Podcasts about competitive politics

Former Federal Election Commission Chairman Bradley A. Smith is perhaps best known for opposing many campaign finance regulations on First Amendment grounds. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we talk with the former chairman about how political campaign activity is regulated in America and how this regulation implicates the First Amendment. We also explore some of today’s hot-button campaign finance controversies. Smith is a professor of law at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. From 2000 until 2005, he served as a FEC commissioner. He was FEC chairman in 2004 and vice chairman in 2003. In 2005, Smith founded the Center for Competitive Politics, now known as the Institute for Free Speech. Show notes: http://www.thefire.org/anniversary Podcast transcript Cases: Buckley v. Valeo (1976), Randall v. Sorrell (2006) Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), Speechnow.org v. FEC (2010), McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (2014) Timeline: The history of campaign finance regulation Faulty Assumptions and the Undemocratic Consequences of Campaign Finance Reform by Bradley A. Smith (1996) Unfree Speech: The Folly of Campaign Finance Reform by Bradley A. Smith (2009) Stormy weather for campaign-finance laws National Enquirer didn’t commit a crime by killing Trump affair stories www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

On Wednesday’s Mark Levin show, Paul Ryan isn’t resigning because hes tired of being speaker of the house. Ryan’s spending bill that was passed in March was disastrous for the country and the Republican party. Republicans who voted for that bill and who are running for re-election this year can’t say they are fiscal conservatives anymore. Republicans will have to contend with quite a bloodbath of their own making in November’s midterm elections. The reason for this is the failure of Republicans to communicate basic principles of conservatism to voters. Rather than President Trump being blamed for a November loss, he will actually be the victim of this because if the House of Representatives goes to the Democrats he’s in deep trouble. Later, there’s a new CBO report that shows that government spending is on an abysmal path. This won’t effect us today but when an economy starts to unravel it’s like dominos, everything is effected and it will arrive eventually. We are reaching a point of no return. Also, Trump has pulled together a coalition to take military action against Syria. Trump has drawn a red line and means it unlike Barack Obama. Finally, Bradley Smith, Chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics, calls in to discuss the payment by Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels. Even if you take the facts set forth by the NY Times as truth, the Cohen payment to Stormy can’t be an in-kind campaign contribution to the Trump campaign because not everything that might benefit a candidate is a campaign expense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Wednesday’s Mark Levin show, Paul Ryan isn’t resigning because hes tired of being speaker of the house. Ryan’s spending bill that was passed in March was disastrous for the country and the Republican party. Republicans who voted for that bill and who are running for re-election this year can’t say they are fiscal conservatives anymore. Republicans will have to contend with quite a bloodbath of their own making in November’s midterm elections. The reason for this is the failure of Republicans to communicate basic principles of conservatism to voters. Rather than President Trump being blamed for a November loss, he will actually be the victim of this because if the House of Representatives goes to the Democrats he’s in deep trouble. Later, there’s a new CBO report that shows that government spending is on an abysmal path. This won’t effect us today but when an economy starts to unravel it’s like dominos, everything is effected and it will arrive eventually. We are reaching a point of no return. Also, Trump has pulled together a coalition to take military action against Syria. Trump has drawn a red line and means it unlike Barack Obama. Finally, Bradley Smith, Chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics, calls in to discuss the payment by Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels. Even if you take the facts set forth by the NY Times as truth, the Cohen payment to Stormy can’t be an in-kind campaign contribution to the Trump campaign because not everything that might benefit a candidate is a campaign expense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should you be taxed to fund political campaigns? Seattle has experimented with so-called democracy vouchers, or tax financed campaigns, and the results haven’t been good. Property taxes on businesses and individuals in the Emerald City have been hiked by $3 million per year to finance these campaigns, and the money has almost all gone to incumbents. Other cities, including Washington, D.C., are considering joining Seattle in tax financed campaigns. Scott Blackburn, a senior research analyst at the Center for Competitive Politics, joins the podcast to explain why that’s a bad idea. *All opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Americans for Prosperity. Subscribe to the AFP Prosperity Podcast so you don’t miss an episode The post Prosperity Podcast #75: Are Democracy Vouchers Good or Bad for Democracy? appeared first on Americans for Prosperity.

