It is particularly fitting that the leadership of RNLA in 2020 selected Harvey Tettlebaum to win the "Robert Horn Chairman's Award."  Harvey and Bob were law partners.  Although Harvey is a Missouri Republican party leader and lawyer who views Washington warily while Bob was a DC insider comfortable with lobbyists and insiders at cocktail parties, they were close friends.  As Bob passed away this year, in a sense the role of "senior leader" has passed to Harvey.  Below is the official press release.  

In July, the Federal Election Commission dismissed a complaint filed by the liberal Campaign Legal Center (CLC) against America Progress Now (APN). CLC alleged that APN had technically violated federal campaign finance regulations by failing to include required disclaimers for political ads on Facebook Ads run by APN's Facebook page. CLC also insinuated that APN was a "fake political group."  However, CLC's real motive was not to get the small potatoes APN. The Commission made the decision to dismiss the Campaign Legal Center's complaint unanimously. In FEC Chairman Trey Trainor's Statement of Reasons for the complaint's dismissal, he raised concerns how a technical violation could be used to chill free speech.

On Tuesday, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., the Republican National Committee, and the Nevada Republican Party sued Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, challenging Assembly Bill 4 (AB4), which was signed into law by Governor Steve Sisolak on Monday after a brief debate on Sunday regarding the 60-page, single-spaced bill.  The bill represents yet another instance of Democrats taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to permanently alter the way elections are run throughout the country.

On Monday, House Republicans led by Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Rodney Davis (R-Ill) introduced the Emergency Assistance for Safe Elections (Ease) Act. The EASE Act aims to help states administer elections safely and securely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation is also sponsored by Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Dan Meuser (R-PA), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Don Young (R-AK), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Mike Garcia (R-CA), and Steve Chabot (R-OH).

During his remarks at civil rights giant John Lewis's funeral last week, former President Barack Obama took advantage of the opportunity to argue that the Senate filibuster is a "Jim Crow relic" that should be abolished if it gets in the way of a Democrat-authored bill that seeks to restore a provision of the Voting Rights Act from passing. But President Obama himself has used the filibuster, most notably during the confirmation process of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Attorney General William Barr spent the week in part reiterating the Trump Administration's commitment to law and order in the face of recent unrest in American cities which ignited in response to the tragic death of George Floyd. Sadly, Democratic lawmakers continue to attack the Administration's efforts.

Earlier today, the RNLA issued a press release thanking Caroline Hunter for her service as a Federal Election Commissioner. Ms. Hunter, a George W. Bush-appointee, resigned earlier this month after 12 years of service.

On Tuesday night, Vice President Mike Pence discussed elections with Fox News' Martha MacCallum. The interview followed a contentious House Judiciary hearing where Democratic committee members questioned Attorney General Bill Barr about the potential for voter fraud in upcoming elections.

On Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Attorney General William Barr testified before the House Judiciary Committee on a wide variety of issues including recent civil unrest, the COVID-19 pandemic, and election security. During the lengthy hearing, nearly every Democratic member of the committee spent his or her time throwing accusations at Attorney General Barr without giving him the opportunity to respond.

On Friday, the Supreme Court denied a Nevada church's emergency application for injunctive relief to allow the church to operate beyond the limit placed on them by Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak.  The church was challenging the Governor's Directive 021 which allows large groups at restaurants, bars, casinos, gyms, bowling alleys, indoor amusement parks, water parks, and pools as long as they remain at a 50% fire-code capacity limit. However, places of worship are limited to a 50-person limit regardless of the available facilities or precautions taken. The church alleges that the Governor's directive violates the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment. While the Court's denial of the church's application was a single sentence long, the 4 dissenting Justices wrote 3 separate dissents totaling 24 pages expressing their concerns over the Governor's blatant disregard for religious Nevadans' Constitutional rights.