California's 'Special Exemptions' Act: The BIGGEST THREAT You Haven't Heard Of [View all]

[Segami]

Last edited Mon Jul 16, 2012, 11:28 PM - Edit history (1)

" November 2012 will be a cataclysmic showdown between the forces of democracy and the forces of unlimited wealth. If we lose this, the plutocrats will be in charge and will be able to write their own rules to further the interests of Wall Street and the one percent. If we lose this fight, anti-democratic legislation will continue to sweep across the nation, overwhelming the grassroots support and small-dollar contributions of those who dare to fight against overwhelming odds. And I'm not talking about the reelection campaign of Barack Obama. No, this battle to the death between moneyed interests and working people will play out in California in the form of Proposition 32. This measure, proponents say, would ban both corporate and union contributions for most political purposes and make citizens reign supreme. But progressives here have taken to calling it the "special exemptions act."



The first clue that something is seriously wrong with this measure is, simply put, who put it on the ballot. The measure was submitted to the secretary of state's office by Ashlee Titus and Tom Hiltachk, who happen to be of counsel for the law firm that also includes Charles Bell, lead counsel for the California Republican Party. You might ask why the lawyers for the Republican Party would put a measure on the ballot that would theoretically leave small donors as the backbone of political spending in California. It's a good question, until you look at the fine print. Let's start with the first article of the initiative.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law and this Title, no corporation, labor union, or public employee labor union shall make a contribution to any candidate, candidate-controlled committee; or to any other committee, including a political party committee, if such funds will be used to make contributions to any candidate or candidate controlled committee.

Sounds tolerable, right? Ban corporations and unions from making political contributions, and the little guys will have the run of the field. Right? Wrong, for two reasons. First, if the authors of the measure only wanted to see personal contributions accepted, they would have written it that way. They didn't because there are a whole bunch of entities out there that aren't technically corporations. Sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, LLPs, hedge funds and a whole bunch of other types of businesses do not fall under the definition of a corporation as written in the measure. These businesses will still be able to contribute directly to campaign committees, but labor unions will be barred.


Second, take a look at the last phrase very carefully:

...if such funds will be used to make contributions to any candidate or candidate controlled committee.

So, contributions are barred, but only if they're going to committees that also make contributions. You know what type of committee doesn't make contributions? Super PACs! Yes, the wording of this provision specifically exempts contributions to Super PACs, who will still have free reign, regardless of anything else in the law.








cont'


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/15/1108363/-California-s-special-exemptions-act-The-biggest-threat-you-haven-t-heard-of


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