Happy Hour Roundup
Thanks again to Paul Waldman for his mention in The Washington Post of my column on surging voter turnout and how disturbing that is to Republicans.
Plumb Line Mention
Happy Hour! Thanks to Paul Waldman for linking to my column on “The Mainstream Faces of Hate” in The Washington Post’s Plum Line blog’s Happy Hour Roundup. Read here.
Pacifica Radio Interview
I enjoyed speaking with Heidi Boghosian and Michael Smith for their Pacifica Radio program “Law and Disorder” about Kris Kobach and Donald Trunp’s “voter integrity” commisison. Listen here.
Brookings Panel with Jonathan Rauch, Ray La Raja, Elaine Kamarck
I had a lot of fun at the Brookings Institution on March 8, where I joined a panel with my old National Journal colleague Jonathan Rauch, and with political science professor Ray La Raja to debate whether political parties should enjoy the same access to big money that super PACs enjoy. Jon and Ray have…
Windy City Covering Campaigns Conference
I had a fantastic time at the Covering Campaigns conference hosted by Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation and Chicago University’s Institute of Politics. I participated in a panel with a fun group of fellow political money reporters titled “Will Money Buy the Next President?” The other participants were Bloomberg’s Julie Bykowicz, now at the AP; Andy…
Jeopardy Question: “What is a super PAC?”
Adam Smith, of Every Voice, alerted me via email that the term super PAC made it onto Jeopardy! today. The whole clue was: “Unveiled in 2014, the Freedom Partners Action Fund isn’t a regular PAC but this kind that can give without limits.” The correct answer: “What is a super PAC.” In point of fact,…
Common Dreams Mention
Mother Jones reporter Andy Kroll was nice enough to mention me in an article for the Common Dreams website that included a section on “The Rise of the Super PAC.” Andy describes how, in coining the term super PAC, I was looking for something “sexy, memorable” that would capture how the Citizens United ruling was…
PBS NewsHour with Jeffrey Brown
The PBS NewsHour’s Jeffrey Brown invited me and Juliet Eilperin, of the Washington Post, to discuss the latest developments involving the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative tax-exempt groups. Watch the whole segment here.
New York Times Mention
A New York Times editorial about the Federal Election Commission referenced my column on the same topic and included Commissioner Ellen Weintraub’s comment to me that inter-agency bickering is contributing to the FEC’s mounting work backlog: “Everything gets objected to. Everything requires a lengthy discussion.” Read the New York Times piece here. To see the…
Nixon’s ‘Enemies’ Gather
A number of President Nixon’s old “enemies” attended a Common Cause conference at the National Press Club March 13 on the “Lessons of Watergate.” Some of them sat on a panel I moderated on Watergate’s “Lessons and Legacy,” including former Nixon administration official Morton Halperin. Also on the panel were two fomer Common Cause presidents, David…