01/21/10

ALG Praises Supreme Court for Striking Down Campaign Restrictions; Blasts Schumer for Calling Decision “Un-American”

For Immediate Release
Contact: Robert Romano

January 21st, 2010
Phone: (703) 383-0880

“This is a major step in overturning arcane, gargantuan censorship boards, laws and regulations that tie up our electoral processes in red tape, restrict speech, and favor incumbents.” – ALG President Bill Wilson

ALG Praises Supreme Court for Striking Down Campaign Restrictions; Blasts Schumer for Calling Decision “Un-American”

January 21st, 2010—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised the Supreme Court for overturning key aspects of the McCain-Feingold campaign restrictions, calling the decision “a decisive victory for the First Amendment, free speech, and open and fair elections.”

“The Roberts Court will go down as the greatest defender of the First Amendment since James Madison wrote it,” Wilson declared, calling the overturned restrictions “censorship.”

“The twin pillars of censorship by the FEC Act: the so-called ‘influencing language’ standard whereby any speech that ‘influenced’ elections could be regulated, and the ‘appearance of corruption’ standard whereby any donations and expenditures that lead to the ‘possibility’ of corruption have now been struck down by the Roberts case,” Wilson explained.

“First, the ‘influencing language’ standard in Wisconsin Right to Life case, and now the ‘appearance of corruption’ standard in today’s Citizens United decision,” Wilson added.

According to the majority ruling written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, “Limits on independent expenditures, such as §441b, have a chilling effect extending well beyond the Government’s interest in preventing quid pro quo corruption. The anticorruption interest is not sufficient to displace the speech here in question.”

“Under this ruling, corporate entity restrictions on political campaigning have thankfully been overturned, as they have a chilling effect on legitimate political speech protected by the First Amendment,” said Wilson.

Wilson also condemned Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for calling the decision “un-American.”

“Chuck Schumer needs to have his head examined,” Wilson said, adding, “the First Amendment was upheld in this case. It doesn’t get any more American than that.”

In Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, the court ruled against provisions that restricted Citizens United from broadcasting a movie it developed, Hillary: The Movie, that was supposed to air during the 2008 Democratic Primary. In particular, the court ruled that federal restrictions on independent political expenditures by a corporation is a violation of the First Amendment.

The court ruled 5-4 in favor of Citizens United.

According to Nathan Mehrens, Counsel for Americans for Limited Government, “the ruling set a major precedent. It’s going to be very tough to impose new campaign restrictions on corporate entities’ independent expenditures.”

The law, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as McCain-Feingold, “set up distinctions between individuals and corporate entities, treating them far different in the context of making independent expenditures constituting political speech.”

Mehrens said it was a “very good” ruling. “The McCain-Feingold restrictions were so bad, that groups could not even mention a candidate’s name during ‘black-out’ windows,” Mehrens explained, pointing to limits on when messages could be broadcast prior to primaries and elections.

“The case was filed by Citizens United as a pre-enforcement, as-applied challenge by Citizens United, meaning that they had not yet been restricted by the FEC. Citizens United, in winning the case, was able to show that restrictions did apply in this instance and that there was a reasonable likelihood that the FEC restrictions would be applied,” said Mehrens.

“In this case, the court decided that the issue was not moot despite the fact that the 2008 elections are over because they made a determination that this could happen again going forward,” Mehrens added.

Wilson said that the ruling “could set a template for groups to unhinge unconstitutional restrictions in the future through pre-enforcement challenges.”

Mehrens described the ruling as “pretty broad.”

“The only thing that really survived was the reporting requirements for the disclosure of campaign donors’ information, because Citizens United could not show the likelihood of injury,” Mehrens explained.

However, Mehrens said that “There are more cases in the pipeline that deal with campaign finance disclosures,” including Doe #1 et al v. Reed, WA Sec. of State, et al, U.S. Supreme Court Docket #09A356.

“The Supreme Court stayed an order of the 9th Circuit thereby preventing the WA Sec. of State from releasing the names of the signers of Referendum 71,” Mehrens said, adding, “While this case deals with referendum signers and not those who give financial contributions, the disclosure issue is similar.”

The Supreme Court vote was 8-1 to stay the 9th Circuit’s order.

Wilson called the ruling a “major step in overturning arcane, gargantuan censorship boards, laws and regulations that tie up our electoral processes in red tape, restrict speech, and favor incumbents.”

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Americans for Limited Government is a non- partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms,private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG please call us at 703-383-0880 or visit our website at www.GetLiberty.org.

01/21/10

End TARP Now!

by: Nancy Matthis at American Daughter

Senator John Thune (R-SD) is trying to save $$ with an amendment to the Democrats’ expansion of the US debt.

Despite the clear message of the Massachusetts election this past Tuesday, Democrats plan to raise the debt ceiling by $1.9 trillion:

The Senate opened debate Wednesday on a plan to raise the nation’s debt limit by $1.9 trillion, a move that Democrats hope will see the Treasury through this fall’s congressional elections.

