Common Cause continues its efforts to hold power accountable.

Abuse of Power: Forging the Path to Recovery

Common Cause hosted a distinguished panel on June 10 to discuss the widespread abuse of power engaged in by the current Administration. The Administration has disregarded the rule of law through over-broad assertions of executive power, abuse of signing statements, and policies that arguably flout the Constitution regarding interrogation, detention, and intelligence gathering. The Congress has repeatedly failed to perform its constitutionally mandated oversight duties in each of these areas.

The panelists were charged with examining these disturbing trends and with considering how best to restore the constitutional constraints that have served our country well since its inception.

What do people who don't live in our nation's capital know about the city?  Not much - a lot of myths and misinformation.  Some don't even realize it is a city with nearly 600,000 residents; or that it wasn't until 1974 that it had a local elected government - 185 years after the Constitution.  According to one survey, few Americans know that DC doesn't have voting representation in Congress - more than 80% - but when told about it, they support the vote overwhelmingly.

Here's a quick anecdote from a DC resident visiting Georgia, illustrating the poll's analysis.  Here's what one person said when told about the lack of a vote: "Well, that's just wrong. Shouldn't be like that."

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On Monday, Rob Richie, Executive Director of Fairvote, spoke about the Electoral College at the National Archives.

He spent most of his time speaking about the failings of the Electoral College. Richie argued that having the Electoral College only allows citizens to vote for their Electoral delegates, and not directly for the presidential candidates, an effect that is not only problematic but fundamentally backwards. Given that 70% of Americans today support popular elections, we ought to be taking measures to ensure that the popular vote is what counts in determining the winning presidential candidate.

Read about this past week's efforts by Common Cause. We have another occasion to celebrate: Common Cause is relaunched in the state of Hawaii.

Federal Elections Commission (FEC): Time to Rethink It

CC President Bob Edgar sent a letter on May 21 to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration Chair, Senator Dianne Feinstein, to coincide with their meeting to consider the nominations of three candidates to the FEC. He stated that it is time to rethink the FEC. He urged them to take advantage of the opportunity their meeting affords by embarking on a plan to create a new and better designed federal election agency that could enforce the campaign finance laws Congress passes and that would avoid the politicization that has made the current FEC an ineffective and failed agency. CC believes there are models for an FEC that Congress can adopt that will put upholding the nation’s campaign finance laws above party loyalty. One model of other more effective law enforcement agencies, for example, are those agencies headed by a single administrator who is appointed for a fixed term by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

USA Today has an "Improving Elections" editorial piece up that includes five sensible recommendations for a better presidential campaign, including paper records of votes cast on electronic voting machines, monitoring and curtailing the influence of 527s and other independent soft money groups, and taking public financing.

While they won't all be easy, they get it right in terms of making the election a boost for democracy and tackling important issues, rather than about trivialities and wealthy interests.

Campaign finance reformers, voting rights advocates, and the general public scored a victory today as Hans von Spakovsky withdrew his nomination to the FEC.

This likely clears the way for the Senate to confirm the remaining five nominees as a package.  While we still have grave concerns over one of those nominees, Don McGhan, and concerns over the absence of another, David Mason, for what appears to be partisan retribution, we've said all along that Hans is not appropriate for the FEC and should not be approved.  And this makes it possible that we'll actually have an FEC in time for the 2008 election, which isn't a bad thing.

Good work team, again.

After last week's series of disappointing non-resolutions to the FEC nomination mess, Sen. Harry Reid pushed back and demanded that the White House either remove Hans von Spakovsky or allow individual votes on the slate of FEC nominees.  (Roll Call subscription req'd.)

It turns out a good defense does make a pretty good offense.

The Connecticut Legislature wrapped up its 2008 session early Thursday morning. Although it was generally dubbed a "Do Nothing" session, Connecticut Common Cause was able to pass one essential bill and make sure a number of other bills aimed at either turning the clock on reform didn't head to the governor's desk.

Sure, it's easier to kill a bill than push a bill, but in the crush of the final days of session it is always possible to sneak a rat into a marginally related bill. Connecticut Common Cause checked every bill passed by the Legislature. While we chuckled at "An Act Concerning Beer Cooler Accessibility," which passed both chambers unanimously, we found nothing that would chisel away at any hard-fought reforms. 

That said, there were a number of bills that didn't make the cut this year and a few that did. For a short session where only supposedly essential are to be called, it was a good year.