Democrats propose bill to limit conservative free speech
By Tom Quiner
The public increasingly rejects the Democrat’s leftward lurchings. Polls show that the Dems may take a big hit at the polls this November.
What’s a political party to do when the public rejects their message? How about pass a law that restricts the free speech of the opposition?
That is the net effect of a bill proposed on April 30th by Senator Chuck Schumer and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, both Democrats. The bill is called: “the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act.” (No, I didn’t make that up, that’s what they’re really calling it.)
For the sake of rhetorical efficiency, let us call it “the Disclose Act.”
In an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal today, eight former commissioners of the Federal Election Commission voice their opposition to the bill.
Here is what it the bill will do, according to these former commissioners (Joan Aikens, Lee Ann Elliott, Thomas Josefiak, David Mason, Bradley Smith, Hans A. von Spakovsky, Michael Toner, and Darryl R. Wold):
• favors union political free speech over corporate free speech in violation of longstanding campaign finance laws.
• increases the regulatory burdens (and financial costs) on grass-roots movements and low-budget campaigns.
• infringes on First Amendment rights of free association as recognized by the Supreme Court in NAACP v. Alabama.
• increases government regulation of political free speech on the web without touching the Mainstream Media (which tilts Left).
My previous posts talked about the growing dominance of public employee unions. The Disclose Act will give them more political power at the expense of the little guy.
Groups opposed to the growing size of our government at the expense of working class families are going to find it increasingly difficult to mount political opposition, thanks to the Democrats.
The Federal Election Commissioners summarized the impact of the legislation this way:
“The Disclose Act’s abandonment of the historical matching treatment of unions and corporations will cause a substantial portion of the public to doubt the law’s fairness and impartiality. It makes election law even more complex, more incomprehensible to ordinary voters, and more open to subjective enforcement by those seeking partisan gain.”
Does this bill bother you? If it does, express your concerns to your legislators immediately.
This bill erodes our precious right to free speech.
