Republican National Lawyers Association
Republican National Lawyers Association
Member Login
Member Login
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • About the RNLA
    • Leadership
    • Local Contacts
  • Events
  • News
  • Join the RNLA
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Renew Membership
  • RNLA Members Welcome Page

Pages tagged "political speech"


FEC Chair Stops Liberal Group's Effort to Use Political Speaker's Ignorance to Go After Facebook

Posted on Blog by Elizabeth El-Rassy · August 06, 2020 6:41 PM

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.

Read more

Weintraub Opposes Making Political Speech Cost-Effective

Posted on Blog by Lisa Dixon · January 13, 2020 9:03 PM

FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub is attacking political speech on Twitter again, this time objecting to an op-ed in the Washington Post praising Facebook's decision to allow micro-targeting of political ads.  As we have described many times in this blog, not only does Commissioner Weintraub want online political speech to be extensively regulated, apparently she is also opposed to allowing those who disseminate their speech online to do so in a "cost-effective" way:

Read more

Twitter Bans Political Ads; Impact Will Be on Small Campaigns and Organizations

Posted on Blog by Lisa Dixon · October 31, 2019 8:36 PM

Yesterday, Twitter announced that it would not carry any political ads (broadly defined to include issue ads as in the Honest Ads Act/SHIELD Act) on its platform.  Under current law, this is perfectly permissible.  It contrasts with the approach taken by Facebook, which announced recently that it would not decide truth and falsity in political ads.  Democrats and the mainstream media were quick to praise the decision:

Read more

Leader McConnell: SHIELD Act Would "Chill the Exercise of Free Speech"

Posted on Blog by Lisa Dixon · October 23, 2019 7:11 PM

This morning, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been a steadfast defender of First Amendment rights, spoke on the Senate floor about the SHIELD Act under consideration by the House today.  He called it "the latest installment in Speaker Pelosi’s campaign to expand government’s control over Americans’ political speech."  

Speaker Pelosi's current crusade against Americans' political speech rights began with H.R. 1, and the SHIELD Act contains portions of H.R. 1, the Honest Ads, and other dangerous provisions.  The RNLA sent a letter to the House opposing it.

Read more

SHIELD Act Would Regulate Americans' Political Speech Instead of Preventing Foreign Election Interference

Posted on Blog by Lisa Dixon · October 17, 2019 3:45 PM

Yesterday, the Committee on House Administration marked up the SHIELD Act (H.R. 4617, Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections for a Lasting Democracy Act).  The SHIELD Act contains the provisions of the Honest Ads Act, plus additional dangerous provisions.

If passed, it would likely have very little effect on foreign efforts to influence or interfere with U.S. elections.  Instead, it would regulate Americans seeking to exercise their First Amendment rights, with the effect of restricting political speech.

The RNLA sent a letter to the House opposing the SHIELD Act:

Read more

Former FEC Chair Goodman Says “Honest Ads Act” Targets American Free Speech, Not Foreign Propaganda

Posted on Blog by Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) · September 05, 2019 6:51 PM

Former FEC Chair and RNLA Board of Governors member Lee Goodman penned a column in The Hill laying bare the inadequacies of the Honest Ads Act pending in Congress. 

Goodman writes that the bill would “severely restrict the First Amendment rights of American citizens and media companies but barely impact foreign meddlers.” 

To address the kind of foreign meddling witnessed in 2016, Goodman recommends that Congress amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to apply directly to foreign propagandists like the Internet Research Agency.  The law currently applies only to the U.S.-based agents of foreign principals.  House Democrats are expected to push a version of the Honest Ads Act when Congress returns next week.

Read more

Weintraub Corrupts and Politicizes FEC, Undermines Elections

Posted on Blog by Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) · September 03, 2019 11:04 AM
In her seventeenth year of a six-year term on the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Commissioner Ellen Weintraub is showing her true partisan colors.  She is fanning the flames of distrust in government by misusing her government position to question the legitimacy of the 2016 presidential election (and all presidential elections before it), to troll the President, and to call for policing speech on the internet.  
Appearing over the weekend on All In with Chris Hayes on the liberal MSNBC, Weintraub joined the chorus of Democrats attacking the Electoral College, oddly by relying on foreigners' confusion over it:  
Read more

Democrats Try to Undermine FEC to Justify Increased Campaign Finance Regulation

Posted on Blog by Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) · August 30, 2019 5:57 PM

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has jurisdiction to issue regulations and enforce federal campaign finance laws; in other words, to interpret and enforce the regulation of Americans' political speech, which is protected by the First Amendment.  

For years, Democrats have attempted to expand regulation of political speech through onerous disclaimer, disclosure, and reporting requirements; low contribution limits; making the FEC a partisan body controlled by the President's party (such as in H.R. 1 and the perennial DISCLOSE Act); outright speech prohibitions; and even through spending limits (which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional back in Buckley v. Valeo).  

With the resignation of Republican FEC Commissioner Matt Petersen, the FEC is back in the news.

Read more

House Democrats' First Bill is For . . . House Democrats

Posted on Blog by Michael Thielen · January 24, 2019 8:30 PM

You would think House Democrats' first bill would be something that polled well for their base or that the public cared about.  Or maybe it would be something crazy and liberal like unofficial House Democrat spokesperson Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's idea for “reparations...for...the New Deal.”  Nope.  In HR 1 House Democrats made their first bill since gaining control of the House about limiting speech (and therefore criticism of them) and rigging election processes in their favor.  As House Administration Committee Republicans state:

#HR1 is a “proposal to grow the federal government’s power over Americans’ political speech and elections.” #FortheDemocrats

— CHA Republicans (@HouseAdmnGOP) January 24, 2019
Read more

SUPPORT RNLA

Your RNLA Membership or contribution goes a long way in advancing the RNLA's Mission.

Donate Now

Join Us

Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Twitter Sign in with Email


About Us

About the RNLA
Leadership
Local Contacts

News

Blog
Award Winners

Join Us

Become a Member
Member Benefits

Law Students

Student Chapters
Volunteer Opportunities
Law Clerk
Horn Fund

Search

Events
Online Directory

Donate Now

© 2024 - All Rights Reserved

The National Bar Association for Republican Lawyers
Website Built by Driven2020

Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA)

Sign in with

Sign in with Facebook, Twitter or email.
Created with NationBuilder

Member Login

Sign in with Facebook or Twitter

Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Twitter

Or sign in with your email address

Or sign in with your email address

I have an account

Forgot your password?

Create an account