Roberts suggested that he believes Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood can bring forth claims of religious freedom, saying courts have held that “corporations can bring racial discrimination claims as corporations” and that “those cases involve construction of the term ‘person.’” – John Roberts Offers Conservatives A Way Out Of Birth Control Dilemma, Sahil Kapur, TPM, […]
When donors furnish widely distributed support within all applicable base limits, all members of the party or supporters of the cause may benefit, and the leaders of the party or cause may feel particular gratitude. That gratitude stems from the basic nature of the party system, in which party members join together to further common […]
If the president is to be taken seriously, it’s time for him to make campaign finance a centerpiece of the upcoming campaign. Despite appearances, serious reform remains possible within the new limits set out by the Roberts court. Obama should take full advantage of the chief justice’s explicit recognition that the “appearance of corruption” serves […]
An article by Sam Kleiner posted yesterday on the New Republic’s website is titled “John Roberts shows he has no idea how money works in politics.” Mr. Kleiner must not understand the real purpose of the Conservative Movement’s decades-long crusade against campaign-finance laws. In fact, Roberts showed in McCutcheon v. FEC (yet again) that he […]
“There is no right more basic in our democracy than the right to participate in electing our political leaders.” That’s how Roberts began the opinion. So I guess we can now assume that the Court will strike down all those voter-ID laws that so clearly impact that most basic of rights, and will do so […]
John Roberts wrote in yesterday’s opinion in McCutcheon v. FEC that Congress may still “regulate campaign contributions to protect against corruption or the appearance of corruption.” He then limited “corruption” to an actual quid pro quo. Which raises the question of what, exactly, the appearance of quid pro quo corruption looks like. Y’know, as opposed […]
When [U.S. Solicitor General Donald] Verrilli said the Court has never found a right to exercise religion for corporations, Alito wondered if there was something wrong with the corporate form that it would not be accorded religion freedom rights. Did Verrilli agree, Alito said, with a lower court’s view that the only reason for a […]
Dan Crawford emailed me this morning with a link to Linda Greenhouse’s op-ed in today’s New York Times, titled “Law and Politics,” and asked me to post about it. A more apt title for the op-ed, which a headline writer rather than Greenhouse (whose bailiwick is the Supreme Court) titled, would be “The Supreme Court […]
The ticket to the middle class is not higher taxes on the very businesses that must create the jobs… Economic growth will come when we lower taxes for everyone, especially people who own businesses and create jobs. — Rand Paul, last night Absolutely. The G.W. Bush presidency was terrific for economic growth! It wasn’t a […]
Paul Krugman is my hero. I credit him–him alone, really–with ending, finally, the Peterson Foundation’s capture of almost all of the mainstream news media as their PR outfit. Just as I credit Occupy Wall Street, also alone, with finally ending the decades-long political prohibition of class warfare by any group but the hedge fund/CEO crowd. […]