Will Senate Democrats Stifle Free Speech?
by David BossieToday the Senate returns to session having not yet addressed Senator Chuck Schumer’s troubling legislation, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act (“DISCLOSE Act”). Senator Schumer sought and failed to pass the DISCLOSE Act – a bill that would restrict the First Amendment rights of Americans – by the Fourth of July, the day on which we celebrate our nation’s independence.
The DISCLOSE Act is a desperate attempt to influence the November elections, and minimize Democrat losses. Senator Schumer and the legislation’s other sponsors aim to have a law on the books that will take effect prior to November regardless of whether a regulatory system is in place to enforce the burdensome new reporting requirements. The Act, its reporting burdens, and penalties are set to take effect 30 days after it has been signed by President Obama.
- The DISCLOSE Act will require small businesses, corporations, and non-profit organizations to electronically file burdensome financial disclosure reports within 24 hours of making an independent expenditure. Without action by the FEC, these groups will have to electronically file a form that does not yet exist, and face a $10,000 penalty should their filing be found inadequate.
- Radically expand the length of disclaimers on televised political advertisements. The Act will compel the head of an organization to appear on screen in a “stand by your ad” disclaimer. The top donor to an organization will also have to appear on camera to stand by the ad. The names of additional top donors to the organization must be listed on screen for a period of six seconds. These disclaimers will be the end of the 30 second advertisement, because over half of the time will be devoted to disclaimers.
- Companies with as little as 20% foreign ownership will be prohibited from engaging in political speech under the DISCLOSE Act. Verizon Wireless is a Delaware corporation with over 83,000 employees in the United States. It has over 90 million customers in the United States, but because of a minority ownership by Vodafone, would be prohibited from speaking under the DISCLOSE Act. On the other hand, unions with extensive foreign membership, such as the Service Employees International Union, are not subject to a similar foreign prohibition.
- In an unprecedented step, the DISCLOSE Act will expand what political speech is regulated. The DISCLOSE Act will drastically expand the definition of “electioneering communication” doubling the time period that speech is regulated. It will also expand what speech is regulated, shifting from a bright line express advocacy test to a more subjective “functional equivalent” test.
The Democrats in the House of Representatives managed to pass a version of the DISCLOSE Act before the Fourth of July recess. Senate Democrats have been unable to move their bill forward and are being remarkably tight-lipped regarding their plans to advance the bill. Senator Schumer and Senator Harry Reid will probably take drastic action to force a floor vote on the DISCLOSE Act. We must stay focused and ensure that they do not abridge First Amendment rights during this brief summer session.
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88 Comments
It looks like George Soros will be making a lot of tv appearances should this act pass……
dont count on it…by the time democrats get through with the bill Soros and unions will be exempt
the Left try to curb Free Speech?…
What a revelation. Those who think power their birthright and 'term limits' a laughable concept for them but not others. Chuckie Schumer needs an electoral challenge as much as anybody in Congress (except maybe Bawney Fwank) and perhaps the good people of New York will toss him overboard, too.
This DISCLOSE act is a clumsy answer to the Supreme Court decison lifting the curbs on money as Free Speech which was demonized by the terrible McCain/Feingold bill. The one Obama insulted Roberts and Alito with in one of the most classless displays by any Chief Executive in our history. It will pass only if it can be done under the wire.
Can't let that happen…
Just another angle for the dim's to rig an election, knowing this too will be shot down by the supreme court after the elections. It's like our government giving the American people and the Supreme Court the middle finger. Schumer, you are a POS. Is there no tar and feathers to be found in New York?
The part that worries me the most – is that these #$%^#&**& are so arrogant that there WILL probably have to be blood flowing before the ones left alive will realize they've over-stepped their jobs.
Don't think so??? My bet is they WILL try to cancel elections this Nov.
Unions have already had themselves exempted and placed above the reach of law, Soros thinks he is the law…
The 2012 election results are finally in and Obama has won with 100 percent of vote!
