Tag Archives: campaign finance

Today Maine’s campaign finance ethics commission rejected NOM’s request to suspend an investigation into their activities. The group, which was the biggest contributor to the successful Yes on 1 campaign to repeal the state’s same-sex marriage law, argued in a letter to the commission that it did not have the legal power to conduct an investigation. But on a 4-0 …

The U.S. Supreme Court has just ruled that anti-gay activists in Washington state MUST make public the names on Referendum 71. Protect Marriage wanted to keep the names secret, claiming they feared retribution from “violent homofascists.” The ruling (PDF) was 8-1, with Justice Clarence Thomas dissenting. Justices ruled in a case called Doe V. Reed. They heard oral arguments in …

A federal appeals court in Boston has denied NOM’s latest attempt to continue shielding their list of donors from Maine as is required by state election finance law. But it’s not over yet. The group, known by its initials “NOM” contributed nearly $2 million to last year’s successful campaign to overturn Maine’s gay marriage law. Opponents say NOM has failed …

A federal appeals court has granted NOM a stay of last week’s ruling by a Maine judge that they must abide by state financial disclosure laws. In their stay request, NOM again cited fears that violent homofascists will rain down retribution upon their donors. Via NOM’s blog: The Maine Ethics Commission had asked for the disclosure of donors to NOM …

It’s too late to matter, but a judge in Maine has at last ruled that NOM must reveal where they got the money to fund their successful campaign to overturn same-sex marriage. U.S. Magistrate Judge John Rich III said in a document dated Sunday that the National Organization for Marriage, which contributed $1.9 million to the campaign to repeal Maine’s …

The DNC responds to the RNC’s fundraising flap.

The bigots attempting to shield the names of the other bigots who signed the bigoted Referendum 71 petition in Washington state have written to the U.S. Supreme Court. Their message: “If you force the release of the names on the petitions, violent homosexuals will unleash their fury on us!” Writing the high court Thursday, proponents of Referendum 71 — which …

In reaction to the SCOTUS decision to allow corporations to advertise in political campaigns, a bill has been submitted in the U.S. House that will require CEOs to append “I’m So & So and I approve this message” to every ad. A bipartisan pair of House lawmakers have a response to the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that allows unlimited …

Poor NOM. After being practically laughed out of the courthouse for requesting a last minute stay, they learned yesterday that Maine will proceed with an investigation into their violations of the state’s campaign finance laws. Barry Bostrom, an attorney for the group that contributed $1.9 million to a campaign to repeal the state’s gay marriage law, told the commission that …

Mostly-conservative lawyer kingpin Ted Olson, one half of the duo working to bring a pro-marriage equality case before the Supreme Court, returned to his roots yesterday, appearing before SCOTUS (on Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s first day on the bench) to argue that laws restricting corporations from making political speech be swept away. Olson’s client, a non-profit called Citizens United, has made …

A lawsuit filed by Fred Karger of Californians Against Hate has forced the Mormon Church to disclose almost $200K in money it spent in support of Proposition 8, almost 100 times more than they previously claimed. Mormon church officials, facing an ongoing investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission, Friday reported nearly $190,000 in previously unlisted assistance to the …

A federal judge has ruled that donors to Proposition 8 will continue to have their names made public. “If there ever needs to be sunshine on a particular issue, it’s a ballot measure,” U.S. District Judge Morrison England said after a one-hour hearing in his Sacramento courtroom. A lawyer for the Prop. 8 campaign said it would ask an appeals …

Interactive Google maps showing the amounts, names and locations of Prop 8 donors are now online for three locations including Salt Lake City. From the conservative legal site Volokh Conspiracy: Proposition 8 Donor Maps for San Francisco, Salt Lake City, and Orange County, are now posted at EightMaps.com. Proposition 8, of course, was the proposition that amended the California Constitution …

We knew this was coming. The Prop 8 haters want California to take down the donor records. Supporters of the November ballot measure that banned gay marriages in California have filed a lawsuit seeking to block their campaign finance records from public view, saying the reports have led to harassment of donors. “No one should have to worry about getting …

Last month the gays justifiably dug into the public records on who donated to Proposition 8, resulting in protests, boycotts and a handful of people losing their jobs. The haters screamed bloody murder (even though their side used the tactic as well) and now there’s a call to repeal laws that require political donations be public. From an op/ed piece …