The record increase would raise the Treasury’s legal ceiling for borrowing to $14.3 trillion — about the size of the nation’s overall economy….

Do you get the significance of that casually reported phrase? We will be in debt by as much as our whole economy is worth.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama plans to use the remaining funds in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), reportedly about $200 billion, as a piggy bank for pet projects in Democratic legislators’ districts, to buy back voter support. These expenditures would be entirely unrelated to the original purpose for which TARP was passed — to buy toxic assets.

Senator Thune has submitted an amendment to the legislation to raise the debt ceiling, calling for an immediate end to TARP and lowering the debt limit by an amount equal to whatever funds are recovered from TARP. From the Daily Caller — TARP has run its course by Sen. John Thune:

….TARP funds may become just another slush fund for Democrats to spend on pet projects that might be good for them politically, but do nothing for our national economy. Far from spending our way out of this recession, this flawed approach would just dig us into a deeper hole.

Take the president’s last $800 billion stimulus package as an example. He billed that as a guaranteed way to create up to 4 million jobs. Since that stimulus was passed last February, our economy has lost 2.7 million jobs, and unemployment has risen to 10 percent….

TARP has already strayed far from its original purpose of taking toxic assets off the books of financial institutions so they could get back on their feet….

This week Senate Democrats will vote to again expand the nation’s debt limit by at least $635 billion $1.9 trillion, and I have introduced an amendment that would end TARP immediately and lower the debt limit by an amount equal to whatever funds we get back from the program. Taking steps now to reduce the uncertainty created by a ballooning national debt will have a far greater impact on righting our economy and allowing private businesses to create jobs than will any new spending by the government.

TARP was never meant to be the president’s piggy bank for costly new stimulus spending, and the wisest thing we could do with the remaining TARP money is to end the program so these funds won’t be wasted. I hope Senate Democrats will take this opportunity to join their Republican colleagues in supporting my amendment to finally end the TARP experiment. In doing so, we can take one small—but significant—step on the path toward fiscal responsibility.

H.J.Res.45 – Increasing the statutory limit on the public debt was introduced in the Senate yesterday. You can track this resolution at Open Congress here.

ACTION ITEM: Call, fax or email both of your US senators and tell them to support the Thune Amendment to House Joint Resolution 45. Find contact information for your senators here.

[Editor’s Note to our readers — The legislation to increase the national debt ceiling is House Joint Resolution 45. Don’t confuse this with House Resolution 45, the egregiously anti-gun-rights bill titled Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009. The first is a joint resolution with the Senate, while the second is simply a House bill. They just happen to have the same number.]

01/21/10

Mort Zuckerman: Obama’s ‘Done Everything Wrong;’ His Admin. Has ‘Recreated the Republican Party’

Hat Tip: The Radio Patriot

01/21/10

Nolan’s Cheddar

Hat Tip: Brutally Honest

01/21/10

Chicken!

From: Chris Muir at Day by Day Cartoon

01/21/10

One Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

By: Bob McCarty
Bob McCarty Writes

The Democrats have their collective head up their collective a _ _.

Hat tip: David Donar at Political Graffiti

01/21/10

I GOT A “THANK YOU” CALL FROM Congressman MICHAEL ROGERS’ OFFICE!!! MOM’S, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!! WILL YOU HELP??

By: Nancy Jacques
From: As A Mom…

Congressman Rogers (R-MI) is very brave for sponsoring a bill to revoke executive order 13524 (the Council of Governors that will give the Fed/Obama power over all states), so I faxed a letter to his office to inform him of the INTERPOL EO and other dangerous legislative mechanisms that Obama is putting in place. I then received a call right away from his office.

We had a lengthy chat, and he is so appreciative that I sent him this information so that they can take action on it.

I would be SO GRATEFUL to any of you who could fax or mail the attached letter (just click on the letter below; it’s a Word File that you can save onto your computer) to YOUR Congress Member if they are a CONSERVATIVE. I’m sad to say that I do not believe DEM Congress Members will support us, but if there is one you think will, by all means send it to them too.

The more co-sponsors that sign onto a bill, the greater the chance that it can pass. All you need to do is put your contact info at the end of the letter, print & sign it, and then send it. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Please let me know if you can help.

Thanks!

Nancy

Letter for HR 4453 co-sponsors to revoke 13524.doc

01/21/10

Quote of the Day – 01/21/10

From: SurvivalBlog

“If every Jewish and anti-nazi family in Germany had owned a Mauser rifle and twenty rounds of ammunition and the will to use it, Adolf Hitler would be a little-known footnote to the history of the Weimar Republic.” – Aaron Zelman, co-founder of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership

01/21/10

Chuck Muth’s News & Views – January 20, 2010

By: Chuck Muth
Citizen Ourteach

AND THE JACKASS OF THE YEAR AWARD ALREADY GOES TO.

“I wanted to apologize for calling Senator-elect Scott Brown an ‘irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, tea bagging, supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees.’ I’m sorry, I left out the word ‘sexist.'”

– Keith Olbermann, MSNBC/NBC anchor

AND THE RUNNER-UP IS.

