August 12, 2022

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This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact Luke Wachob at [email protected].

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In the News

First Amendment Coalition: Study Show States Lagging In Protecting Free Speech Rights

By Donal Brown

.....A study of state laws regulating speech about government and policies revealed that states faltered in protecting the free speech rights of citizens with no laws that burden speakers or groups. Only Wisconsin earned over 80 percent and 35 states earned less than 50 percent with New York at 15 percent. Both blue and red states scored poorly with California at 28 percent and Florida at 29 percent.

The Center Square: Arizona among the top five states for political free speech, report says

By Tom Joyce

.....How protected is political free speech in Arizona?

It’s in the top five in terms of best places in the country for it, a new report says.

The Institute for Free Speech released its rankings for how states perform on issues like “free speech and association rights of individuals and groups interested in speaking about candidates, issues of public policy, and their government.”

The Institute ranked Arizona fifth on its list with a 67% score out of 100.

Arizona received high marks for permitting lobbying, not regulating issue speech near elections, allowing Super PACs, and for having any false statement laws.

The Courts

National Review: Students Sue California College over Censorship of Anti-Communist Flyers

By Brittany Bernstein

.....Three conservative students filed a lawsuit against California’s Clovis Community College claiming administrators violated their First Amendment right to free speech by censoring their anti-communist and pro-life flyers.

Congress

Financial Regulation News: Bill eyes bolstered 501(c)(4) organization transparency

By Douglas Clark

.....U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) has introduced a bill she said provides greater transparency with regard to 501(c)(4) organizations...

“My bill would fix this discrepancy by requiring the IRS to publicly disclose any filed Form 8976 upon request, thus allowing the public to know which organizations operate under 501(c)(4), as they do with organizations that operate under 501(c)(3),” Norton concluded. “In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which allows unlimited expenditures in political campaigns by these social welfare organizations, greater transparency is needed.”

FEC

Washington Post: Google gets green light to exempt campaign emails from spam detection

By Isaac Stanley-Becker

.....The Federal Election Commission on Thursday advised Google that a proposed pilot program allowing political campaigns to evade automated spam detection would not violate federal campaign finance law.

The vote on the six-member body, which is split evenly by party, was four in favor and one against, with one abstention. One Democrat joined the three Republicans in endorsing the plan. Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat, voted instead to advise Google that such a program would represent a prohibited in-kind contribution. Shana Broussard, also a Democrat, abstained...

The proposed program has not placated Republicans. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of the Republican caucus, recently asked lawmakers to sign a letter calling the proposed pilot program “unacceptable,” according to a draft obtained by The Washington Post.

“It comes too late and it’s too risky for campaigns,” stated the draft letter, which has yet to be transmitted to Google, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address private communications.

The Media

New York Post: Bari Weiss: New York Times editor wanted Schumer to OK op-ed by GOP Sen. Tim Scott

By Ariel Zilber

.....A former New York Times opinion page editor alleges that her bosses refused to run an op-ed submitted by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) without first getting approval from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Free Expression

New York Times: How We Think About Politics Changes What We Think About Politics

By Thomas B. Edsall

.....When so many voters — a majority, in fact — say that they prefer consensus to conflict, why does polarization continue to intensify?

In a paper that came out in June, “Explanations for Inequality and Partisan Polarization in the U.S., 1980 — 2020,” Elizabeth Suhay and Mark Tenenbaum, political scientists at American University, and Austin Bartola, of Quadrant Strategies, provide insight into why so much discord permeates American politics:

Scholars who research polarization have almost exclusively focused on the relationship between Americans’ policy opinions and their partisanship. In this article, we discuss a different type of partisan polarization underappreciated by scholars: “belief polarization,” or disagreements over what people perceive to be true.

Candidates and Campaigns

Politico (Influence): Frontline Dems are raising more money without corporate cash than with it

By Caitlin Oprysko

.....Frontline Democrats who’ve sworn off corporate PAC money raised on average $322,000 more last quarter than their vulnerable colleagues who accept contributions from corporations, according to an analysis of the at-risk Democrats’ fundraising compiled by the liberal group End Citizens United.

The PAC, which urges lawmakers to reject corporate cash, compared quarterly fundraising totals for members of the DCCC’s frontliners program in each quarter of the 2022 cycle and found that in addition to consistently outraising their fellow vulnerable House members, those who reject corporate PAC money also, on average, boasted cash reserves of at least $1 million — and sometimes close to $2 million — more than colleagues who accept corporate money.

Politico: The newest fad in fundraising: Gold-level clubs for lobbyists

By Hailey Fuchs

.....These aren’t your typical campaign fundraisers. Instead, they’re part of an increasingly popular fad in money raising: access to a bundle of small gatherings that lobbyists can purchase. Instead of brief face time with a lawmaker at a single event, they are offered the opportunity to develop almost a familial relationship with him or her over a series of them.

The States

Count on 2 News: Charleston Animal Society celebrates court ruling, calls for anti-SLAPP laws

By Kevon Dupree

.....Charleston Animal Society recently learned that they won a defamation lawsuit brought against them by Charleston Carriage Works in 2018...

The Animal Society says the carriage company used a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or SLAPP lawsuit, to try to intimidate them...

“What this decision does is send a very clear message that a defamation lawsuit intended solely to silence an opposing viewpoint,” attorney Beth Palmer said, “or to stifle public discourse, will not be tolerated.” ...

“Without them standing up for this,” Andy Brack of the South Carolina Press Association said, “we wouldn’t have this very important win for free speech and the First Amendment.”

Now, they’d like to see the Palmetto State join the other 32 states that have anti-SLAPP laws.

“We need good anti-SLAPP legislation in South Carolina,” Brack said. “We don’t need to have people filing cynical lawsuits to make points that infringe upon the public discourse.”

Florida Today: 'Illegal' School Board campaign yard signs popping up across Brevard

By Bailey Gallion

.....The anonymous yard signs popping up around Brevard County accusing School Board Chair Misty Belford of illegally masking children are likely illegal, according to lawyers advising Belford.

Belford said Monday that she was aware of the signs and had been contacted by lawyers encouraging her to take legal action against the anonymous sign-poster.

The signs read “REMINDER: MISTY BELFORD ILLEGALLY MASKED YOUR CHILDREN,” and have appeared next to Belford’s own campaign signs. The signs do not contain disclosures required under Florida election laws.

“They have the freedom in limited circumstances to be able to put those signs out,” Belford said. “They do not have the freedom to put them on private property where I have been given permission to place signs on private property.”

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