(just predicting the future if we don't clean up our election process)
Off topic – just heard on my local news that Brown is up for voting YES on the financial reform bill –
wow, what a shock! NOT
Wonder what flavor kool aid they are serving up in DC these days – mmm mmm mmm
Missy, you got that right, UNIONS are exempted. And Soros is the real leader of this nation, by proxy. If only: the media did its job, the libs actually named their bills for what they really are, and lastly that the left actually used their brains.
The hallmark of the Democratic party is to muzzle the opposition. This is the same group that brought you the Fairness Doctrine and Net Neutrality proposals. It isn't enough to have the majority of the main stream media in the tank for you, you must also silence and/or control any voice of dissent. More and more, the Dems remind me of the a-typical playground bully. They will do as much as they without getting caught, but will scream bloody murder if the tables are turned or if they are opposed.
Progressives don't believe in individual freedom, and that includes free speech. Only the "collective" has rights to them! This should come as no surprise that they would seek to bury freedom of speech
New simulus bill coming wherein the Census workers will go door to door to collect votes so the elderly and the handicapped don't have to make that perilous journey to the polling places. All in the name of compassion and transparencey of course. Afterall, the homeless, the illegals, and the dead need to have their voices and their votes heard too!!!
If republicans don't filibuster this one, then they deserve to continue their losing streak in November.
Dems are behind in the people's opinion. They are working to make the 'system' so far off base that it works for them. They are undermining our freedoms and rights! They MUST be VOTED OUT!
>> Will Senate Democrats stifle free speech
Correction: WHEN Will Senate Democrats stifle free speech
Answer: The day we let them
The Communist party / DNC will do everything imaginable between now and November to rig the elections in any way they can.
They're desperately trying justify their existence and cling to power.
Unfortunately for the statist left a clear majority of American citizens see the DNC and Chairman O for what they truly are, the largest threat to our liberty and security since the Nazis and the Soviet Union.
This will be like killing a cancer that we’ve allowed to metastasize with our past apathy. We can expect these sleazy politicians (cancer) to resist treatment (voters) come on November.
We need Americans in the White House/D.C.
Will the Senate Democrats stifle free speech?
I think by now we all know the answer to this one: YES!
Nazis, Soviet Union, Progressives – all treacherous.
With leftists, it's never a matter of "will," it's a matter of "when"….
NOT ON MY WATCH
AMEN to that!
NOT ON MY WATCH…
One of the bedrock beliefs of progressives is that don't recognize personal freedom or individual rights. I've studied their writings and philosophies, so this is not my opinion. It's THEIRS!
Thus, they believe that freedom must be brought into submission to the "collective" rights! But who decides what rights the GROUP has! THEY DO! And it's all subject to their change and whim of the moment! Thus, we should be surprised if they DON'T stifle free speech because they simply don't believe in it in the first place!
Compulsion and force are in their blood. It forms the bedrock of their values! They practice unrighteous dominion reflexively! It's who they are! That's why they loved every collectivist tyrant of the 20th Century! The loved Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini!
And everything they can AFTER THE ELECTION till the new congress is sworn in.
Lucky for us laws can be repealed, programs can be defunded, and nothing but the Constitution is carved in stone.
Disclose Act….. they really must believe we are just stupid. They are still doing the same tactics when the vast majority were not paying attention. Of course, after scouring the MSM articles on the subject, nowhere in the written text does it fully and clearly state the truth about this legislation. I guess it's the MSM's way of carrying the torch for demon-crat's.
then shut up…..stop posting.
Surrender your rights..
Not me.
Not in this lifetime or any other.
I actually hate drawing the comparison but there is just no other way to express the clear and present danger to ALL American citizen's liberties left right and center and indeed the entire world. They are trying to complete the job that the socialist Nazis and communist Soviets could not. The globalists have been trying to get here for nearly 150 years and we are on the brink of falling forever into their total power designs for all of humanity. There are simply too many "convenient coincidences" in this administration for the goals and end results to be anything less than what both of those mindlessly evil regimes tried so murderously to achieve.
I pray the American people and the media finally wake up before it is truly TOO LATE…
Lets hope so and lets also hope that when the conservatives actually do come back into power that they actually listen to the people before they listen to the political financiers ever again…
I'm not betting against you….
Problem is, most of the media are part of "they", and they don't even let the motivation for profit get in the way of their ideolgy.
