Democrats bash SCOTUS ruling

Senate Democrats are already planning to respond. | AP Photo

Democratic lawmakers and campaign finance reform advocates quickly bashed Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision to strike down total limits on individual campaign contributions, warning of future corruption in elections.

Meanwhile, Republicans largely cheered the ruling from the narrowly divided court, which found it unconstitutional to impose caps on the aggregate amounts that one person can donate to campaigns, parties and political action committees.

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Calling himself “all for freedom,” Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday commended the ruling, saying “donors ought to have the freedom to give what they want to give.” And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, also praised the decision.

(Also on POLITICO: Supreme Court strikes down aggregate campaign giving limits)

“Let me be clear for all those who would criticize the decision: It does not permit one more dime to be given to an individual candidate or a party,” McConnell said Wednesday. “It just respects the constitutional rights of individuals to decide how many to support.”

Senate Democrats, who control the chamber, are already planning to respond. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said he will hold a hearing on the impact of the McCutcheon decision and other rulings from the high court that he says “have eviscerated our campaign finance laws.”

Meanwhile, Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he introduced legislation intended to make donations more transparent by requiring all contributions of $ 1,000 or more to be disclosed to the Federal Election Commission within 48 hours. A campaign bill in the House will be introduced by Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas).

(Also on POLITICO: Dems lead Twitter charge against ruling)

“This in itself is a small step, but another step on the road to ruination,” said New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat. “It could lead to interpretations of the law that would result in the end of any fairness in the political system as we know it.”

Responding to the decision, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) invoked his favorite boogeymen: the Koch brothers.

“The Supreme Court today just accentuated what they did on Citizens United, which is a decision that is one of the worst decisions in the history of that court,” Reid said during a press conference on raising the minimum wage. “All it does is take away people’s rights because, as you know, the Koch brothers are trying to buy America.”

Over in the House, Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) said he plans to introduce legislation that will “fully reverse this latest Supreme Court blunder.” And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for passage of legislation sponsored by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) that is meant to amplify small-dollars donations to congressional candidates.

“Our founders risked their lives, their liberty and their sacred honor to create a democracy — a government of the many, not a government of the money,” Pelosi said in a statement. “After misguided and destructive court decisions in McCutcheon and Citizens United, it is clear that Congress must act swiftly to restore fairness to our campaign finance system.”

Current federal law limits the total amount an individual can give to $ 48,600 for candidates and $ 74,600 in contributions to PACs and party committees in each two-year cycle. That’s separate from the $ 2,600 limit on donations to a single candidate and the $ 32,400 cap on donations to parties.

While Democrats publicly criticized the decision, they were far more positive in private. One top Hill Democrat suggested Democrats had a larger number of donors, and they can now go back and ask these supporters for even more money.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the author of the landmark 2002 McCain-Feingold law that clamped down on soft-money contributions, said he was “disappointed” by Wednesday’s ruling — calling it the latest move from justices to “dismantle entirely the longstanding structure of campaign finance law.”

“I predict that as a result of recent court decisions, there will be scandals involving corrupt public officials and unlimited, anonymous campaign contributions that will force the system to be reformed once again,” McCain said.

Burgess Everett, Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan contributed to this report.

POLITICO – Congress

Democrats bash SCOTUS ruling

Sean Hannity Top Speaker at Tea Party"s Fifth Anniversary Bash

Fox News host Sean Hannity will be the keynote speaker at a major tea party event in Washington next week to celebrate the conservative movement’s fifth anniversary.

Hannity, who has been a fierce supporter of the movement since its inception in 2009, will give a capstone speech at the event being staged by the Tea Party Patriots, according to Breibart.

Other guests at the Capitol Hill Hyatt Regency function on Feb. 27 will include Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Ted Cruz of Texas, as well as conservative radio host Mark Levin.

Reps. Michele Bachmann, Louie Gohmert, Jim Jordan, Steve King, Jim Bridenstine, Mark Meadows, and Matt Salmon have also confirmed they will be attending, according to Politico.

“Sean Hannity, who joined us in Atlanta in 2009 for the first round of Tax Day Tea Parties, has been a proud and outspoken supporter of the tea party movement and championed the cause of constitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility, and individual liberty,” said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots.

“His refusal to abandon principle in favor of party subservience has been welcome respite from pundits and policymakers who cave easily in the face of adversity.”

The birth of tea party movement is credited to a statement by CNBC’s Rick Santelli on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 2009.

Santelli was ranting, as he is known to do, about the homeowner bailout that was being proposed by the Obama administration.

“We’re thinking of having a Chicago tea party in July,” Santelli said. “All you capitalists that want to show up to Lake Michigan, I’m going to start organizing.”

On Thursday, the Huffington Post revealed that Hannity had solicited donations for the Tea Party Patriots in a fundraising email sent Wednesday morning by the conservative organization.

Hannity’s political fund drive contradicts Fox News’ previous attempts to prevent the host from raising money for the group, Politico reported.

But a Fox spokesperson told TV Newser that Hannity’s involvement with the tea party organization for his radio show, and has nothing to do with his Fox TV show or his role with the network.

