in the struggle over Campaign Finance Reform, and what you can do to take action to stop it.
QuickTime Format
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Join First Amendment Action Network HERE
CALL PRESIDENT BUSH TODAY! TELL HIM TO VETO CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM AND PROTECT YOUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS!
WHITE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD: 202-456-1414
WHITE HOUSE FAX: 202-456-2461
EMAIL: president@whitehouse.gov
Compiled by The Free Republic Network - www.freerepublic.net
Special thanks to dittomom and the Leadership Council for the talking points!
OK, LOL....you go ahead and live in your "present moment".....I did that in 2000, when I worked hard to take the trash out of the WH. The unconstitutional process of x42 motivated me to volunteer to see he and his VP gutted from the WH. Yes, I was mad about it! And I'd expect to see these "constitutionalist" freepers concerned about senators who voted for CFR. But alas, that's not what I see! I see a feeding frenzy against the president, who hasn't acted yet. Now I have to wonder, what are the motives here?
5 words, Paul Wellstone and Mark Dayton. Just what is a person supposed to do when you've got the dumb and dumber of politics?
David A. Keene, Chairman, American Conservative Union Paul Beckner, Citizens for a Sound Economy Thomas P. Kilgannon, Freedom Alliance Ward Connerly, American Civil Rights Institute Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform Ken Connor, Family Research Council L. Brent Bozell, Conservative Victory Committee Morton Blackwell, Conservative Leadership PAC Eric M. Licht, President, Coalitions for America William Mellor, General Counsel, Institute for Justice J.P. Backlin, Legislative Director, Christian Coalition Craig Shirley, Craig Shirley & Associates Mark R. Levin, Landmark Legal Foundation Gary Aldrich, CNP Action, Inc Kellyanne Conway, The Polling Company / Woman Trend Alan M. Gottlieb, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Charles W. Jarvis, United Seniors Association Lewis K. Uhler, National Tax Limitation Committee Bruce W. Eberle, Eberle Communications Group Jim Martin, 60 Plus Association Andrea Lafferty, Traditional Values Coalition Tom Phillips, President, Phillips PAC Cleta Mitchell, Attorney, Washington D.C. John Berthoud, National Taxpayers Union David Keating, Club for Growth Advocacy Jeff Hollingsworth, The National Conservative Campaign Fund Fred L. Smith Jr., President, Competitive Enterprise Institute James C. Roberts, American Studies Center Richard A. Viguerie, ConservativeHQ.com Richard Norman, The Richard Norman Company David M. Bossie, Citizens United Audrey Mullen, Patriot PAC Elaine Donnelly, Center for Military Readiness Chuck Muth, Republican Liberty Caucus Robert Funk, American Shareholders Association Bob Johnson, Chairman, Free Republic Network Amy Ridenour, The National Center for Public Policy Research(a) Allen Roth, New York State Conservative Party Young Conservatives of Texas, David B. Kopel Marc Levin, Columnist, National Review Online(a) Austin Ruse, Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute(a) Shaun Marie Levine, Executive Director, Conservative Party of New York Edwin Moore, James Madison Institute(a) Steve Baldwin, CNP Action, Inc. Jennifer Holder, NoInternetTax.org Larry Pratt, Gun Owners of America D. Eric Schippers, Center for Individual Freedom David Almasi, Director of Project 21(a) Charles W. Baird, Director, The Smith Center Joan L. Hueter, American Council for Immigration Reform Star Parker, Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education Jake Haulk, Allegheny Institute for Public Policy(a) James Parmelee, Republicans United for Tax Relief John Taylor, Virginia Institute of Public Policy(a) Brandon Dutcher, Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs(a) Gary Jarmin, Christian Voice Farha Ahmed, Muslim American Republican Caucus Greg Kaza, Arkansas Policy Foundation(a) Larry Cirigano, CatholicVote.org Richard Falknor, Maryland Taxpayers Association Gerry Dickinson, South Carolina Policy Council Education Foundation(a) Darrell McKigney, Small Business Survival Committee R. N. Dwight Patel, Director, Association of Concerned Taxpayers Julie Versnel, American Political Action Committee
Nothing
Good golly, I hope that you are working very hard to defeat those senators who voted for CFR, from any state (and there are many ways you could help).....as you are to devoting time to prognosticate on what the President intends to do with this bill.