Their only motivation is absolute power and they are absolutely corrupted and driven by it.
HOPE MY ASS.
Mine reps were told in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that this next vote is a LOANER. They don't get down to biddness, listen to voters, get control of this gov't, it's spending, and restore the Constitution, they will find themselves on the SAME SCRAP HEAP next time around.
NO HOPE.
DO YOUR JOB OR GET OUT.
I'm flat outta HOPE, blew through patience 6 months ago, and am sittin on DEFCON 1.
And MY reps know it cause I told them in reeel clear terms even THEY could understand.
How to resist federal tyranny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP-qflDbRBs
It is no longer "We the People, it is "Me the President"… http://remembernovember.com/
I should have said "demand", you are correct…
We need to ensure that the temptations of power become a memory in American politics and punish anyone that fails to hear the people first.
NEVER AGAIN!
I'm a member of the Google Group for "Citizens for Open Government," and was enthusiastic about the movement… until I saw how thoroughly they were willing to pimp the DISCLOSE Act and its shameful union carve-outs.
eggggggactly, Missy.
In fact, NEVER AGAIN should be our mantra till we RETRAIN gov't to understand
THEY SERVE US…. AND AT OUR PLEASURE, TOO.
I like it!
Lets do it!
Excuseeee mmmmmeeeee!
Who said anything about surrendering, Tex?
They have the power and will take what they can…you can stomp all you want.
He thumbed his nose at the Supreme Court, and will continue to do so. Any tactics to support the union thugs. Let's also not forget that they are trying to RAM through Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill (S. 3194) by attaching the bill to emergency war funding. The House already forced their version through. WAR FUNDING bill…….. Monopoly bargaining bill???? Before we know it, they will do away with Right to Work States state authority. If you haven't done so already, contact your senators and tell them to remove this from the war funding bill.
Didn't the unions also get some sweet exemptions in the Healthcare bill?
trust them. they know what's best for you. really.
You will love big brother.
Remind me to never piss you two off!! My wife goes on a rant like this occasionally and I just stay out of her way. But, you gals keep it up. Like Sarah Palin said, you don't wanna mess with a momma grizzly. I for one like a strong willed woman, I just don't think I could live with one of them whiny tree hugging Earth First types. Hari Kiri would be a pleasant event after listening to all that garbage.
Happy to frighten you…? lol
The left does use their brains. If you're going to be a lawless band of thugs, it is wise to control or co-opt the propaganda mills. They just choose to use their minds for evil instead of good…
M8s,
The comparison is valid if you look at their goals. All "progressives", all "collectivists" ruling as a power elite. The means employed by the American(?) Left and the internationalists are of necessity less violent within our borders because they understand that too much overt violence might awaken even the most apathetic citizen…
Randy,
Two down, one to go…
I can reasonably assure you that the "cancelling" of a national election in todays public mood will result in immediate and swift "marches" on Washington for the removal of 535 unnamed people. No telling what might happen to them when people are so very very angry.
I believe that these 535 unnamed people totally understand the complete ire of America and will not pull such a stunt. Besides…most of them are sissified and cowards. They have not the ballz.
Not frightened, gets me worked up. Nothing like standing side by side with a good woman. I know some guys like their women quiet, barefoot and pregnant, but it just never did anything for me. It's real hard to have a conversation with a dimwit!
Brown was NEVER all that "conservative" or even slightly to the right; that people believed that he was, is what is appalling! HE'S A MASS. GOPER, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!
Believing that Brown was going to be all that different from a DEM, is like believing that Obama was a middle of the roader, before he was elected.
The ONLY thing that was truly good about Brown getting elected to fill Kennedy's seat, is that he gave the GOPers, in the Senate, one more seat. And numbers DO matter, even when the GOP has to accept a few RINOS, from states that will NEVER elect a conservative GOPer.
lol, yes I know this rather pathetic fact of life in the northeast cluster of freakin wierdos!!
