( - promoted by Clem Guttata)
The campaign disclosure bill is the hot issue during this summer's Special Session. The legislation was drafted in response to a recent US District Court ruling throwing out part of the 2005 campaign finance law. The law required independent groups to disclose funding sources when campaigning with television, print and radio. In the lawsuit, the Virginia based and conservative leaning Center for Individual Freedom sued the state, claiming the law violated First Amendment rights. In response, US District Judge Faber issued a preliminary injunction allowing issue-only advertisements. The ruling also stated that donor names were not required for campaigning that involved telephone banks, fliers, faxes, mass mailings, and other print media.
Many policy makers felt it absolutely necessary that something be done to fill the hole in election law created by the ruling. The Governor's call for a special session to freeze the gas tax increase, transfer the teacher retirement fund and allocate supplemental budget funds to various programs offered the perfect opportunity to address this issue before the upcoming general election.
When drafting the campaign disclosure bill had to take into consideration the courts ruling which indicated that there was no legislative evidence as to why print speech should be disclosed during elections. To respond to this, House Democrats retooled this section of the code and inserted legislative findings about why such media is effective and why it should be made public.
The final draft of the bill basically stated that those publishing certain print media, including that advocating for or against a candidate or print media that ties a candidate to an issue in some capacity, must disclose both their name and the amount of money they spent with the Secretary of State's Office- the SOS will then make this information available to the public.
After successfully passing the House Judiciary Committee, the bill was delayed on the floor by Republicans who felt they needed more time to flesh out the issue. In order to delay the vote, GOPers voted down the Democrats attempt to suspend House Rules, which is the usual course of action on Special Session legislation. This move required the bill to be read on three separate days as opposed to just the one day.
The Charleston Gazette and others criticized the GOP for this move but I felt it was fair given the level of debate surrounding the legislation. Too often the legislative branch pushes through bills without scrutinizing the content, ie the USA PATRIOT Act at the Federal level. Once all was said and done, everyone had a chance to look at the bill, draft amendments and craft their argument for or against.
However, the Republican desire to kill the legislation was a poorly masked attempt to make it a viable campaign tactic to assassinate the characters of those running for office from the murky shadows with undeclared amounts of money. The Republican claim that this legislation infringes upon free speech and is therefore unconstitutional is absurd. The Bill of Rights protects our speech but does not protect corporations spending millions of dollars to alter the outcomes of elections. Truth be told, when corporate special interests and millionaire robber barons flood the election with their gobs of money they drown out the speech of average folks. It is absolutely essential that a democracy allow the voices of all to be heard and not just those with the money to overwhelm the media market.
In fact, many of those same House Republicans claiming that this legislation was about protecting the sanctity of the constitution supported an amendment by Delegate Cowles that would have exempted three specific groups (the NRA, Right to Life, and WV Farmers) from confines of the bill- a move that would have flew blatantly in the face of the equal protection clause of the US Constitution. Hypocrisy compounded by poor arguments and questionable motives are the true reason why the Republican Party is a joke in the state of West Virginia.
So if you are against your elections being bought by unnamed corporate stooges with out of state dollars then let the GOP know with your vote this fall. Vote Blue! |
