Former FEC Chair Brad Smith published an op-ed today in the National Review today entitled: “The First Amendment Is Lucky to Have Mitch McConnell.” That is both a great headline and an accurate salute to the Republican Senate Leader at a time when Democrats have declared war on the First Amendment through the Corrupt Politicians Act (H.R.1/S.1). That said, a key part of Senator McConnell’s leadership on the First Amendment is not partisan:

Surprisingly few elected officials are willing to come to the defense of campaigns and other organized efforts to effect change. Americans celebrate their freedoms to speak and organize into groups, but once an organization achieves success, support for its rights tends to give way to concerns about “influence.” It’s rare to find politicians who support equally the freedom to speak of the NRA and the Brady Campaign, the League of Conservation Voters and the Chamber of Commerce, or pro-life groups and Planned Parenthood.

For over a quarter century, Mitch McConnell has stood as the Senate’s most consistent, articulate, and dogged defender of the First Amendment rights these organizations rely on. Way back in 1994, he engineered the defeat of a bill to fund campaigns with Americans’ tax dollars, a policy that remains at the top of the progressive agenda today and that reappears in S. 1. He has frustrated bad ideas from the right, too, such as in 2006, when he was one of only three Senate Republicans to oppose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution permitting the criminalization of flag-burning. That amendment fell just one vote short.

Democrats will lead people to believe that the Corrupt Politicians Act is about voting rights. But as NRSC Communications Director Chris Hartline points out, the Corrupt Politicians Act is all about "ensuring that Democrats win more elections."

As we noted earlier this week, one of the most contentious issues that came up during Senate Rules' markup of the Corrupt Politicians Act was felon voting rights. As multiple Republicans pointed out, reasonable minds can differ on the issue, but the Democrats have taken it too far. Their position is so problematic that it's worth a second look.

After a party-line vote, the nomination of Kristen Clarke to lead the DOJ Civil Rights Division will be sent to the full Senate for consideration. As the RNLA has repeatedly highlighted, Clarke's nomination is one of the most dangerous nominations made by the Biden Administration thus far. Prior to today's vote, Senator Cruz noted that Clarke "has spent her life on the extreme left-wing.”

A recent column for Bloomberg Law by two professors for advocating for the expansion of the U.S. Supreme Court is attempting to redefine court-packing yet again. The professors suggest that the Court should be expanded to 15 justices, but that this wouldn't technically qualify as court-packing because, under their scheme, most cases would only be heard by a panel of 5 justices:

Real reform is required, and for that we need a court of 15 justices, with the justices sitting in three panels of five judges on any normal case. On very important cases, the court could vote to sit all 15 justices together en banc.

In a marathon hearing today, the Senate Rules Committee held a markup for S.1, the Senate version of the "Corrupt Politicians Act." The hearing covered a variety of topics, but one thing is abundantly clear: the Corrupt Politicians Act is a partisan power grab, and Democrats will do whatever they can to gain as much power as possible. As Senator Hagerty put it, S.1 is a "power grab in search of a crisis." The vote to advance the bill was tied at 9-9, but under Senate rules, the legislation will advance to the floor for consideration.

The common narrative in 2020 was that the year's uptick in violence would go away once Joe Biden was elected. However, that hasn't been the case. Crime is up in large, Democrat-run cities, and the riots continue. Even in this climate, some Democrats like Rep. Rashida Tlaib persist in pushing the "defund the police" movement. 

Since Kristen Clarke was nominated to lead the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, RNLA has highlighted concerns with her record including inconsistencies with her testimony given to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon have uncovered another inconsistency in Clarke's testimony:

Clarke told the Senate Judiciary Committee last month that she merely provided "logistical support" for a 1999 Columbia University conference, "Black America vs. The Prison Industrial Complex." But an itinerary from the conference shows Clarke moderated a panel on alleged human rights violations in the prison system. . .

Republicans are sounding the alarm on President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), David Chipman. Fox News reports:

Dozens of House Republicans are urging the Senate to oppose President Biden's nomination of David Chipman as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), calling him an "enemy of the 2nd Amendment" and saying his confirmation would "jeopardize" the constitutional rights of gun owners. . .

Fox News obtained a letter House Republican Study Committee Chair Jim Banks, R-Ind., and 68 other House GOP members penned to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. R-Ky., on Monday.

Article VI, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution states: “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Yet H.R.1, nicknamed the "Corrupt Politicians Act," clearly states (emphasis added):

An individual is eligible to  serve as a member of an independent redistricting  commission if the individual meets each of the following criteria: . . .

(iv) The reason or reasons the individual desires to serve on the independent redistricting commission, the individual’s qualifications, and information relevant to the ability of the individual to be fair and impartial, including, but not limited to— (I) any involvement with, or financial support of, professional, social, political, religious, or community organizations or causes;