Please help me help the fight against Congress

[Libertarian]

Please help me help the fight against CFR

I am in the process of setting up a domain to facilitate channeling donations to the lawyers (whomever they may be) who will be fighting the horror called the Campaign Finance Reform bill.

I need suggestions for domain names. I am leaning towards www.Protect the BOR.org/net/com

If anyone has a suggestion for a good name, please tell me. put it here and let everyone see it.

Once I get this thing going I will contract with someone like, but not, PayPal to send donations in. (Any suggestions of a paypal like company that is not anti-2nd A?) I promise in any way that makes people comfortable that all of the donations will go towards this fight. Not one cent will go into my own pocket.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Very cool, libertarian. Let us know.

I like ProtectTheBOR.org.

Here are a few more suggestions:

ProtectFreeSpeech.org
ProtectTheFirst.org
TheFirstFund.org
FirstAmendmentFund.org

 

[Libertarian]

FirstAmendmentFund.org sounds really good. Thanks.

 

[Calamity Jane]

You're welcome!

 

[Justin Moore]

firstamendmentfund.org

I really like your idea. We need to get this into court and challenge it for sure.

 

[Libertarian]

I need a good tax attorney in the San Antonio area. Can anyone recommend someone? I will look in the lawyer referal too but I am looking for personal references.

 

[WyldOne]

Sounds great!!

You might not like this idea. But, I would recommend getting in touch with ACLU--just for this particular issue.

From MSNBC (it's a long article but here's the part I want to stress) :

COURT BATTLES AHEAD
One of the plaintiffs is expected to be the American Civil Liberties Union, which began running a series of radio spots Monday that would be outlawed if the Shays-Meehan bill becomes law. ‘Campaign finance legislation will effectively gag political speech.’
— LAURA MURPHY, American Civil Liberties Union

Airing in the Chicago media market, the ACLU advertisements urged Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, who represents a suburban Chicago district, to bring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to a vote in the House.

That bill would ban hiring, firing or promoting people based on their sexual preferences or behavior.
“Not only have we highlighted the urgency of making employment non-discrimination a top priority in Congress, but the ads also demonstrate in practice how campaign finance legislation will effectively gag political speech,” said Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU’s Washington office.
The ACLU’s ad, Murphy argued, is an example of the political speech that would be silenced by the Shays-Meehan bill.
Because they are being broadcast during a 30-day window before a primary election, the radio ads would be forbidden by the Shays-Meehan bill.
“Ironically, our radio ads would be outlawed by the bill,” Murphy said, “but our virtually identical newspaper ads that are running on Monday would continue to be acceptable.”

You may not agree with most (any) of their other politics, but what we need right now is a broad coalition of opposition. And it looks to me as if the ACLU are spearheading court action.

 

[Libertarian]

I really hate my 22 oz framing hammer. But when I want to build a wall there is no other tool in my box that will do as good a job. The ACLU is that hammer. I hate them but they are a good tool occasionally.

Thanks for the idea. Perhaps I should split the money between the ACLU and the NRA? (Only for the costs of the suit, not for general funds.
)

 

[sumabich]

Cart before the horse

Lib, call George first and see if we can't get him to see reason. This thing goes against everything he said a year ago and I don't think he understands just how much his next election hinges on him not signing this bill. It is not too late yet. Yes, a lot of this bill is unconstitutional and after an expensive fight will be overturned but these jokers also want what will be left. They're already giving seminars on how to raise funds within the new system they've created. This was never about campaign finance reform, it's about power, how to keep it, and how to shut the little guy up. They're traitors to the public trust, they're suppose to be our servants, not our rulers. EVERYONE, CALL GEORGE! Sorry, about that.

 

[Libertarian]

I have called W. I have written to him as well. I am holding off on launching this site until he signs it (or not). I am also holding off on accepting any donations until them too. If he vetos the bill, I will close it all down and eat the cost of the setup that I've already laid out getting ready.

 

[sumabich]

Bring out the big guns

Libertarian, I found this and thought it might be helpful.
WASHINGTON



Starr heads challenge to campaign finance reform
By MICHAEL COLLINS
Scripps Howard News Service
March 21, 2002
WASHINGTON - Former Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr will be leading the
court battle to fight campaign finance reform.
Starr has joined a legal team that plans to file a lawsuit challenging parts of
the reform bill, which passed congressional muster this week, as soon as
President Bush signs it into law.
Starr will be the lead attorney, along with First Amendment attorney Floyd
Abrams, who represented The New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case.
The legal team was assembled by Sen. Mitch McConnell, who plans to be the main
plaintiff in the suit.
"This is not about Republicans battling Democrats or the left vs. the right,''
said McConnell, R-Ky. "This is a mission to preserve the fundamental
constitutional freedom of all Americans to fully participate in our democracy.''
The suit will challenge the campaign reform bill on grounds that it muzzles free
speech. The legislation bans so-called "soft money,'' the unregulated donations
that corporations, unions and wealthy individuals give to political parties.
Opponents also plan to target a provision that prohibits unions, corporations
and other groups from broadcasting "issue ads" within 60 days of a general
election or 30 days of a primary.
Starr, whose investigation into the Whitewater land deal and the Monica Lewinsky
affair led to President Bill Clinton's impeachment, said the proposed law makes
"a concerted effort to make speech less robust, less open.''
"It is a steady effort to essentially re-engineer the American political system
and to shift power and responsibility from the political parties to less
accountable and even perhaps non-accountable nonprofit organizations,'' he said.
Other members of McConnell's legal team will include James Bopp, general counsel
for the James Madison Center for Free Speech; Bobby Burchfield, a lawyer whose
firm represented challengers in a 1974 case involving campaign spending limits;
election lawyer Jan Baran; and Kathleen Sullivan, dean of the Stanford
University Law School.
The Senate gave final congressional approval to the reform bill on Wednesday,
capping a decade-long debate over the role of money in politics.
Bush has said he will sign the legislation into law.



(Reach Michael Collins at collinsm(at)shns.com)


I'm still worried about what will be left after they decide what is and isn't constitutional. I almost think they've decided to use the "incrimental method" of taking away our rights. Heck we can get used to anything if given enough time. I'm with you Libby, let's give em hell!

 

[Waitone]

Allow me to exercise my contrarian spirit.

Campaign Finance Control court challenge will have all kinds of heavy weight organizations standing in line to participate. Your organization's contributions will be lost in paper clips and staples.

Just a thought for consideration.

It is clear the CFC law must be challenged on many levels. One such level is that of civil disobedience. That law is clearly unconsitutional. The only problem is the way this law is written in that only the very rich can afford to sponsor broadcast ads. Joe Sixpack has not the means nor facilities to directly commit civil disobedience. Somehow resources need to be pooled to reach the threshold where disobedience can commence.

Consider setting up the equivelent of a mutual fund where subscribers can pool resource to help sponsor a soon to be illegal act of daring to criticise an elected official. I am gratified CFC will go to court. I am something less than hopeful as to its success now that Ken Starr is lead lawyer.

 

[Libertarian]

Waitone, I have to do something. Sitting on my hands and hoping the big guys look out for my interests just doesn't sit well with me this time around.