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Newsmax – Newsfront

Sean Hannity Top Speaker at Tea Party"s Fifth Anniversary Bash

NBC and ABC Bash Reagan as Pro-Apartheid During Mandela Coverage

Amid the tributes looking back at the life of former South African President Nelson Mandela following his death on Thursday, Friday’s NBC Today and ABC’s Good Morning America both managed to take shots at Ronald Reagan for not being supportive of Mandela during Apartheid. [Listen to the audio]

On Today, chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell proclaimed: “The U.S. wasn’t always on Mandela’s side. In the 1980s, President Reagan supported the Apartheid regime, a cold war ally, even as protests broke out on college campuses across America demanding that the U.S. punish the regime….Finally, Congress, including key Republicans, overrode Reagan’s veto, imposing the economic sanctions that helped break the Apartheid regime.”

On Good Morning America, human rights attorney Gay McDougall took a similar jab at Reagan: “Americans took a stand against Apartheid and said no to our government, when Ronald Reagan wanted to solidify, you know, U.S. support for Apartheid. We said no, we said sanctions, and we played an important role.”

Mitchell and McDougall both failed to describe the full context of Reagan not backing Mandela. In a Thursday article examining the complexity of Mandela’s legacy, Brietbart’s Joel Pollak, originally from South Africa, explained:

The ANC [African National Congress] remained banned in the country [South Africa], but its military wing continued to operate within Southern Africa, with assistance from the Soviet Union. The decision to align with the Soviet Union would later haunt the ANC, as it alienated the United States and Great Britain, which were otherwise inclined to support the anti-apartheid movement (and did so, albeit in limited fashion). While Mandela was in prison, the Soviet-trained leaders of the ANC’s army committed human rights abuses in military camps outside the country, and used terror attacks on civilians inside South Africa.

Pollak elaborated during an appearance on Mark Levin’s radio show that evening.

Prior to reciting the anti-Reagan talking points, Mitchell’s Today report began with her gushing over how Mandela influenced President Obama:

MITCHELL: Nelson Mandela transformed his nation and the world. A freedom fighter with the grace and courage to forgive his oppressors, inspiring generations of civil rights leaders and a young Barack Obama, who recalled a rally on his own college campus.

BARACK OBAMA: My very first political action. The first thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics was a protest against Apartheid.
 
MITCHELL: As a senator, Obama had visited Mandela. And the President and Mrs. Obama brought their daughters to Robin Island Prison so they could better understand what Mandela had suffered. After he died, Michelle Obama tweeted, “We will forever draw strength and inspiration from Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary example of moral courage, kindness, and humility.”

Here is a full transcript of Mitchell’s December 6 report:

8:03AM ET

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Let’s go to NBC’s Andrea Mitchell. She’s been following the outpouring of tributes pouring in all around the world. Andrea, good morning to you.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Remembering Nelson Mandela; World Leaders Pay Tribute to Fmr. Leader]

ANDREA MITCHELL: Good morning, Savannah. Nelson Mandela is indeed being mourned around the world and here at home by the Americans whose lives he influenced, starting with the President of the United States.

Nelson Mandela transformed his nation and the world. A freedom fighter with the grace and courage to forgive his oppressors, inspiring generations of civil rights leaders and a young Barack Obama, who recalled a rally on his own college campus.

BARACK OBAMA: My very first political action. The first thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics was a protest against Apartheid.
 
MITCHELL: As a senator, Obama had visited Mandela. And the President and Mrs. Obama brought their daughters to Robin Island Prison so they could better understand what Mandela had suffered. After he died, Michelle Obama tweeted, “We will forever draw strength and inspiration from Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary example of moral courage, kindness, and humility.”

Bill Clinton tweeted a picture and wrote, “I will never forget my friend Madiba,” using the affectionate name by which Mandela was known to his followers.

But the U.S. wasn’t always on Mandela’s side. In the 1980s, President Reagan supported the Apartheid regime, a cold war ally, even as protests broke out on college campuses across America demanding that the U.S. punish the regime.

[SONG PLAYING: "Free Nelson Mandela"]

“Free Nelson Mandela” became a popular anthem for black and white Americans. Finally, Congress, including key Republicans, overrode Reagan’s veto, imposing the economic sanctions that helped break the Apartheid regime. That set the stage for Mandela’s triumphant visit to Washington as his country’s president.

NELSON MANDELA: We are to one another brother and sister. A united rainbow nation that derives its strength from the bonding of its many races and colors.

MITCHELL: Bono, Mandela’s great friend, wrote, “In the end, Nelson Mandela showed us how to love rather than hate. Not because he had never surrendered to rage or violence, but because he learned that love would do a better job.” Savannah.

GUTHRIE: Well chosen words. Andrea, thank you so much.

— Kyle Drennen is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Kyle Drennen on Twitter.

BiasAlerts

NBC and ABC Bash Reagan as Pro-Apartheid During Mandela Coverage

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Fox Mangles Positive Auto Sales Numbers To Bash Clean Cars

Fox Business host Stuart Varney and guest Marc Morano falsely suggested higher truck sales in March translate into a rejection of more fuel efficient vehicles by American consumers. In fact, the driving force behind higher truck sales is a rebounding construction sector, and sales of more fuel efficient vehicles have also been robust.

