Posted on 04/03/2014 7:25:16 PM PDT by Kaslin
Brace yourself, Supreme Court Justices, for another State of the Union scolding from Barack Obama. Yesterday the nation’s highest court ruled that another part of McCain-Feingold is unconstitutional. (McCain, I’m sure, is still busy trying to figure out what part of restricting political speech was deemed “unconstitutional”.) The court ruled that citizens should be allowed to donate to an unlimited number of candidates or causes – provided that they still abide by the individual campaign limits.
In short: Anyone can now give the maximum amount permitted by law, to however many candidates they wish… Yeah… I know! It’s almost like “freedom” or something.
Which probably explains the immediate outrage among America’s most notorious liberals. Of course, Harry Reid immediately took the opportunity to monger fear (I know that’s not how you say it… I just liked how it sounded) over the prospect of the Koch Brothers “buying” the government. He even managed to claim that people’s rights are being restricted by allowing them more freedom to engage in the political process.
And as atrocious as Reid’s obsession with a couple of libertarian industrialists might seem (seriously: he even accused them of tax avoidance), Chuck Schumer (D-People’s Republic of New York) easily outdid the outlandish Senator from Nevada. According to the Washington Examiner, Chuck had this to say to journalists after learning that political speech is actually covered under the 1st Amendment:
"Let's say you're a person who doesn't want to go to a 501(c)(4) because you're worried maybe there'll be an IRS investigation sometime down the road," Schumer told reporters. "You can write one check to a joint committee of 232 House members and give them each the maximum."
Um, Ok. So, Chuck’s big problem with allowing people the right to donate to as many campaigns as they wish, is that they might not be harassed by the IRS? (Oh, the horror!) Of course, the intellectually deficient Senator from de Blasio’s home state, continued to speak-before-thinking:
"A small number of people who really want to paralyze the government are just being given such huge disproportionate weight, but the average citizen who doesn't follow it in detail says 'government just doesn't work' and that is terrible for our democracy."
WE DON’T LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY! Ahem… Sorry. (It’s actually a republic… According to the Constitution. Which explains Chuck’s ignorance.) Besides, the fact that some people have more “say” in our government, is mostly a function of how large and overreaching the Federal government has become. Heck, I don’t really see Chuck upset about the Union exemption from Obamacare requirements. Where is his “outrage” over the disproportionate influence Hollywood has on his party’s platform? What about Planned Parenthood? George Soros? The Udall family? Community Organizers?
Which, of course, brings us to the next point: Where’s the Reid/ Schumer led outrage over Union spending in election years? Given that nine of the top 15 biggest political spenders in America are Unions (the Kochs were number 59 on the same list), it seems that the SEIU is a much bigger issue than a couple of oil guys from the Midwest.
Legitimate concerns have been raised over unlimited political spending (especially in today’s world of cronyism and nepotism). But, let’s face it: If you don’t like the Constitution, we have a nifty amendment process. And, apparently, the 1st Amendment to our Constitution protects political spending as a form of political speech.
Which is why it is even more intriguing that Chuck’s big outrage was over the possible impotence of the IRS to scare away certain activists from engaging in elections. (Because, obviously, stifling free speech is the primary purpose of Treasury’s tax enforcement branch.)
Harry and Chuck’s indignation is a pretty good reverse-barometer for judging how well this ruling will pan out for American freedom. I mean, c’mon: When Senators start bemoaning the fact that government can’t interfere with freedom of speech, that probably bodes well for the average American citizen.
And, if Chuck doesn’t like it, he’s welcome to start turning down New York City millionaires who want to donate to his next reelection.
the democrats are upset that their monopoly on crooked political contributions is crumbling...
Because maybe they might shift their attention to LIBS, DummyRATS. and Commies?
I don’t even understand Schumers point.
If it’s not deductible from income taxes then the IRS obviously has no say or business in it.
When I was growing up there were politicians I didn’t like. But I never disliked any so much that I hoped to live long enough to see them no longer living.
I almost wish the Koch brothers would. If someone has to.
Liberals and Leftists just don’t like any speech except their own!
When we take power, shumer will be stripped naked and squeal like a pig on our tv stations. “Mommy Mommy!!”
When you start taking flak, you know you are over the target!
Great post...
The Rats massive collection advantage has just been nixed. Rats have found many quasi-legal and outright illegal ways around these limits and have operated as if they didn’t exist for decades. Now the playing field is being leveled and they’re squealing like stuck pigs.
"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me."
- 1 Corinthians 13:11
. . . Which is beside the point that journalists spend BIG $$$ buying ink by the carload - and it'd never occur to them that THAT advantage was unfair to ME.Can't you just HEAR them sputtering about "their 1st Amendment rights" if called out about THAT!!!
Soooo,
Would be fun watching the dems scream if the pubbies won the presidency, and both houses of congress and did to the f-ing dems what they’ve been doing to pubbies and conservatives.
But then again the pubbie leadership would have to have a set of balls to do that .
And we all know they’ve been neutered.
The Constitution didn’t get killed by the democrats and it’s fighting back freedom to ensue after elections.
> the democrats are upset that their monopoly on crooked
> political contributions is crumbling...
Their monopoly is NOT crumbling.
A few small chips have been pecked away, that is all. They will find a way to use this to their advantage, all the while excoriating the mean Republicans.
Meanwhile, the Republicans are worse than a party of pantywaisted milquetoasts. They are quislings, cynically kept alive by the DemonRAT party and the media for comic relief.
Many, if not most, Republicans do not disagree with the compass or content of the DemonRAT party platform, except maybe the rate at which it is being implemented.
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