Just thought I'd share the 'news' on brownie cuz ya know, he's just sooooo conservative! lol
Every damn day it's yet another bit of horrible news – overload/overwhelm the system, who knew this was the method they would choose! It would drive a sane person to drink, too much outrageous news for the normal person to disgest – I submit, I took days off so my head didn't pop off – only to come here after reading news everywhere and bam, the anti-semites and barry worshipers are out en mass – ugh!!
I've taken some time off as well and I admit to being appalled by how this site has deteriorated.
The news will continue to not just be "bad", but worse and worse, on a daily basis.
Still and all, Dick Morris is on right now and is sticking to his guns about the GOPers taking both Houses this November and yes, I concur; even with the voter fraud and intimidation we all know is out there.
URGENT regarding DISCLOSE and how Delaware's own Cap and Traitor, Rep. Castle, was the final vote for this in the House. He is now running for Senate and thinks he has a free ride. But he has an opponent, Christine McDonnell, who is a true conservative and a good option for tea party, conservatives, republicans — anyone who agrees free speech means FREE SPEECH. If they had nothing to hide, why would democrats be so desperate to get this in force before this November's election????
PLEASE EXPOSE CASTLE AS DISCLOSE TRAITOR AND CAP AND TRAITOR..
It's unfortunate really, to have to see all the stupid ignorant vile comments really DOES reduce the site to a playground atmosphere where the bully mentality is rampant!
We WILL take both houses, I believe that to be true. THEY have NO freakin clue how pissed people are, how informed they have become, how it has forced everyone to take look at what is TRUE and what is bullcrap – yep, anger is a great motivator! lol
Off year elections almost always favor the party out of power, EXCEPT IN 2002, when the GOPers actually INCREASED their numbers.
But the anger on the right, as well as from the Indies, will bury the DEMS, nationwide !
Lefties and just plain old Dems are disheartened, or ambivalent, at best. And don't forget, most people don't usually vote in off year elections anyway; especially the young.
Obama and the Dems have given almost NOBODY any reason to vote for them, come November; OTOH, they haves given MANY valid reasons to vote against them; even some usual Dem voters !
True points, and yep, they continue to give reasons to vote against them –
the list is too long and I'd be preaching to the choir, so I'll spare ya!
one thing that MIGHT get the youth out to vote is explaining the net neutrality crap and HOW it WILL effect THEM – ya know, if it's about them they might pay attention!
The youngish voters, who turned out for Barry, are now completely and utterly tuned out. They know less than nothing, they did their "thing" and are now solidly ensconced back into their own little worlds.
The ones who graduated and can't get a job, either are living at home, scrounging off mom & dad and couldn't care less, or haved suddenly become aware of their own stupidity and WILL vote GOPer.
The Left listens to the MSM, they don't pay attention to what real America is saying. I don't think they need the ballz to cancel the election, they just need the will to try to do so. They think that America is stupid, they believe what the MSM tells them. I have no doubt that Nancy Pelosi really does think that unemployment compensation creates jobs, because she is that dumb. With that said, any group that can allow someone this dumb to speak for them only needs their collective stupidity to cancel an election or to call for the end of free speech, and don't realize that the founding fathers of this country went to war over far less. I fear that this congress will have to be forcible removed.
Oh, that's how they do it. I was wondering how so many dead people got to the polls in California.
ha ha, such a pretty picture you paint!
How did you see Dick Morris already, he's not up until Hannity?!!
" It will pass only if it can be done under the wire. Can't let that happen… "
yep … Nov.2nd – Jan. 3rd.
AHHHHHH MEN. We didn't want healthcare and it was rammed down our throats anyway, they are findings way to get all the socialism through with or without our approval.
They're like herpes
its all about covering the obama party of the present and let tomorrow find new ways to screw America
obama/reid/pelosi will do any and all things to limit America's freedom to dump them and their socialist agenda to take our liberty, freedom and money
obama winning 100% of vote would fit right in with another husein that won 100% of the vote………and the Prez Bush led iraqis hanged that husein
guess who will be next if this crap against America keeps up
FU obama/reid/pelosi/shumer
FU obama/reid/pelosi/shumer
FU obama/reid/pelosi/shumer
AMERICA IS GOING TO GET YOU IN NOVEMBER !!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm glad you're not frightened, I already have enough trouble with Janet Napolitano as it is by just being here!