Fox Suggests Strong SUV And Pickup Sales Mean Government Should “Slam The Brakes” On Green Car Incentives

Fox Business’ Stuart Varney: “Time For Uncle Sam, Maybe, To Slam The Brakes On Those Green Car Incentives?” On Fox News’ Your World with Neil Cavuto, guest host Stuart Varney noted the strong truck sales in March, and asked if it was “time for Uncle Sam, maybe, to slam the brakes on those green car incentives.” He went on to say that with high gas prices, “you’d think people are jumping into fuel efficient cars, but they’re not. They’re going for gas guzzlers.” [Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, 4/2/13]

Fox Guest Marc Morano: “Despite The Best Efforts Of The Environmentalists, Of Government Mandates And Subsidies And Discounts And Tax Breaks, The SUV And The Gas Guzzlers Reign Supreme. Varney’s guest Marc Morano, founder of ClimateDepot.com and Media Matters‘ Climate Change Misinformer of the Year for 2012, said that “despite the best efforts of the environmentalists, of government mandates and subsidies and discounts and tax breaks, the SUV and the gas guzzlers reign supreme in the American auto market. Which just says one simple thing. The Federal government, as all powerful as it likes to think, cannot mandate consumer choice.” He added that “Americans want cars that are practical, big, safe, have room,” not “little tiny electric cars.” [Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, 4/2/13; Media Matters, 12/27/12]

But Sales Numbers For Smaller, More Fuel Efficient Vehicles Have Been “Robust”

GM Sales Chief: “Sales Of Smaller Cars Have Been Robust For Some Time.” Agence France-Presse quoted GM sales chief Kurt McNeil as saying, “Sales of smaller cars have been robust for some time,” and adding that “the strength of the crossover market signals that America’s families are more confident about their financial health.” [Agence France-Presse, 4/2/13]

FoxBusiness.com: “Demand For Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Ramped Up” In March. A FoxBusiness.com article quoted Ken Czubay, Ford vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service as saying, “Customers are buying our all-new Fusion and Escape in record numbers, and we are working harder than ever to keep pace with demand for these fuel-efficient vehicles.” When explaining the jump in March auto sales, the article said that “demand for fuel-efficient vehicles ramped up in the U.S. and pickup trucks rebounded.” [FoxBusiness.com, 4/2/13]

Hybrid Sales Were Up 32 Percent In January And February Compared With The Same Period Last Year. The Los Angeles Times reported that “Hybrid sales were up 32% in the first two months of this year compared with the same period last year, according to research firm Autodata Corp.” The Times cited “a combination of trends, including upward-creeping gas prices, a growing track record for reliability and the wider selection of hybrid offerings” as driving the change. [Los Angeles Times, 3/29/13]

Strong Truck Sales Were Driven By Increased Demand From The Construction Industry

FoxBusiness.com: Truck Sales Boosted By “A Steady Climb In Housing Starts.”FoxBusiness.com reported that truck sales improved “as the rebounding housing market encouraged construction companies to update fleets that in some cases were more than a decade old.” FoxBusiness.com noted that Alec Gutierrez, a senior market analyst of automotive insights for Kelley Blue Book, said that truck sales were boosted by a “steady climb in housing starts” that will “continue to support the truck market.” [FoxBusiness.com, 4/2/13]

LA Times: Truck Sales Were Strong “As The Truck-Heavy Home Construction Industry Continues To Recover In The U.S.” The Los Angeles Times reported: “Truck sales for Ford and the other Detroit automakers were particularly good as the truck-heavy home construction industry continues to recover in the U.S.” [Los Angeles Times, 4/2/13]

The Plain Dealer: “Growth In Truck Sales Is Closely Tracking New Home Construction.”The Plain Dealer reported that Michell Krebs, an analyst with consumer research site Edmunds.com, explained that “that the growth in truck sales is closely tracking new home construction.” [The Plain Dealer, 4/2/13]

In January, Analysts Predicted Home Construction Would Drive Truck Sales

Ford Economist In January 2013: “Recovery In The Housing Market Should Drive Pickup Sales In 2013.” In January, Reuters reported that analysts predicted truck sales would increase as the housing market rallied:

The beginnings of a recovery in the housing market should drive pickup sales in 2013, said Ford economist Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, citing a Census Bureau figures showing a sharp increase in people setting up new households.

“This is a fundamental physical foundation for housing recovery,” she said. “When you look at the housing recovery, it can put a twinkle in your eye every bit as much as 2013 sales forecasts do.” [Reuters, 1/14/13]

GM Treasurer: “There’s A Big Correlation Between Auto Sales And Housing Starts.” Reuters quoted GM Treasurer Jim Davelin as saying, “There’s a big correlation between auto sales and housing starts.” He added: “The pickup truck market share is at historic lows. We would expect that to come back.” [Reuters, 1/14/13]

Media Matters for America – Research Items

Fox Mangles Positive Auto Sales Numbers To Bash Clean Cars