“If [Massachussets voters] go for Republican Scott Brown it’s deliberate, premeditated murder for health care!”

Chris Matthews, MSNBC/NBC show host

JUST NOT BUYING

“There’s going to be a tendency on the part of (Democrats) to be in denial about all this, (but) “if you lose Massachusetts and that’s not a wake-up call, there’s no hope of waking up. . . . (M)oderates and independents even in a state as Democratic as Massachusetts just aren’t buying our message. They just don’t believe the answers we are currently proposing are solving their problems.”

– Democrat Sen. Evan Bayh on Tuesday night’s election results

SHOCKING!

“President Barack Obama’s plan to fix the foreclosure crisis has been a dud, putting the housing market recovery at risk.”

– Associated Press, 1/16/10

STIMULATING MORE BUREAUCRATS

“The Social Security Administration spent $30 million in stimulus money in 2009 to hire 585 new bureaucrats who will be responsible for certifying whether people are eligible for disability so they can be paid by the taxpayers not to work.”

– CNS News, 1/20/10

WELL-MEANING INCOMPETENT

“The President’s now-infamous 72-hour delay in speaking publicly about the Christmas Day attack may have added to a growing concern that President Obama may mean well, but he and his administration are lacking the level of competence we need.”

– Rich Galen, Mullings.com, 1/19/10

BYE-BYE BOXER?

“California’s Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer’s days in the Senate may be numbered. After representing the Golden State for 18 years, Ms. Boxer is finally facing a formidable field of GOP opponents. . . . As voters become more familiar with the Republican candidates, Ms. Boxer’s numbers seem likely to fall even farther.”

– Allysia Finley, Political Diary, 1/20/10

JESSE “THE INVESTIGATOR” VENTURA

“Former Navy SEAL, professional wrestler, and Minnesota governor, Jesse Ventura, recently launched a new television show on the truTV cable channel. . . . Predictably, mainstream critics have universally condemned the series. . . . Contrary to the rants of modern critics, however, Ventura’s Conspiracy Theory is not ‘reality’ television or ‘mindless, good fun.’ It is better investigative reporting than anything I’ve seen on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN or FOX NEWS in a long, long time.”

– Columnist Chuck Baldwin

SAYONARA SOUTHERS

“The man President Obama appointed to lead the Transportation Security Administration withdrew his name on Wednesday, a day after a 2008 video surfaced of him comparing the war on terror to global warming.

“Errol Southers’ nomination was stalled by Sen. Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican, who put a hold on it citing concerns Mr. Southers would give TSA collective bargaining rights. While the nomination was being held, it was also discovered that Mr. Southers gave misleading statements to Congress about a federal security database he twice accessed for personal reasons.

“Another blow, however, was delivered to Mr. Southers when the conservative-leaning CNSNews.com posted a 2008 video interview that he had granted to Videojug.com, an information-sharing video Web site. Mr. Southers was asked in the interview, ‘How high should the war on terror be on our list of national priorities?’

“He replied, ‘It should be high on our list of priorities because of, speaking globally, the threat that exists.’ But Mr. Southers added later, ‘I do think, however, it deserves to perhaps have some parity with global warming, with education, with the economy.’ That statement, and others in the video, surely would have become part of the debate over his nomination, but Mr. Southers withdrew it on Wednesday morning.”

– Amanda Carpenter, Hot Button, 1/20/10

MUTH’S TRUTHS

I haven’t been this ticked off in a long time. According to a January 4th report on WRGB-TV 6 in Albany, NY, Richard and Margie Cressy were “arrested on child endangerment charges” after authorities received an anonymous tip. And just what heinous abuse were the Cressys inflicting on their four children, ages 8 to 14? You’re not going to believe it.

These dastardly, diabolical monsters had dared to..

Read the rest HERE

FED-EXCESS

It’s a new year, but the same old FedEx disinformation campaign. Here’s what the anonymous writers for the “Brown Bailout” project wrote on Tuesday:

“When Congress returns to Washington this week, UPS lobbyists will be back to their old games, lobbying Congress for an unfair, anti-competitive bailout that could threaten the nation’s overnight delivery network and cripple entire sectors of our economy. If UPS succeeds in getting the ‘Brown Bailout’ passed, consumer shipping costs could rise and service and reliability could suffer. Put simply, this could hurt businesses and individuals across the country.”

Now here’s how the release SHOULD have been written:

When Congress returns to Washington this week, FedEx lobbyists will be back to their old games, lobbying Congress to keep an unfair, anti-competitive corporate welfare subsidy that creates an uneven playing field in the overnight delivery market and uses federal labor law to give FedEx an undeserved and unfair marketing advantage. If FedEx succeeds in retaining this corporate welfare subsidy, the uniquely and quintessentially American concept of equal justice under the law will continue to suffer. Put simply, this would hurt the free market for all businesses and individuals across the country.

There, that’s better. And accurate and truthful, to boot.

SURVEY SAYS!

Do you think the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts means ObamaCare is now dead?