Stories by Brad Smith
Posted at 6:20pm on Apr. 26, 2008 Financing the General Election
How Big a Financial Disadvantage Will McCain Face?
By Brad Smith
Many Republicans have been worried that John McCain's decision to finance his general campaign by taking the federal subsidy, and thus subjecting himself to a mandatory spending cap, will leave McCain badly outspent in the fall, especially if Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee. Of course, we need to recognize that McCain probably didn't have a choice - it's not at all clear that he could raise more money in voluntary, private contributions than government is willing to give him. That said, how bad will he be outspent...
More after the jump.
Posted in campagin finance | FEC | McCain | public funding — Comments (6)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 9:35am on Apr. 22, 2008 Supreme Court hears major campaign finance case today
Bad decision would open floodgates to regulation
By Brad Smith
Today the Supreme Court hears oral argument in Davis v. Federal Election Commission, challenging the so-called "millionaire's amendment" of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. This case has enormous implications for future campaign finance regulation - a victory for the government, defending the law, will open the floodgates to more regulation in an effort to "equalize" political speech. And as most conservatives can readily guess, "equalizing" usually means silencing conservatives. More below the fold...
Posted in The Courts — Comments (19)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 2:41pm on Feb. 15, 2008 Don't like Campaign Finance "Reform?" - Gotta Read This
"No Constitutionally Adequate Justification"
By Brad Smith
Yesterday a group called SpeechNow.org, represented by attorneys from the Center for Competitive Politics and the Institute for Justice, sued the Federal Election Commission in what one prominent campaign finance lawyer calls, "one of the more important and consequential [suits against campaign finance laws] in a long time," and which one supporter of broad campaign speech restrictions admitted is, "pretty brilliant."
There is much more to this suit than I have time to delve into here, but the basic claim is simple - if George Soros and other wealthy millionaires can Constitutionally spend whatever they want on politics, than under the Constitution groups of citizens banding together should also be able to spend whatever they want.
This page has a cornucopia of links to the pleadings in the case, a case "backgrounder," and tons of media links. If you care about free speech in America, check it out.
Note that I am one of the counsel for SpeechNow.org and am Chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics.
Posted in FEC | FEC | First Amendment | mccain-feingold — Comments (7)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:34am on Feb. 11, 2008 The Wages of Being John McCain
Should Conservatives Work for McCain?
By Brad Smith
Last week, columnist Mona Charen wrote this column, noting Senator McCain’s problems with conservatives, and concluding by discussing me, writing, “Smith, a soft-spoken scholar, ardent patriot and lifelong conservative Republican, cannot, as a matter of honor, pull the lever for McCain.” Although I did say this to Ms. Charen, in fact I have not definitely made up my mind not to vote for McCain. But since Ms. Charen’s column, I have received a surprising number of calls from other conservatives feeling much the same. These are not insignificant people. They include a leading conservative philanthropist; a prominent conservative think tank denizen; a local GOP officeholder; a former appointee in Governor George Voinovich’s administration in Ohio, and others of similar rank – all lifelong Republicans. So it is perhaps appropriate for me to add a few words as to why Senator McCain will not find it easy to reconcile many conservatives to his candidacy.
Read on...
Posted in 2008 | Conservatives | John McCain — Comments (177)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:33am on Feb. 2, 2008 A little perspective (with an exciting update)
By Brad Smith
A lot of perspective being lost these days. Over heated rhetoric is a glut on the market. Accusations of disloyalty and catastrophe fly back and forth.
First, I don't think you win in politics by losing, and generally I don't think you win by sitting it out. But each person has to make these decisions on his or her own convictions and the particular circumstances of this race. If it is a tough decision for you, rest assured than your one vote won't decide this race. As to the use of your time and money, only you can decide if it is better spent on political activity than on your family or hobbies or education or whatever have you.
McCain certainly is in the driver's seat, but that can change quickly - witness Hillary's surprise New Hampshire win. Those who can't stomach McCain still have an option in the primaries in Mitt Romney, an honorable man of tremendous ability running on a solidly conservative platform. Always remember the words of Yogi Berra...
I can't vote for McCain in the primary simply because I know him too well, and I think it is ultimately very important to have a president who is a fundamentally decent person. But others don't agree with my assessment of McCain's character, and I've found that most of them won't be persuaded, and some others realize that McCain is not a very pleasant person, but they're confident that they can handle that. Beyond the primary, I can't vote for McCain in the general, but that is a personal thing. I am comfortable that Senator McCain, given the value he places on "honor," would understand and respect my decision, if he were ever to give it any thought.
If McCain wins the nomination, he will certainly be far more conservative than the Democrat nominee, and if he wins we will get better court appointments, have a better chance of fighting off tax increases, etc. On the other hand, if he loses, Republicans will be back in 4 or 8 or 12 years, and this country is too great to ruin in that short a time.
So blow off steam, and don't hesitate to be sharp in criticisms. But don't let it wreck your life.
Update: Several commenters obviously disagree with my suggestion that people are getting too worked up. Their general message: "Are you nuts? The sky will fall!!!"
Go below the fold for an exciting update you won't want to put down.