Democrats go to great lengths to find ways around our laws, especially those related to elections. You can be sure they already have found loopholes around the DISCLOSE act. Can someone do it for our side? Heritage Foundation, are you on it? I'll go out and spend money on prepaid credit cards and use them to donate to conservative candidates if they will take it. Dems do such things every day. Our side is too righteous and forthright to stoop to low life politics, though. Damn it, this is war!
I didn't 'see" him…..I "HEARD" him on Sean's radio show.
Word "pictures" can be fun, as well as being more instructive than just a straight forward : "the young aren't a reliable vote" statement.
I really think that you should open up and let us know how you really feel!
well a long time ago king george (the english one) lost a war and a bunch of colonies…osamabama is about to lose his ass…if he and his scumsuckin' cronies want to silence me they are going to have to kill me…I don't believe I'm alone when I say that…if they want a revolution well they'll get one sooner than they may like…
I will stand shoulder to shoulder with you…
well if there is going to be a choice will it be ballots or bullets??? I'm going to go clean my stuff just in case…
SHIPMATE…are you ready to serve again to protect the parchment and your freedom??? no uniforms this time we'll be on our own…but you're still gonna have to get up early, it's you watch…
Freedom of speech only applies to liberals.
What if the government enacted a law and no one obeyed it?
Aw, shit! We already have that. Some call it illegal immigration.
Yes, of course the unions did. They are the new mafia.
Yeah, and just ask even ONE of them to give up what they have to help someone else. HA HA HA HA HA!
LIBERALISM TRULY IS A MENTAL DISORDER.
It's part of why Rome fell. There were a lot of reasons but apathy, being spoiled, taking things for granted and not feeling the need to be vigilant to keep what was precious and hard fought for, FOR THE GOOD OF ALL, was one of the reasons.
America is falling. Can we save her?
I feel as though we're being surrounded. Union thugs, corrupt politicians, terrorists, unsecured borders, black panther intimidation, DOJ that won't do their job….and the list goes on. We have a BIG job ahead of us. Our country is literally being taken over, piece by piece, by piece in a HUGE rush. I never, in my wildest dreams (or nightmares, more accurately) thought I would see this day. It is truly frightening! And all we can do is be informed, stay engaged, and vote to get our country back.
Yes, Maxine, indeed. The thing all of us MUST do is dare to argue with those who are ill informed or mis-informed. DARE to anger someone by speaking your mind and educating them. This is no time to allow yourself to be intimidated by the PC speech police.
I'm not saying that you should cause unnecessary fights but what I AM saying is that we CANNOT allow ourselves to be silenced into polite little mealy mouthed lemmings just because we may not be armed with ALL of the facts. The situation is quite clear. The opposition will throw bogus stats at you and / or make statements that you are not sure about. Statements that are likely twisted and tortured to fit the leftist agenda. Stand strong. Speak firmly and evenly about what you believe. What you think we need. What you disagree with. And when you get the self-righteous indignation, stay calm. Even speak softly if necessary- as a matter of fact, softly and firmly spoken people get more attention than the ones screaming and flapping their gums in the wind.
I sing in a rock n roll band- yes, even as I approach 53, they still let me on stage to rock. I live in CA. I am 98% surrounded by lunatic liberals that have absolutely no idea what they are talking about and get really riled up and indignant. They expect me to shut up and I don't. It really pisses them off. I don't ever try to piss anyone off but I WILL NOT BE SILENCED.
This is part of the liberal agenda- to silence us. NOT gonna happen with me. If you need more facts and ammo, (OH MY GOD I SAID AMMO!!! I MUST BE A BIBLE-THUMPIN, GUN CLINGIN" REDNECK), see what I mean? Anyway, if you need more information, listen to Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh of course, Hugh Hewett, Michael Medved, Tammy Bruce, Dennis Miller, John Voight, Mike Huckabee, Glen Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Andrew Breitbart, and on and on. They aren't all in agreement with everything but you will get really important information. For example, Mark Levin is a constitutional attorney. Has been for a very, very long time. He's crabby as hell on the radio but for good reason. He can arm you with facts. Michael Medved is an unbelievable American historian. He wrote a book called The Ten Big Lies about America.
