Yesterday, “reform” one-man-band lobbyist Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21 issued another jeremiad directed at FEC Commissioner Don McGahn specifically and the other two FEC Republicans — newly-minted FEC Chairman Matthew Petersen and Commissioner Caroline Hunter — generally.
The chest-thumping, 1,346-word press release devolved into increasingly personal attacks aimed at Wertheimer’s nemesis, McGahn, who Wertheimer perceives as the 9-headed hydra of the free speech voting bloc on the FEC. During his recent tenure as FEC Chairman, McGahn forcefully led the charge against overbearing and unconstitutional FEC regulation after the Supreme Court rebuked the agency in several cases for overstepping its bounds. It’s worth noting, though, that during Peterson’s recently-completed stint as FEC Vice Chairman, he and Hunter have also emerged as eloquent defenders of free political speech and existing law in their own right.
As usual, Wertheimer is miffed that the Republican commissioners are not towing his “regulate everything” line at the FEC, and he’s calling for McGahn’s head because his term has expired. Again.
HoltzmanVogel’s blog noted Wertheimer’s hypocrisy in ignoring similar issues with other FEC commissioners who generally support his philosophy on campaign finance regulation:
While the FEC documents in this case were released before the holidays, Mr. Wertheimer only yesterday issued this latest diatribe against the FEC’s Republican Commissioners, and Don McGahn in particular. As Mr. Wertheimer explains, “McGahn’s term as an FEC Commissioner expired last April and he is not eligible for reappointment . . . McGahn should not even be a Commissioner at this point.” He doesn’t mention it, but two Democrat-appointed Commissioners are also serving expired terms. Commissioner Walther’s term expired in April 2009, at the time as Commissioner McGahn’s. Commissioner Weintraub’s term expired in April 2007 (that is not a typo). But why worry about little details?
Let’s go further…
President Barack Obama already nominated a replacement for Weintraub in May of 2009. But his nomination has been obstructed and opposed by — you guessed it — “reform” groups like Wertheimer’s Democracy 21 along with Sens. John McCain and Russ Feingold. John J. Sullivan, Obama’s nominee, had the temerity to represent unions like the SEIU in arguing that they had certain free speech rights that the FEC sought to restrict. Sullivan received unanimous approval from a Senate committee, but he is stuck in appointive purgatory as McCain and Feingold announced a hold on his nomination in July.
So, before Wertheimer criticizes President Obama for not replacing McGahn, perhaps he should drop his obstructionist tactics against qualified nominee and labor attorney John J. Sullivan.
Wertheimer’s release is disingenuous, petty and shrill. In short, it’s what we’ve come to expect from the coalition to regulate free speech as the Supreme Court seems poised to deliver a body blow to their failed utopia of expansive government regulation of political speech.
