Voter Blog
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Feb28
President Obama, OFA, Access, and NRSC Concern Trolling
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) launched a website today, WhiteHouseVIP.com, criticizing President Obama for allowing former aides to create Organizing for Action, a 501(c)(4) organization created out of Obama for America to help harness the President’s massive campaign email list to advance his policy agenda.
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Feb28
Clips round up for 2/28/2013
Justice Scalia was really being Justice Scalia yesterday at oral arguments for the challenge to Section 5: he called it "perpetuation of a racial entitlement" that Congress would never overturn because the name of the bill sounded nice. Sotomayor fired back to the lawyer: "Do you think the right to vote is a racial entitlement in Section 5?"
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Feb27
Clips Round-up for 2/27/13
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is at SCOTUS today. We'll be out front of the Court rallying in support of voting rights, keeping our fingers crossed.
Feb26FIGHT FOR VOTING RIGHTS: Rally at Supreme Court tomorrow
Tomorrow the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Shelby County v. Holder, a challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires all or parts of 16 “covered” states with long histories and contemporary records of voting discrimination to seek approval from the federal government for voting changes. The court is questioning whether Section 5 remains a necessary remedy for ongoing discrimination.
Feb26Sequester Shmequester: Members of Congress Hold Dozens of Fundraisers Ahead of March 1 Deadline
On Tuesday, Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) will each attend a fundraiser hosted by lobbyists for pharmaceutical giant Amgen, a company that came under scrutiny recently for a provision in the fiscal cliff bill that could lead to a $500 million taxpayer-funded windfall.
Feb26Clips Round-up for 2/26/13
The Supreme Court did a good thing yesterday--it decided against hearing a challenge to the ban on direct corporate contributions to candidates.
Feb25A Quarterly Democracy? Al Gore Book Blasts Reliance on Big Money
Chrystia Freeland’s review of Al Gore’s newest book, “The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change,” takes special care to point out Gore’s indictment of the corruption of the American political system by big money as “both the most compelling and the most depressing part of the book.”
Feb25Clips Round-up for 2/25/13
With Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act at the Supreme Court this week, here's a new WaPo op-ed by Congressman John Lewis on why we still need it:
Feb22Weekend Going Out Guide: Fundraiser Edition
It’s a cold gray February in Washington, so why not spend your weekend golfing in Florida, skiing in Wyoming, or wining and dining in New York City? A few members of Congress (and at least one candidate) are spending some time this weekend raising campaign cash—and you can join them for just a few thousand bucks.
Feb22Clips Round-up for 2/22/13
Our friends in New York did a series of events yesterday on corporate tax loopholes and the need for Fair Elections. Citizen Action's Karen Scharff: "This new analysis shows that if New York had tax policies that make good economic sense, instead of giving away tax payer cash to multinational corporations, we’d save billions.