You know what we have to do? Fight until we either win or lose. That's all there is. And, if I can talk my 78 year old, lifelong Democrat mother into understanding the lunacy we face, you can talk reason with some of the folks around you.
Lastly, WE NEED OIL, PERIOD. For all your tree hugger friends, be sure to point out to them that about 6,000 of the common products, clothing, cosmetics, plastics, and on and on and on, are petroleum based. Type "things made from petroleum" into Google. If they want to pay double the price for just about everything they buy then go ahead and back drilling restrictions! They are NOT going to be happy when what they bought for $60.00 now costs $150.00 or more. They are not going to like spending $7.00+ a gallon for gas. They will not take the bus or ride their bikes or want to pay 3x the amount for electricity. You have to make it personal.
Best of luck. Keep on girl and get these folks to vote the lunatics out!
Very simply well said, Reader.
Yeah, I have been engaged as well and very familiar with those you mention. I visit the Bigs everyday, and talk radio is another great source of info. I'm a few years older, but all of my years in business taught me how to talk to those with different views in a conference room. (Sometimes very heated discussions.) You speak in facts that they cannot dispute and it shuts them up. Over the last year or so, I've had some very difficult political discussions with long time friends. It's tough, but I stand by the facts. I'm grateful to the Bigs, as I know I'm not alone. I'm in So OC, which is much more conservative. My biggest problem is with friends from out of state. The latest one was about gun rights…. (Bet you live in L.A…… just a guess). If so, when are you guys going to get rid of Mayor La Raza? Keep Rocking and stay strong! And as a side note: I'm not a tree hugger!
We can only hope.
Great, Maxine.
Yes, yes, I'm in LA.. I wish I could move but I can't. Villiarigossa is a completely incompetent, narcissistic, thief. He is an ex-ACLU so that's really all you have to know. But, MOST of Sacramento is simpatico. If it was up to me, he would have been brought up on charges, tarred, feathered and kicked out of town a LONG time ago.
If Jerry Brown wins, we're doomed. Property taxes will go up and it will be hell with more and more people moving away. Whitman is a mixed bag, (no pun intended), but at least she's not an idealog and she has actually run a business. I'll vote for her.
I'm in the high desert which is actually a mixed blessing. It's a poor part of the state but the government is pretty dang conservative. We don't have police, we have Sheriffs. I like that. It's less crowded which is REALLY nice. My immediate neighborhood is a mix of black, Mexican and white. Us white's are the minority. We all get along just fine. I had a welfare family renting next door for about 2 years and it was at the height of the real estate bubble. They were SO bad, SO loud, fighting, drinking, 20 kids, blah blah, that 5 homes across the street were sold and the neighbors moved away. It was just terrible. These homeowners put up with the chaos for about a year and when they realized that there was NOTHING we could do to get these people to behave like human beings, they sold and left. It was terrible for a while- bad renters, new homeowners who could not afford the mortgages, etc., then, lots of empty houses.
NOW, I have a wonderful family next door and the rest of the houses are filled with good people, again. There is only one bad neighbor and I'm sure they won't be here much longer. I am very lucky. You've heard of Palmdale and you've heard nothing but bad stuff, of course. But, I've been here for 9 years and I really enjoy NOT BEING in the traffic and chaos of the valley or LA.
I have a lot to say about welfare because living where I do, I SEE what it does. The debates I have with those who have a "compassionate theory", are interesting. Unless you live around it, you have NO IDEA what is really going on. Welfare is about 75% fraud and, the damage it does to the people on it is staggering. The folks who live in nice neighborhoods think they are being "nice" by saying that it's good to help those less fortunate. HA HA HA HA! I tell them all if they want to know the truth, they need to come live here for 3 months. They will never see it the same, again.
Glad you're not a tree hugger. I love trees as much as the next person but these people haven't a scintilla, (love that word), of common sense. Good grief.
Fight on Maxine, I'm right there with you!!
Thank you.
More and more, the Dems are reminding me of Marxists…
I can't wait until later this fall when a herd of congressional Democrats have shiny new titles…..unemployed.
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