Two George W. Bush Appointees Uphold Ban On Foreign Money In U.S. Elections

[Skip_In_Boulder]

Well, maybe we are getting some movement in the right direction.

By Ian Millhiser on Aug 8, 2011 at 5:30 pm


Federal law prohibits foreign nationals who are not lawful permanent residents from funding American political candidates’ campaigns or donating to groups that engage in electioneering. A three-judge panel of federal judges just rejected a lawsuit seeking to strike this law down — with George W. Bush appointees Brett Kavanaugh and Rosemary Collyer both joining the opinion:

It is undisputed that the government may bar foreign citizens from voting and serving as elected officers. It follows that the government may bar foreign citizens (at least those who are not lawful permanent residents of the United States) from participating in the campaign process that seeks to influence how voters will cast their ballots in the elections. Those limitations on the activities of foreign citizens are of a piece and are all “part of the sovereign’s obligation to preserve the basic conception of a political community.”

While today’s decision is a rare and welcome victory for the proposition that there are limits on people’s (or corporations’) ability to buy elections, it is unlikely to be the end of the road for this case. Federal law allows this case to be appealed directly to the Supreme Court, and it gives the justices far fewer tools to avoid deciding the case than they normally have. So the case will almost certainly be in front of the justices in the near future.

It’s worth noting however that Judge Kavanaugh is not simply one of George Bush’s judges, he is a former Supreme Court clerk who is widely believed to be on the short list for potential GOP nominees to the high court. Accordingly, his vote to uphold the law suggests that this challenge has a rocky path ahead of it — even in front of this Supreme Court.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/08/08/291149/no-foreign-donations-for-now/

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Skip_In_Boulder.

[Waiting For Everyman]

2. K&R This, and the story on RICO possibly being used on Murdoch

are the two hopeful stories today.

Also the low turnout at a TParty event in NE, and the WI recall stories.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

3. Yeah, Ed Schultz had extensive coverage about Wisconson

on his radio show today. I am going to be watching that real closely tomorrow.

On Edit:

Ed will be broadcasting both tonight and tomorrow night from Madison on his MSNBC show.

[gratuitous]

4. So what do we know about the late contributions to Mitt Romney's campaign?

Seven-figure campaign donations from corporations that materialize, donate and dissolve all in the space of a few weeks. Where did the money come from? Nobody knows. Who is responsible for monitoring it all? We can't comment. But Romney's campaign fund just increased by a couple of million dollars, although Romney professes to have just no idea whatsoever where that money came from. I'm sure the ultimate source is all on the up-and-up, and there's nothing to worry about or even look into. Romney's a fine American, and would never, ever accept contributions from foreigners.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

5. Well we may have to make some adjustments

to how we monitor those kinds of things based upon this court ruling.

[EFerrari]

6. Kick

[CanonRay]

7. So they form a US corporation and funnel it that way

then they have unlimited "free speech" :argh: