News

Politico: Is Obama's campaign film pure propaganda?

03/19/2012

The Obama documentary “The Road We’ve Traveled” produced by his campaign is pure propaganda and makes Michael Moore look good. Even if the Obama campaign’s documentary wins the Academy Award, it would still not be enough to hide the failures of President Obama’s policies. I am sure more films will be released by the Obama campaign and his Hollywood friends because they have nothing to offer but fairytales.

Read more at Politico here.

Cagle Post: Sebelius Has No Clue

03/14/2012

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was actually prophetic during the run-up to the Obamacare vote when she said, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” Obamacare was sold as a false bill of goods to the American people and now we are seeing how it will negatively impact all of our lives. Just last week more Obamacare myths were exposed during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.

Obamacare’s head cheerleader, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, looked lost at the hearing when she was asked by Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) about the waivers her office has given out. Below is a transcript from the hearing – it is shocking how inept Secretary Sebelius is in explaining or understanding Obamacare (emphasis added):

Read more at Cagle here.

Politico: Is the media going soft on President Obama?

03/13/2012

The question shouldn’t be whether the media is now going soft on Obama, but why they have never been tough on him. President Obama has been the beneficiary of a double standard from the liberal mainstream media since he became a candidate, never mind president. During the campaign, the fawning media did not vet Barack Obama and when something did come up, like the Jeremiah Wright scandal, the media conveniently looked the other way to protect their favored candidate. We’ve already started to get a glimpse at how the Republican candidates’ religions are being portrayed as crazy and extreme in the media, but just wait until we have a nominee.

Read more at Politico here.

Commentary: Citizens United Decision’s Real Victim: Incumbent Protection Plans

03/08/2012

Jonathan S. Tobin writes about how the Citizens United decision has leveled the playing field for challengers against incumbents:

The Times story attempts to paint such super PACs as tools of corporate interests, which fits in with the liberal critique of Citizens United as undermining democracy. But the real moral of this story is very different. By making it easier for groups to spend money promoting their ideas and/or opposing candidates, the court has destroyed the dynamic of most congressional races in which it was virtually impossible for challengers to raise enough money to take on entrenched incumbents. The victim of Citizens United isn’t democracy; it’s the laws and traditions of congressional politics that amounted to a near-foolproof incumbent protection plan. ...

Incumbents always think there is something not quite kosher about anything that makes it easy for those out of power to hold them accountable. The mainstream media, which prizes its constitutionally protected right to exercise influence on elections, similarly looks askance at efforts to break up their monopoly on campaign information via campaign advertising. Citizens United has not injected more money into our political system since money has always been — and always will be — an integral part of campaigns. Though incumbents will always have great advantages, what the High Court has done is to tilt the playing field a little bit more towards the challengers. Though President Obama and the liberal chorus in which the Times plays a key role decries this change, what they are complaining about is more democracy, not less.

Read the full story here.

Politico: Has the Democrats' "war on women" gone too far?

03/05/2012

Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s statement this weekend on how Republicans are waging a “war on women” is part of a long line of divisive and over the top statements by the DNC chairwoman. Wasserman Schultz lives in an alternative universe where up is down and the sky is always a shade of neon green.

What’s even more offensive is that the president of the United States used his office to take part in a political side show that Democrats are manipulating into a campaign fundraiser by calling a 30-year-old Georgetown Law student - the woman who wants to force the Catholic institution to violate its deeply held religious beliefs and pay for her to have free birth control - to make sure that she was “ok.”

Read more at Politico here.

Politico: The Loss of a Conservative Warrior and Friend

03/03/2012

It was a tough week in the conservative movement. A true conservative warrior, who fought day and night for the cause, met an untimely death. Andrew Breitbart was an innovator when it came to internet-based media. He was well ahead of the curve and understood how the mainstream media “complex” worked and how to break through and transform it. He was an unpretentious happy warrior who would talk to anybody, friend or foe, and relished a good political debate.

Andrew and I were in the midst of making “Occupy Unmasked" an anti-Occupy Wall Street documentary with our mutual friend and colleague Stephen K. Bannon. As part of the promotion for the documentary, Andrew, Stephen, and I hosted a bloggers briefing at CPAC to introduce other cast members of the film and give a sneak peak of the trailer.

Read more at Politico here.

Politico: Andrew Breitbart's legacy

03/01/2012

Andrew Breitbart was at the forefront of internet-based media. He was not afraid to ruffle a few feathers along the way and he actually relished the chance to go after his critics. Andrew was a friend and colleague who understood the new medium of the internet and how to help spread the conservative message to millions of people through it.

Read more at Politico here.

George Will: PACS may be super, but they can't crown a king

03/01/2012

Syndicated columnist George Will discusses the effects of the Citizens United decision:

The people currently hysterical about super PAC money in politics blame the 2010 Citizens United decision, wherein the Supreme Court held that corporations and unions can spend unlimited amounts on political advocacy as long as they do not coordinate with candidates. The court's logic was that individuals do not forfeit their First Amendment speech rights when they come together in corporate entities or unions to speak collectively. What is the constitutional basis for saying otherwise?

This decision's practical effect is primarily in empowering unions and incorporated nonprofit advocacy groups such as the Sierra Club and the National Rifle Association. But The New York Times, which cannot have read it, says (Jan. 10) Adelson's spending "underscores" how Citizens United "has made it possible for a wealthy individual to influence an election." Many columnists and commentators embrace this solecism.

Actually, Citizens United has nothing to do with Adelson and others who are spending their own money, not any corporation's. People have done this throughout the nation's life, and doing so was affirmed as a constitutional right in the court's 1976 Buckley v. Valeo decision. Critics of super PACs - critics who were remarkably reticent in 2004 when George Soros was lavishing his own money on liberal advocacy - often refer to them as "outside groups," much as Southern sheriffs used to denounce civil rights workers as "outside agitators." Pray tell: Super PACs are outside of what? Is the political process a private club with the parties and candidates controlling membership? It might be more wholesome for the speech-financing money that is flowing to super PACs to go instead to the parties or candidates. But the very liberals who are horrified by super PACs (other than Barack Obama's) have celebrated the laws that place restrictions on such giving.

Citizens United President David Bossie On The Passing Of Andrew Breitbart

03/01/2012

Washington, DC -- Citizens United President David N. Bossie, issued the following statement on the passing of media icon Andrew Breitbart.

“It is with a heavy heart that I learned of the passing of my dear friend and colleague Andrew Breitbart this morning,” said David N. Bossie, President of Citizens United. “Andrew was a doting father of four young children and my heart breaks for his wife Susie in this trying time. Andrew was a trailblazer and icon when it came to internet based media. He was truly a one of a kind transformational figure and warrior in the conservative movement and he will be sorely missed. The entire Citizens United family has lost a dear friend today and our thoughts and prayers go out to the Breitbart family. Citizens United will be dedicated to honoring Andrew’s legacy in the coming weeks and months.”

Citizens United President David Bossie On The Passing Of Andrew Breitbart

03/01/2012

Washington, DC -- Citizens United President David N. Bossie, issued the following statement on the passing of media icon Andrew Breitbart.

Cagle Post: America Needs An Energy Solution

02/29/2012

President Obama and his liberal allies in Congress have no solutions to America’s energy crisis. Gas prices are out of control and hurting the pockets of hard-working Americans. In California, gas prices are over $5 in some areas; in Florida, some people are paying nearly $6 a gallon! America needs energy solutions now or the situation will only get worse.

Back in 2008 Citizens United Productions produced “We Have The Power,” hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich. We dive into a myriad of energy solutions to help inform Americans about the possibilities that we have right here at home. We need to explore the vast amount of oil and gas in the Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), as well as our other vital energy resources including hydroelectric power, wind power, oil shale, natural gas, gas hydrates, hydrogen, biofuels, solar power, clean coal and nuclear power.

“We Have The Power” highlights America’s need to readopt our World War II mentality of “Do it all, do it now” by tapping into all of our abundant energy resources. However, “Do it all, do it now” does not mean handing out pork projects and subsidies to favored liberal constituencies through a $38.6 billion green jobs loan program. “Do it all” does not include Chicago-style, pay-to-play schemes using taxpayer funds to reward campaign contributors – like George Kaiser, the largest shareholder of the now-bankrupt Solyndra. Nor does it mean the government picking our energy winners and losers instead of the free market, where bad ideas can fail without leaving taxpayers on the hook.

Read more at Cagle here.

Politico: Will Bill Maher's $1M hurt Obama?

02/28/2012

It’s no surprise that Bill Maher and the Hollywood elites are again fawning over Barack Obama. Bill Maher has made a $1 million donation to Priorities USA because he “wanted to sort of inspire a lot of the people out there on the left who are rich, who this wouldn't hurt at all.” I can’t imagine a world where Bill Maher will inspire anyone to open their checkbooks. In reality Bill Maher’s donation to Obama’s Super PAC will neither help nor hurt Obama; Bill Maher is just not that relevant.

Once a week HBO gives Bill Maher an hour of airtime to rail against Republicans and shill for liberal Democrats. It’s like he’s got his very own regularly scheduled independent expenditure. Bill Maher’s $1 million donation to Obama’s Super PAC is the most intellectually honest thing he’s done in a while – he’s put his money where his mouth is, rather than HBO’s.

Politico: Are things looking up for President Obama?

02/27/2012

Those in Chicago should not take a victory lap just yet.

As we have seen in the Republican Primary, the ebb and flow of this race has been fluid. A number of issues can pop up over the course of the next eight months that will determine the eventual outcome, from Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and world-wide terrorism to high gas prices and an unsteady economy, Obama still has a long road to his reelection.

Read more at Politico here.

Hollywood Follows Obama In Embracing Super PACs

02/24/2012

With comedian Bill Maher announcing yesterday that he will be writing a $1 million check to the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA Action one has to openly laugh at the hypocrisy. I expect the floodgates of Hollywood cash to begin flowing into pro-Obama Super PACs. For the last two years Hollywood has ridiculed the Citizens United decision, but now when President Obama is in trouble politically, they are embracing it. I applaud Bill Maher for exercising his 1st Amendment rights, but his action shows that tinsel town is nervous about 2012 and their liberal agenda.

Cagle Post: Iran’s Threat To Israel Is A Threat To Us All

02/23/2012

As Iran continues its nuclear weapons push, the Obama Administration continues to undermine its biggest ally and the only democracy in the region, the state of Israel. President Obama has had a rocky relationship at best with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Back in May 2010, President Obama walked out of a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and did not return. Last fall, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Prime Minister Netanyahu a “liar” to President Obama on a hot mic and President Obama’s response was, “You’re tired of him; what about me? I have to deal with him every day.” President Obama’s curious distain for Prime Minister Netanyahu, especially in public, hurts not only the security of Israel but that of America as well.

Now, gaffe-prone Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has leaked to the Washington Post that Israel will most likely launch a preemptive attack on Iran in the coming months. I’m not a military strategist, but the Defense Secretary of the United States of America telegraphing a potential attack by our strongest ally in the Middle East seems to be either incompetent, stupid or a malicious attempt to undermine it. In a region of the world that is hostile to Israel’s very existence, how does it make any sense to undercut our ally’s fight for survival?

Israel has to continuously protect itself from rocket and suicidal attacks from Palestinian terrorist groups. With an unstable government in Egypt to its south, and Syria on the brink of a full blown civil war to its east, Israel is right in the middle of a hornet’s nest. Adding the threat of a nuclear Iran that has called for the eradication of Israel only heightens the dangers they face. It should be a top priority for the Obama Administration to do everything in its power to ensure the security of Israel and stop Iran from going nuclear.

Politico Op-Ed: Are liberals beginning to embrace the Constitution?

02/22/2012

In recent days many radical liberals have changed their tune regarding campaign finance laws. The drumbeat of the past two years has begun to shift. President Obama is no longer assaulting Citizens United or Super PACs, instead he is encouraging his supporters to open their check books. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer now believes that “I think as a First Amendment principle, Citizens United was correct.” Even veteran Washington Post and Newsweek scribe, Robert J. Samuelson has declared “Except for contribution disclosures, campaign finance laws should be scrapped.”

Unsurprisingly, the only ones still trying to rein in the First Amendment are those interested in silencing all other voices but their own. Whether they be incumbent elected officials (for example, a certain liberal congressman from Maryland or justices on the Montana Supreme Court), or media corporations like the Washington Post seeking a monopoly on political speech. Why is their speech more worthy of protection than others?

Two prolific fundraisers, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) led the fight to curtail independent speech with their 2010 legislation, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections (“DISCLOSE Act”). According to Schumer and Van Hollen’s latest FEC disclosures they have $10 million and $1.9 million cash on hand respectively. They have the means to engage in political speech, but would rather their opponents be left without sufficient resources to respond.

Read more at Politico here.

NPR - Super PACS Create Fairness?

02/21/2012

Super PACS have contributed millions of dollars to shape the 2012 presidential election. The "Citizens United" Supreme Court case paved the way for them. David Bossie, president of the conservative advocacy group Citizens United, speaks with host Michel Martin about how Super PACS could even the playing field.

Click here to listen to the interview.

The Star Ledger: These citizens are united in hypocrisy

02/19/2012

Paul Mulshine exposes the hypocrisy of many critics of the Citizens United decision and explains the issues at stake:

Let’s imagine that every citizen had to ask a government agency whether it was permissible to voice an opinion. Let us further imagine that the citizen was then warned that expressing that opinion at a certain time and in a certain manner could result in a prison sentence.

That’s what happened to David Bossie of Citizens United when he made an inquiry with the Federal Election Commission on the question of whether he could televise a movie that his corporation had produced. The movie was a documentary highly critical of Hillary Clinton. Citizens United wished to show it on cable TV within 30 days of the Democratic presidential primary elections in 2008.

After FEC officials told Bossie (see below) that he couldn’t do so, he protested that he had a First Amendment right to show the film.

“They said, ‘Listen, little man, go away. You do not have that right, and if you do it after we tell you not to do it, we’re not only going after you civilly, we’re going after you criminally and you can get five years on every count,’ ” Bossie said in an interview available on the internet. ...

Cagle Post: Obama’s Super PAC Two-Step

02/15/2012

In the name of protecting his fundraising juggernaut, President Obama has reneged on campaign finance promises that he knew full well he would not keep. Back in 2008, after stating repeatedly that he would abide by the public finance system, then-candidate Barack Obama reversed himself in favor of raising unlimited private money, setting new fundraising records. Now in 2012, President Obama is flip-flopping on Super PACs, the federal PACs that only make independent expenditures in support of or in opposition to candidates.

Over the last two years President Obama has been criticizing the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision – even lecturing the Justices seated in front of him during his 2010 State of the Union Speech. In the run up to the 2010 mid-term elections, President Obama made the Citizens United decision an issue in the campaign on a daily basis. In his criticism, the president sought to demonize Citizens United, even calling it a “threat to our democracy.”

It is President Obama’s policies that threaten democracy, not the Citizens United decision. The government takeover of health care, unaccountable czars, and unconstitutional recess appointments are but a few examples of Obama’s disregard for our republican system of government. President Obama and his policies are a threat to our democratic republic and the First Amendment rights reinstated via Citizens United are the antidote to his bully pulpit. With political speech freed once again, the American people thoroughly rejected President Obama’s arguments by electing a Republican controlled House of Representatives in 2010.

Read more at Cagle here.

Politico: Obama super PAC - hypocritical or common sense?

02/13/2012

President Obama’s flip-flop on Super PACs reeks of hypocrisy. He spent the last two years criticizing the decision - even lecturing the Supreme Court during his 2010 State of the Union Speech. Now, President Obama and his $1 billion campaign are fully embracing it.

The White House launched a campaign to demonize Citizens United, even calling it a “threat to our democracy.” President Obama’s policies are what threaten our democracy, not the Citizens United decision. Socializing medicine, czars, and unconstitutional recess appointments are but a few examples of Obama’s disregard for our republic. President Obama and his polices are a threat to democracy and the First Amendment right reinstated via Citizens United is the antidote.

Read more at Politico here.

LifeNews.com: GOP Candidates Press Pro-Life Themes at CPAC Conference

02/11/2012

A frequent criticism of the Conservative Political Action Conference is its supposed lack of attention to pro-life issues. However, by the second day of the event, which draws over 11,000 conservative activists, it was clear right to life issues were not forgotten by key speakers or lost on attendees.

Friday kicked off with pro-life Governor Mike Huckabee, who also attended CPAC in order to attend a screening of his documentary “The Gift of Life.”

Following the film, a panel featured pro-life leaders, which gathered to discuss current pro-life issues The panel, moderated by Lila Rose, included Carol Tobias, President of National Right to Life, Charmaine Yoest, President of Americans United for Life, Kristan Hawkins, Executive Director of Students for Life of America and pro-life speaker Rebecca Kiessling.

The panel delved into issues ranging from Susan G. Komen and Planned Parenthood to the recent fight over conscience rights. The headline of the discussion was “Advancing the Pro-Life Movement in the Media” and each of the speakers commented on the importance of using social media to share the pro-life message. Outlets like Facebook and Twitter give pro-life advocates the chance to operate outside of the restraints of the biased mainstream media. This technology gives pro-lifers the chance to engage their peers and share the truth about abortion across a wider network than ever before.

World Net Daily: GOP candidates stunned by abortion survivors

02/07/2012

Rebecca Kiessling is a wife and mother of five, plus an attorney who testifies before state legislatures for Personhood USA, a group seeking to protect all unborn persons with legal declarations of personhood in answer to Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun’s opinion of Roe v. Wade. She’s featured in the new Citizens United DVD “The Gift of Life,” which is narrated by Mike Huckabee.

A screening of “Gift” was held in Iowa prior to the caucuses, and all of the GOP candidates were invited. Yet only four attended: Rep. Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Gov. Rick Perry and Rick Santorum. Kiessling had a backstage pass and used it to thank Bachmann and Santorum for being “100-percent pro-life.” She also used it to question Perry and Gingrich on why they thought abortion is acceptable for unborn babies conceived during rape and incest.

Cagle Post: Happy Birthday, President Reagan!

02/06/2012

101 years ago today, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois. Ronald Reagan was – and still is – the heart of the modern day conservative movement. President Reagan saw America as a special place, “a shining city on a hill,” and a beacon of freedom for the rest of the world. Many in today’s conservative movement owe a great deal to the man who did not shy away from the conservative fight.

In 2009, Citizens United Productions produced a documentary called Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous With Destiny, hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich. The film is a feature length documentary that focuses on the three pillars of the Reagan presidency: reviving the American economy, restoring America’s spirit, and challenging the oppression of the Soviet Union. Through interviews with historians, cabinet members, and world leaders, the film examines and celebrates the Great Communicator and his legacy.

Featuring exclusive interviews with former Presidents Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic and Lech Walesa of Poland, along with Reagan Cabinet and staff members including James Baker, Edwin Meese, Marlin Fitzwater, Richard Perle, William Bennett, and the late Jack Kemp, Rendezvous With Destiny is President Reagan’s story as told by the people who were with him on the front lines of the Reagan Revolution.

Politico: Is Susan G. Komen putting women at risk?

02/02/2012

It’s not Susan G. Komen for the Cure putting women’s lives at risk, but Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood is trying to fan the flames of a culture war to distract from the serious allegations being investigated in Congress that led to Komen for the Cure’s decision. Former Planned Parenthood workers have pledged to testify that the company has: failed to report the sexual abuse of minors, given women inaccurate and misleading information, and fraudulently mishandled state and federal taxpayer funds. Some of these allegations were exposed by "The Gift Of Life" cast member Lila Rose and her group Live Action.

Cagle Post: 1,000 Days of Absurdity

01/31/2012

Last week the United States Senate passed a dubious milestone and fittingly it came on the day President Obama gave his State of the Union address. January 24th marked the 1,000th day since the Harry Reid Senate last passed a federal budget. Families across America sit around their kitchen tables and work on their budgets. The key to any small business success in America is to follow a budget. But when it comes to passing a budget, our elected leaders in the Senate are incompetent. It is unconscionable that the Senate refuses to do the people’s work and pass a budget that will not bankrupt the country. Where is the outrage from the American people?

We are a nation that is over $15 trillion in debt and the greatest deliberative body on the planet cannot produce any budget at all good or bad for the American people. Most of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Last spring Harry Reid said about the 2012 budget process, “There’s no need to have a Democratic budget in my opinion. It would be foolish for us to do a budget at this stage.” Senator Reid is the poster child for what is wrong with Washington. Reid’s irrational statement about the budget process last year is why he has a 23 percent approval rating – the lowest among all Congressional leaders.

The truth is Senator Reid does not want to develop a budget for the American people because he does not want Democrat members of the Senate to take tough votes that will set their core liberal constituencies’ heads on fire. Our national debt has grown to unprecedented levels. The credit agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded America’s credit rating for the first time in history last summer. We are truly in a crisis and tough decisions need to be made by our leaders. However, Senate Democrats lack the courage to make those tough decisions because of failed leadership from the top.

Read more at Cagle here.

February 9-11 CPAC Theater

01/31/2012

Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is being held from February 9 – 11 and we are proud to announce that Citizens United, the nation's premier conservative filmmaker, will once again be sponsoring the CPAC Theater and Film Festival throughout the weekend. All screenings are free of charge to CPAC attendees, and will be held in the Thurgood Marshall South Ballroom of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

Please find more information at our page CitizensUnited.org/CPAC

Citizens United CPAC Theater Schedule 2012

Politico: Are Democrats premature to predict victory?

01/27/2012

A party that is satisfied with 8.5 percent unemployment is a party that is going nowhere.

64 percent of Americans believe that the country is on the wrong track. This abysmal number shows that the liberal policies of President Obama and Democrats in Congress have sullied the American psyche.

Read more at Politico here.

CrossWalk: Students Rally For Life

01/27/2012

Gov. Mike Huckabee, who also addressed the students, said younger generations must be taught to respect human life.

“Young people nowadays are more pro-life than their mothers and grandmothers. They will change the country for the better,” he said as he introduced the short documentary “The Gift of Life.” “Nothing is more offensive to my Christian faith and my American spirit than that some people are valued more than others.”

Read more here.

LifeSiteNews.com: 2,000 students pack largest pro-life conference in the world

01/26/2012

Students cheered with enthusiasm at the arrival of Mike Huckabee, who praised the energy of the crowd before a screening of his pro-life documentary, “The Gift of Life.” “People in my generation have fumbled the ball,” he said. “You’re not going to.”

The former Arkansas governor also disclosed one of the evening’s biggest surprises: Kourtney Blythe Gordon, the Students for Life staffer who tragically lost her life with unborn daughter Sophy in an October car accident, had been filmed for the documentary watching an ultrasound image of Sophy only one week before their deaths. Kourtney’s parents agreed to allow the footage to stay in the film.

“I wanted to be a millionaire,” says Everett on the trailer to The Gift of Life. “And the way for me to be a millionaire was to do 40,000 abortions a year.”

Everett’s story is one of several on the new documentary, hosted by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, which also explores the testimony of several individuals who were nearly the victims of an abortion, but were spared.

Read more here.

Politico: Is Obama's populism persuasive?

01/25/2012

President Obama's State of the Union speech last night was more of the same tired rhetoric wrapped up in a big red bow for President Obama's core liberal constituency.

President Obama can only run on class warfare this year because he needs to deflect blame for a poor economy. Speech after speech, the president says he knows what Americans want, but with 68 percent saying America is on the wrong track, what Americans really want is a new president.

Read more at Politico here.

Huffington Post: "Wrong" Speech Is Also Free Speech: Citizens United at Two

01/24/2012

From Trevor Burrus, a legal associate at the Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies:

Sen. Sanders and Mr. Weissman thus demonstrate a crucial fact: many who oppose Citizens United do so because they want to silence speech that promotes policies they oppose. They want to silence it because they think it is bad speech that gives a disproportionate influence to bad ideas. Yet there can be no greater violation of the First Amendment than to act with this motive.

Critics of the decision cite the "undue influence" corporations can have on elections through such mechanisms as "drowning out [candidates'] messages" with "misleading negative ads." Sean Siperstein writes about a new campaign by Public Citizen to expose the "mega-corporations" that are most "responsible for greedy, disastrously short-sighted policies, to the detriment of the rest of us."

These critiques blur the line between one type of influence that the Supreme Court has acknowledged should be stopped -- outright candidate bribery -- and other types of influence that are strongly protected by the First Amendment -- such as affecting the national debate or influencing candidates' policies by making both them and the public aware of issues. Critics of Citizens United often conflate these two types of political spending, regarding all corporate spending as either corrupting the national debate through disproportionate influence, or corrupting politicians through something tantamount to bribery.

...

The First Amendment does not allow anyone to pursue his vision of a better world through censorship. Although we'd all love the liars and shouters to be silenced, the First Amendment forbids such censorship precisely because there is no way to agree on who is a liar and who is "too loud." Those determinations are too intertwined with our ideological commitments.

Although I agree with Sen. Sanders and Mr. Weissman that money may have too much influence on politics, perhaps we should address this problem by creating a government that lacks the power to reward undue influence -- that is, a limited government that cannot determine whether someone succeeds or fails in life -- and not by stifling free speech.

Read more here.

Washington Post: The most memorable State of the Union moments

01/24/2012

The State of the Union is tonight (of course). Over the past 222 years of speeches, there have been lots of great moments. Here are the most memorable ones captured on video.

* Alito’s “Not true”

— In 2010, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito mouthed his dissent as President Obama critiqued the Citizens United decision. A few months later, he said it was awkward to sit at “very political events” like the “proverbial potted plant.” The next year, Alito did not attend.

Read more here.

Cagle Post: After 39 Years of Abortion, A New Generation Offers Hope

01/24/2012

While President Obama and other pro-abortion zealots celebrate the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, it is important to remember the true face of “choice”: the 54 million unborn souls killed by abortion. It is a tragedy that respect for innocent human life has become so degraded in our society that an abortion takes place at an average of one every 26 seconds. But out of this culture of death springs new hope.

I had the pleasure of presenting, with Governor Mike Huckabee, the film The Gift Of Life this weekend at the Students for Life of America national conference. Two thousand pro-life leaders of the next generation sat in rapt attention, moved and motivated by the documentary’s message of the precious gift of life. On Monday, hundreds of thousands marched for life in the freezing DC rain, an overwhelming number of them young students from kindergarten to graduate school. These youth inspire me and give me optimism for the future of the pro-life movement.

Read more at Cagle here.

Cagle Post: After 39 Years of Abortion, A New Generation Offers Hope

01/24/2012

Read more at Cagle here.

Fox News: Woman conceived in rape speaks out against abortion

01/23/2012

The Gift Of Life cast member Rebecca Kiessling was on Huckabee this weekend to share her story. Watch this powerful testimonial:

Politico: Is the State of the Union still useful?

01/20/2012

Sadly, since taking office, President Obama has lowered the stature of these important speeches. President Obama turned the State of the Union into pure political theater two years ago when he took a partisan and unprecedented shot at the United States Supreme Court for their ruling in Citizens United v. FEC.

Read more at Politico here.

Free Colorado: Common Cause Joins Pro-Censorship Rally

01/19/2012

Ironically, Colorado Common Cause and others are simultaneously advocating free speech by opposing the SOPA internet restriction bill, and advocating censorship of corporate speech. For example, in a Tweet today Common Cause promoted a "Musical Attack on #SOPA & #CitizensUnited." See also the linked And yet the voices against SOPA included many of America's most prominent corporations. Wikipedia led the charge -- you know, the free online encyclopedia owned by Wikimedia Foundation, Incorporated. The for-profit corporations Facebook and Google also came out strongly against SOPA. Even the Vibram shoe company came out against SOPA.

Does the American left really want to get in the businesses of imposing government censorship on corporations? As Eugene Volokh sensibly reasons: "Say that Congress concludes that it's unfair for Google to be able to speak so broadly, in a way that ordinary Americans (including ordinary Congressmen) generally can't. Congress therefore enacts a statute banning all corporations from spending their money -- and therefore banning them from speaking -- in support of or opposition to any statute. What would you say about such a statute?"

If censorship is "what democracy looks like," then I for one will fight for the preservation of the First Amendment and our Constitutional republic.

Read more here.

Missoulian: Occupy Missoula to protest corporate personhood on Friday

01/18/2012

The opposing interpretation is that the court majority maintained that "Congress should get out of the business of picking winners and losers in the marketplace of ideas and placing its thumb on the scale of federal elections," Citizens United president David Bossie said on the occasion of the landmark decision's first anniversary.

Read more here.

AFA Radio: Issues Chet McDoniel Discusses the Gift of Life

01/18/2012

Listen to The Gift Of Life cast member Chet McDoniel share his story on "Today's Issues" on AFA radio here.

Cagle Post: Our Conservative Nation

01/18/2012

The latest Gallup poll shows that conservatives are the dominant political ideology and have edged out moderates for the last three years. This confirms once again that America is a center-right country. Conservatives outnumber liberals by 2-1 and yet President Obama insists on governing as a liberal.

President Obama is in his own world, his ideas reinforced by leftist yes-men in his administration. He doesn’t even realize – or care – that his ideology represents only a miniscule 20 percent minority. By the way he talks, you’d think 80 percent of the country was liberal. In fact, during last year’s debt ceiling debate, President Obama astoundingly claimed that 80 percent of Americans want a tax increase to help bring down our nation’s debt! At the time, Mr. Obama wanted to raise the debt ceiling on a “clean vote” – i.e. without reforms or offsetting cuts. But he misread the mood of the country and was forced to back down. Now President Obama is back asking Congress for another $1.2 trillion to lift the debt ceiling to a new record of $16.4 trillion, up from $10.6 trillion when he took office.

Read more at Cagle here.

LifeSiteNews: Former abortionist: ‘the way to be a millionaire was to do 40,000 abortions a year’

01/17/2012

A new pro-life documentary hosted by Governor Mike Huckabee includes the testimony of a former abortionist who says she sold abortions to women simply in pursuit of money.

Carol Everett, spurred by the anguish caused by her own abortion, began her own abortion business in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the 1980s before a chance encounter with a pastor showed her the way out.

“I wanted to be a millionaire,” says Everett on the trailer to The Gift of Life. “And the way for me to be a millionaire was to do 40,000 abortions a year.”

Read more here.

National Review Online: Supreme Court: Obama Wrong on Citizens United

01/12/2012

Ed Whelan writes on NRO's Bench Memos blog:

There has been broad agreement that President Obama didn’t get it right in his State of the Union address two years ago when he criticized the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision for supposedly “revers[ing] a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests—including foreign corporations—to spend without limit in our elections.” Still, it’s noteworthy that on Monday a unanimous Supreme Court effectively declared Obama’s assertion about foreign corporations “not true.”

Finding God Daily: Finding God in The Gift of Life Movie

01/12/2012

The new documentary, “The Gift of Life,” premiered in Des Moines, Iowa, on December 14, 2011. People who see it will find God in “The Gift of Life” movie.

The anti-abortion documentary is narrated by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. He was present and spoke at the premiere, but he wasn’t the only one. According to First Read on MSNBC.com, “Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum addressed the 1200 person crowd before the house lights dimmed for the ‘The Gift of Life’ premiere.”

… As viewers see this DVD and God’s grace in the lives of those featured in the film, people will find God in “The Gift of Life” movie.

Read more here.

Stand Against President Obama’s Abuse of Recess Appointments

01/11/2012

Congressman Jeff Landry (R-LA) has just introduced the Executive Appointment Reform Act to reverse the Constitutional damage President Obama has done with his unprecedented “recess” appointments.

Contact your Representative today by calling (202) 224-3121 to urge them to cosponsor and support Rep. Landry's Executive Appointment Reform Act and stand against President Obama’s abuse of the recess appointment process.

The text of Rep. Landry's letter to his colleagues in the United States House of Representatives is below:

Executive Appointment Reform Act - Dear Colleague Letter

Read my latest article on this important issue here: Cagle Post: Keeping Obama In Check

Media Advisory: DC Premiere of “The Gift of Life,” Hosted By Governor Mike Huckabee

01/11/2012

Washington, DC – Citizens United Productions, in conjunction with Students for Life of America and Alliance Defense Fund, will premiere “The Gift of Life,” a pro-life documentary hosted by Governor Mike Huckabee, at the Students for Life of America National Conference on Sunday, January 22nd at the North Bethesda Marriott.

“I look forward to meeting the 2,000 students who will be attending this important conference and sharing the inspirational pro-life film ‘The Gift of Life’ with them on the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade,” said Governor Mike Huckabee.

“The Gift of Life,” is an inspirational documentary that explores the sanctity of life as a moral issue and looks at the lives of individuals on the front lines of the pro-life movement in America, including those who were nearly victims of abortion.

The SFLA National Conference is a day full of education, training, and networking with fellow students and national pro-life leaders who know that campuses are where the pro-life movement must be. “The Students for Life of America conference is the largest pro-life student conference in the world, and our 2012 National Conference will be the first that we are aware of that focuses on a post-Roe v. Wade nation,” said Kristan Hawkins, Executive Director of Students for Life of America.

WHO: Governor Mike Huckabee; Citizens United President David N. Bossie; Students for Life of America Executive Director Kristan Hawkins

WHAT: The Citizens United Productions Washington, DC Premiere of “The Gift of Life,” a pro-life documentary hosted by Governor Mike Huckabee.

WHEN: Sunday, January 22nd at 6:00pm

WHERE: North Bethesda Marriott, 5701 Marinelli Rd, Bethesda, MD 20852

Media Advisory: DC Premiere of “The Gift of Life,” Hosted By Governor Mike Huckabee

01/11/2012

WHO: Governor Mike Huckabee; Citizens United President David N. Bossie; Students for Life of America Executive Director Kristan Hawkins

WHAT: The Citizens United Productions Washington, DC Premiere of “The Gift of Life,” a pro-life documentary hosted by Governor Mike Huckabee.

WHEN: Sunday, January 22nd at 6:00pm

WHERE: North Bethesda Marriott, 5701 Marinelli Rd, Bethesda, MD 20852

Media Advisory: DC Premiere of “The Gift of Life,” Hosted By Governor Mike Huckabee

01/11/2012

WHO: Governor Mike Huckabee; Citizens United President David N. Bossie; Students for Life of America Executive Director Kristan Hawkins

WHAT: The Citizens United Productions Washington, DC Premiere of “The Gift of Life,” a pro-life documentary hosted by Governor Mike Huckabee.

WHEN: Sunday, January 22nd at 6:00pm

WHERE: North Bethesda Marriott, 5701 Marinelli Rd, Bethesda, MD 20852

Cagle Post: Keeping Obama In Check

01/10/2012

The unprecedented actions taken by President Obama to “recess” appoint his liberal nominees showed a new level of abuse of power by his imperial presidency. Never before has a politician campaigned in such a dramatically different way than he has governed. The American people were sold a false bill of goods in 2008 and President Obama has continuously abused his executive powers.

With the “recess” appointment of Richard Cordray as Director of the newly-formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, President Obama installed an anti-business candidate who will no doubt mold a liberal ideology into the new agency. On the same day as the Cordray appointment, President Obama delved back into his bag of tricks and “recess” appointed three union drones to the National Labor Relations Board. Two of those appointed were only nominated two days before the United States Senate was supposed to adjourn before the holiday recess.

Read more at Cagle here.

Reason: Why Liberals Favor Campaign Season Censorship

01/10/2012

…Media corporations such as those, which spend huge sums of money talking about politicians, just can’t stand it when non-media corporations get to do the same thing.

And lest anyone forget that is precisely what the case was about. In 2008 a nonprofit, incorporated group called Citizens United wanted to distribute a documentary about Hillary Clinton. But doing so during an election campaign would have violated a 2002 campaign-finance law prohibiting “electioneering communications” within 30 days before a primary or 60 days before a general election.

A law that forbids American citizens to urge the election or defeat of a political candidate raises some obvious First Amendment concerns. During oral arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts noted that book publishers are corporations. He asked the government’s lawyer if the law could prohibit publishing a book that said, “Vote for X.”

Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart said yes—the government: “could prohibit the publication of the book.” Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21 and former head of Common Cause, later agreed that “a campaign document in the form of a book can be banned.”

Read more here.

Politico: Does Daley departure mean trouble?

01/09/2012

William Daley’s surprise departure from the White House today shows that 1600 Pennsylvanian Avenue is in complete turmoil

Please read more at Politico here.