Luke Wachob of the Center for Competitive Politics argues that the misnomer of "dark money" is hardly the scourge it's made out to be. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Massive protests greeted Donald Trump upon his inauguration, but speaking out against the president will require a robust First Amendment. Will the American Left support it? Luke Wachob of the Center for Competitive Politics believes so. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The incoming Trump administration raises fears of further regulation of political speech. David Keating of the Center for Competitive Politics discusses the risks and opportunities. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo would have state agencies boycott those who would boycott Israel and he does his best to circumvent the Citizens United decision. David Keating of the Center for Competitive Politics comments. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lucan Way | Pluralism by Default: Weak Autocrats & Rise of Competitive Politics in Ex-USSR (4.20.16) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

To what extent should the Federal Election Commission attempt to blunt the impact of the Citizens United decision? Allen Dickerson with the Center for Competitive Politics comments. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

David Keating of the Center for Competitive Politics and Paul Ryan of the Campaign Legal Center discuss the state of elections and campaign finance, six years after Citizens United. We need your help to make this podcast even better! Go to bit.ly/wtpfeedback to share your feedback. Get the latest constitutional news, and continue the conversation, on our Facebook page and Twitter feed. We want to know what you think of the podcast. Email us at editor@constitutioncenter.org. Please subscribe to We the People. While you’re in the iTunes Store, leave us a rating and review—it helps other people discover what we do. Please also subscribe to Live at America’s Town Hall, featuring conversations and debates presented at the Center, across from Independence Hall in beautiful Philadelphia. We the People is a member of Slate’s Panoply network. Check out all of our sibling podcasts at iTunes.com/Panoply. Despite our congressional charter, the National Constitution Center is a private nonprofit—we receive little government support, and we rely on the generosity of people around the country who are inspired by our nonpartisan mission of constitutional debate and education. Please consider becoming a member to support our work, including this podcast. Visit constitutioncenter.org to learn more. This show was engineered by Kevin Kilbourne and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. Research was provided by Josh Waimberg and Danieli Evans. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen.

David Keating of the Center for Competitive Politics and Paul Ryan of the Campaign Legal Center discuss the state of elections and campaign finance, six years after Citizens United. We need your help to make this podcast even better! Go to bit.ly/wtpfeedback to share your feedback. Get the latest constitutional news, and continue the conversation, on our Facebook page and Twitter feed. We want to know what you think of the podcast. Email us at editor@constitutioncenter.org. Please subscribe to We the People. While you’re in the iTunes Store, leave us a rating and review—it helps other people discover what we do. Please also subscribe to Live at America’s Town Hall, featuring conversations and debates presented at the Center, across from Independence Hall in beautiful Philadelphia. We the People is a member of Slate’s Panoply network. Check out all of our sibling podcasts at iTunes.com/Panoply. Despite our congressional charter, the National Constitution Center is a private nonprofit—we receive little government support, and we rely on the generosity of people around the country who are inspired by our nonpartisan mission of constitutional debate and education. Please consider becoming a member to support our work, including this podcast. Visit constitutioncenter.org to learn more. This show was engineered by Kevin Kilbourne and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. Research was provided by Josh Waimberg and Danieli Evans. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen.

The Supreme Court has an opportunity to clarify that spending money to influence voters on a ballot initiative isn't a corrupting influence. Allen Dickerson with the Center for Competitive Politics and Cato's Trevor Burrus comment. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

California wants donor information from a nonprofit charity that aims to end unconstitutional restrictions on election activity. The Supreme Court will decide that issue this term. Ilya Shapiro comments on Cato's new brief in the case. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lawrence Lessig's Mayday PAC was supposed to bring about the end of superPACs. Instead, it may have violated some of the least complicated elements of campaign finance regulation. David Keating of the Center for Competitive Politics comments. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Serious or not, the U.S. Senate leadership's attempt at curbing political speech would have dramatically reduced the range of political debate. Allen Dickerson of the Center for Competitive Politics comments on the failed amendment to the Constitution. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The IRS is a political agency. It's been used against political opponents going back to at least the 1960s. New proposed rules governing nonprofits that lobby Congress could muzzle those groups when they want to talk to their own members. David Keating is President of the Center for Competitive Politics.Censorship Through the Tax Code: How the Proposed IRS Rules for Social Welfare Groups Stifle Political Activity See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Proposed IRS rules aimed at 501(c)(4) organizations could effectively force these groups to scrub their websites of even the most banal reference to a politician. Allen Dickerson is the legal director of the Center for Competitive Politics.Censorship Through the Tax Code: How the Proposed IRS Rules for Social Welfare Groups Stifles Political Activity See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Since 2010, there has been great debate over the controversial ruling, Citizens United. Most recently, the Montana Supreme Court challenged the decision while Senator McCain called it "one of the worst decisions I have ever seen." Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi welcome, Attorney Joseph M. Birkenstock, former chief counsel of the Democratic National Committee and Bradley A. Smith, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Center for Competitive Politics and former Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission, for an in-depth discussion on the impact of the ruling during an election year and its influence on the upcoming Presidential election.

Allison Hayward, vice president of policy at the Center for Competitive Politics, and John Palatiello, president of the Business Coalition for Fair Competition, join The Bloggers Briefing at Heritage's new 227 Pennsylvania Ave building

Congress has been moving rapidly toward enacting new ethics and lobbying regulations. Such regulations have consequences for the elections in the fall, the public's views of Congress as an institution, and the basic political rights of all Americans. Please join us for an examination of the proposed ethics and lobbying regulations by Bradley A. Smith, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission and senior adviser to the Center for Competitive Politics, and Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.