Why would that be?
The letter reads as follows:
By American Conservative Union
CNSNews.com Information Services
(Editor's note: What follows is the text of a letter to President George W. Bush from American conservatives, who want the president to veto new campaign finance restrictions passed by Congress. The Senate gave final approval to the bill on Wednesday.)
President George W. Bush 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington D.C. 20500 March 20, 2002,/pre> Dear Mr. President:
On behalf of the nearly one million members and supporters of the American Conservative Union, and the millions more represented by those groups who have co-signed this letter, we are writing to urge you to veto the ill-conceived and unconstitutional Campaign Finance "Reform" bill, passed by the House last month, and the U.S. Senate this afternoon.
As we have said all along, this is not about politics, but about principle.
It is a travesty that so many Members of Congress-on both sides of the aisle- seem to have either forgotten about or chose to intentionally ignore their oaths to "support and defend the Constitution" when they cast their votes on this legislation. It is, frankly, sad that such an affront to freedom has actually made it to the desk of the President of the United States.
Much of the debate over this legislation focused on which party will be helped or hurt by its various provisions, with very few commentators addressing the core questions of whether or not the sorts of restrictions on political speech envisioned by the bill's authors are either wise or Constitutional.
We don't know which party will ultimately benefit or be hurt by this legislation and what's more, we don't care. The bill making its way to your desk completely redefines political speech and outlaws or criminalizes speech that every American has always believed to be protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Looked at from our perspective, you are being asked to sign a bill that tells those who might want to criticize the actions of politicians to just shut up.
We understand fully the reasons why you have taken the position up to now that Congress could not count on a Presidential veto on this legislation and must therefore work to fashion something that is fair, effective and, yes, Constitutional. Well, Congress had its chance ... and failed.
So now it's up to you!
You can pass the buck to the courts and hope that they will straighten out this mess. Or, you can veto it for what it is.... A bad bill that criminalizes political speech and deserves to be sent back from whence it came.
If there was ever a time to use the veto pen this is it. We urge you to veto this legislation.
If you can honestly say that you believe legislated restrictions on political speech is at the core of what our Founders wanted, by all means, sign the bill. But if you believe the proposed restrictions won't pass muster by a Supreme Court that actually believes in free speech, please, do everyone a favor by vetoing it.
Yours Sincerely,
********
The names follow
******
In any event, I am proud to associate myself with the letter ... and no offense taken to your post, FWIW
Cheers,
Richard F.
You want `em, get them elected. But don't complain when the votes don't go there because you ran off like some two-year old in a hissy fit!
Seriously, I think a lot of people here need to study political strategy, like the stuff Horowitz writes, and to also take a more objective look at the situation. My earlier post on this thread reflected a lot of frustration with a number of people here. The blithely ignore political realities and fail to realize we can't get there from here.
Kill it now. The media wasn't able to get Americans interested in CFR with Clinton at President in peacetime...
What makes you think they could with Bush during wartime?
Seriously, relax. CFR is a paper tiger.
Seriously, I think a lot of people here need to study political strategy, like the stuff Horowitz writes, and to also take a more objective look at the situation. My earlier post on this thread reflected a lot of frustration with a number of people here. The blithely ignore political realities and fail to realize we can't get there from here.
Frankly, I don't think you're looking at political reality.
Nor am I sure you understand Horowitz, who advocates taking the political fight to the opposition, and winning hearts and minds across the country with a combination of confidence and right principles.
That doesn't happen by passing the buck to the Supreme Court.
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