Author Archives: J Christian Adams

First Amendment Expert Floyd Abrams: “Democrats propose to limit speech intended to affect elections”

Heritage expert Hans von Spakovsky reports from the Daily Signal on the obscene efforts of Senate Democrats to change the Bill of Rights and the predictable pushback from First Amendment experts:
McConnell went back to first principles, talking about the First Amendment and the fundamental importance of protecting political speech, as did Floyd Abrams, the well-known First Amendment lawyer who won the historic New York Times Co. v. Sullivan case.  As Abrams said, the purpose of this proposed amendment is clearly “limiting speech intended to affect elections.”  He observed that the title of the amendment, “Restore Democracy to the American People,” is based on the false notion that our democracy has already been lost.  According to Abrams, “the notion that democracy would be advanced – saved, ‘restored’ – by limiting speech is nothing but a perversion of the English language.”

“ACLU Rejects Amendment to Corral Campaign Spending”

The new and attractive Heritage site Daily Signal reports that the ACLU has quickly distanced itself from the partisan attack on the Constitution that Senator Udall and Senator Reid proposed:

Democrats pushing for a constitutional amendment that w ould give government the authority to regulate political spending by outside groups will do so without one traditional ally at their side.

In a letter submitted Tuesday to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed opposition to the amendment, saying it would “lead directly to government censorship of political speech and result in a host of unintended consequences that would undermine the goals the amendment has been introduced to advance.”
…The ACLU argued the amendment, intended to reign in the spending allowed by those rulings, would “fundamentally break the constitution and endanger civil rights and civil liberties for generations.”

Hype: MS Voter ID Fears for Nothing

The facts of this week’s Mississippi election sure makes some of the hype from voter ID opponents look very very silly.  Sid Salter has more: 

Despite the predictions of post-apocalyptic turmoil from opponents of adopting a voter identification law in Mississippi, the debut of voter ID in Mississippi in practical application was a non-event. Voters didn’t recoil from the process as predicted, and there is no discernible evidence that voter ID had any impact on voter turnout.


The fact of the matter is that voters didn’t react any more or less to being asked for an ID in the voting precincts than they do in airports, financial institutions or other venues in which photo IDs are required.


Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, who orchestrated the orderly, well-planned implementation of Mississippi’s voter identification law, gave a succinct but factual account of why the much-ballyhooed reality of voter ID was much easier implemented than political alarmists had predicted.

“Top senators battle on campaign-finance restrictions”

USA Today reports on a battle of the heavyweights. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called a proposed amendment that would give Congress and the states the power to regulate campaign spending a “dangerous proposal” that would “dramatically weaken one of our most precious freedoms.”  “I understand that no politician likes to be criticized,” McConnell said. “But the recourse is not to shut up your fellow citizens.”

Politico similarly reports that the two Senate leaders have emerged as leading antagonists on the issue of campaign finance and free speech. McConnell (R-Ky.) has long been an opponent of restrictions on campaign finance, while Reid (D-Nev.) has made the billionaire Republican donors and oil magnates Charles and David Koch a major theme of his ire in 2014. 

If the Democrats want to fight on free speech, it appears the Republicans are more than willing.

Minority Florida Congresswoman criticizes redistricting challenge brought by voting rights groups

SaintPetersburgBlog reports that Rep. Corrine Brown rips into the redistricting trial where her seat has been the subject of scorn by a coalition of national voting groups suing Florida for what else – redistricting.  Why?  Well, the League of Women Voters and other voting groups are not exactly looking out for the interest of minority candidates in Florida; instead it is more focused on Democratic Party gains – at any cost..  This trial reveals there is still a difference and it is rubbing minority candidates and local NAACP chapters the wrong way.



As Democratic U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown’s Congressional district remains effectively on trial, she took the time Monday to rip into the legal challenge brought by a coalition of voting-rights groups against the state’s redistricting effort.

…On the stand Monday were witnesses called by the local NAACP chapter, who said the district was vital to ensuring black Floridians are represented in Congress. They resisted the suggestion that lowering the percentage of black voters would not hurt African Americans’ ability to elect a preferred candidate.

Former Florida NAACP executive director Beverly Neal alluded to the fact that white Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson represents the district drawn in 2012, where only two years earlier Latinos comprised nearly 41.4 percent of the vote.

“That was supposed to have been a Hispanic district,” Neal said, “and it’s not.”

$1,000 dollar bounty set for vote fraudsters in Alabama

If law enforcement and prosecutors would do their job investigating vote fraud, citizens would not have to offer money for tips on voter fraud.

The Alabama Republican Party has decided to up the ante when it comes to their ballot security operation. The ALGOP announced today that they are offering $1,000 to anyone who can provide information that directly leads to a felony conviction for voter fraud.

“‘Reward Stop Voter Fraud’ signs with our hotline number will be placed at random polling locations tomorrow and at all polling locations in November,” ALGOP Chairman Bill Armistead explained. “Poll watchers trained by ALGOP staff will also be watching to ensure that Alabama’s election laws – including the new photo voter ID law – are not being violated. Our signs and poll watchers will send a clear message to those wishing to commit voter fraud. Anyone attempting to tamper with the election process will be caught and will be prosecuted.”

More Here.