Free Republic

...Campaign managers know that most of the population will not take the time to do their own independent research on the candidates, preferring to make up their minds after absorbing a myriad of sound bites that they can regurgitate to others.... How many times are we going to hear that Perry wants to secede from the Union? Democrat bomb-throwers think they have him corralled on that one. The fact is, during a rally in Austin, Texas, some attendees were yelling for secession. The governor's response was that he appreciated their frustration with the current administration, but essentially assured them that...

Fred Thompson, running for President as the "plain-speaking consistent conservative," was asked about campaign finance reform by Laura Ingraham on her radio show the day after his Presidential announcement. She said, "One of the things that also happened in the Senate was McCain-Feingold and it was initially called McCain-Feingold-Thompson. Of course that's campaign finance reform. As you know, Senator Thompson, the Supreme Court has struck down part of that as unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds, you know, issue ads that you can't run before a general election or a primary contest, which for conservatives like me are just anathema to...

George Will wrote a scathing piece on Fred Thompson this past week. Among other things, Will took Fred to task for his ramblimg, dis-remembering answer to Laura Ingraham's question regarding Campaign Finance Reform, which Fred valiantly helped push down the throat of angry conservative colleagues and equally angry conservative Americans. From Laura's show: Laura: One of the things that also happened in the Senate was McCain Feingold, which was initially called McCain Feingol Thompson. OF course, that's Campaign Finance Reform (CFR). Would you today tell us that you. As you know, Senator Thompson, the Supreme Court has struck down part...

The Supreme Court rocked the 2008 presidential race by upsetting, in late June, a provision of the McCain-Feingold speech-regulation law that banned any radio or TV ad mentioning the name of a candidate for federal office in the 30 days before a primary election and the 60 days before a general election. In particular, the case at hand — FEC vs. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. — dealt with so-called "sham" issue ads. These ads lobby federal officeholders to vote one way or the other on issues before them; however, such ads were banned on the grounds that... --snip-- The...

James Madison Center for Free Speech1 South 6th Street Terre Haute, IN 47807 www.jamesmadisoncenter.org PRESS RELEASE July 13, 2007 Contact: James Bopp, Jr. Phone: 812-232-2434; Fax 812-235-3685 jboppjr@aol.com FEC Concedes Christian Civic League Ads Are Genuine in "Electioneering Communication" Prohibition Challenge Today, the FEC filed a joint motion asking the D.C. district court to enter a declaratory judgment against the FEC and in favor of the Christian Civic League of Maine ("CCL") in its as-applied challenge to the "electioneering communication" prohibition. The motion was joined by CCL and the intervenors (Sen. McCain and other primary sponsors of the McCain-Feingold law)....

OPENING ARGUMENT 'Issue Ads' And Common Sense By Stuart Taylor Jr., National Journal © National Journal Group Inc. Monday, April 30, 2007 Eight Supreme Court justices spent an hour on April 25 arguing [PDF] with three lawyers and one another about the constitutionality of the federal regulation governing political advertising by nonprofit advocacy corporations. But all nine justices and all three lawyers missed what, I respectfully submit, should be the point of the case. They should be focusing on how Congress rigged the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law to protect its own members from criticism by their constituents. Congress carefully...

Supreme Court Will Not Block Part of Lower Court Ruling on New Campaign Finance Law WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court declined to intervene Tuesday to block part of a lower court's long-delayed ruling on the new campaign finance law, but the move is almost certainly not the high court's last word on the subject. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist turned down a request from the National Rifle Association, which had asked the high court to suspend what it calls unconstitutional restrictions on political advertisements by interest groups. Rehnquist's action was not a ruling on the merits of the NRA's...