August 20, 2024

In the News

Tampa Bay Times: A Pinellas campaign ad may have violated state law — and it might not matter

By Marlene Sokol

.....At issue is advertising for Erika Picard, a Pinellas County guidance counselor who is running for school board against incumbent Eileen Long. The Empower Parents Florida organization described Picard in a mailing as “Republican.” ...

Citing a Florida statute, Long filed a complaint with the Florida Elections Commission last week, saying such labels are against the law in nonpartisan races. Specifically, the law says that “a political advertisement of a candidate running for nonpartisan office may not state the candidate’s political party affiliation.” ...

On Friday, Empower Parents Florida told the Times it is protected by a federal court decision that considers the Republican label to be free speech under the First Amendment.

The case they cited concerned Kells Hetherington, a candidate for the Escambia County School Board in 2018 and 2022. Hetherington had been fined $200 in the first election for telling voters he was a “lifelong Republican.”

Hetherington wanted to improve his chances in 2022 by giving voters a clear picture of his overall beliefs. So he filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state law with the help of the Institute for Free Speech, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that defends First Amendment rights.

A judge ruled in Hetherington’s favor and issued a permanent injunction, saying the statute is unconstitutional and the Florida Elections Commission cannot enforce it.

FEC

Free Beacon: 'Honored Guests': Democratic FEC Commissioners Attend DNC While Weighing Complaint Against Kamala's Campaign

By Chuck Ross

.....Democratic commissioners Ellen Weintraub and Shana Broussard will attend the convention, which kicks off Monday, according to internal FEC documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon...

The FEC commissioners' participation in the convention is raising conflict-of-interest concerns as the commission investigates a complaint filed by Donald Trump's campaign over the transfer of Joe Biden's $91.5 million war chest to Kamala Harris.

"I think any reasonable person would look at this as concerning at best, and improper at worst," said Jessica Furst Johnson, a partner at the law firm Holtzman Vogel and former general counsel to the National Republican Senatorial Committee…

An FEC spokeswoman said that the DNC is not covering expenses for Weintraub and Broussard to attend the convention and that the commissioners are not staying at the Marriott Marquis. The spokeswoman did not address whether the commissioners accepted the DNC's offer of "Honored Guest Credentials," which grants credential holders access to an "Honored Guest Super Suite" at the convention.

"Vice Chair Weintraub and Commissioner Broussard sought and are complying with guidance received from the FEC's Ethics Office, as is customary when Commissioners travel," a spokeswoman said.

Online Speech Platforms

Washington Post: From Iran and Russia, the disinformation is now. The target is America.

By The Editorial Board

.....The artificial-intelligence company OpenAI announced Friday that it disrupted a covert Iranian campaign using its ChatGPT tool to create social media posts and long-form articles to influence American voters about political candidates in both parties, spiced up with remarks about fashion and beauty to look more authentic. The disruption was based in part on the Aug. 9 warning from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center that “Iranian actors have recently laid the groundwork for influence operations aimed at US audiences.”

Free Expression

Reason: When Attacks on Anarchists Accidentally Improved Free Speech Law

By Brian Doherty

.....After the crackdown on the anarchists died down, and past the Cold War repressions under the Smith Act, it became more difficult to imagine anyone could go to jail in America solely for saying or writing a political heresy. Even when people are targeted for their speech, propriety requires that a more substantial charge be added. (The modern inheritor of the mantle of "enemy for whom constitutional protections can be ignored" is the drug seller and user, though different amendments are implicated.)

Three prosecutions during the World War I–era crackdown on political dissidents under the Espionage Act ended up before the Supreme Court. Free expression lost every time. But in Abrams v. United States, based on a 1918 expansion of the Espionage Act known as the Sedition Act, a dissent signed by two justices established an attitude toward the First Amendment's reach that became standard over the course of the 20th century.

Candidates and Campaigns

Washington Post: Mayoral candidate vows to let VIC, an AI bot, run Wyoming’s capital city

By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Jenna Sampson

.....Mayoral candidate Victor Miller, a bespectacled librarian with an AI obsession, stood between an American flag and a Wyoming flag, preaching what he sees as the untapped potential of artificial intelligence in government.

AI would be objective. It wouldn’t make mistakes. It would read hundreds of pages of municipal minutiae quickly and understand them. It would, he said, be good for democracy.

Miller made this pitch at a county library in Wyoming’s capital on a recent summer Friday, with a few friends and family filling otherwise empty rows of chairs. Before the sparse audience, he vowed to run the city of Cheyenne exclusively with an AI bot he calls “VIC” for “Virtual Integrated Citizen.”

AI experts say the pledge is a first for U.S. campaigns and marks a new front in the rapid emergence of the technology. Its implications have stoked alarm among officials and even tech companies.

Free Beacon: Eugene Vindman's House Campaign Refers Communications Requests to Liberal Super PAC, Raising Legal Concerns

By Jessica Costescu

.....Something funny happened when the Washington Free Beacon contacted the campaign of Trump whistleblower turned congressional candidate Eugene Vindman last week. Vindman, a 24-year Army veteran, says he "served our nation in combat." A 2019 Daily Mail piece said he "has not seen combat." The Free Beacon asked the campaign to explain the discrepancy.

Vindman's campaign manager, Jeremy Levinson, responded by introducing a third party, the employee of a political action committee. "All future questions," he said, could be directed to him.

Daily Caller: DNC Platform Vows To End ‘Dark Money’ As Dems Raise Hundreds Of Millions In The Shadows

By Robert Schmad

.....The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform released Monday decries the influence of “dark money” on elections despite the party receiving tens of millions of dollars from sources that fit its own definition of dark money.

Democrats warn in their platform that “foreign entities” can use “dark money loopholes” to influence American elections, pointing to 501(c)(4) nonprofits as a major source of anonymously sourced dark money flowing into races. Future Forward Action, a 501(c)(4) group like the ones slammed in the Democratic platform, however, has pumped tens of millions of dollars into Future Forward PAC, the committee President Joe Biden anointed in 2020 as his main super PAC which has since pivoted to supporting Vice President Kamala Harris after she became the party’s presumptive nominee.

American Prospect: Sanders Urges Ban on Super PACs in Democratic Primaries

By David Dayen

.....Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called for an end to super PAC money in Democratic primaries at a Progressive Democrats of America event on the eve of the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago…

“What you’re seeing from AIPAC and other super PACs is simply outrageous,” Sanders said. “Democrats often talk about the need to end Citizens United, and we agree. They talk about moving to public funding of elections. But if you’re serious about the power of money in politics, you can say today, sorry, no super PACs allowed in primaries.”

The States

Louisiana Illuminator: Louisiana senator wants controversial definition of antisemitism in state law

By Piper Hutchinson

.....A Louisiana state lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would enshrine a controversial definition of antisemitism in law in response to increased tension on college campuses. 

Sen. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, plans to introduce the legislation in the regular session next year that would use the working definition of anti-semitism the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance adopted in 2016.