Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid just scheduled a vote on the DISCLOSE Act, which would force donors to publish their involvement in political ad campaigns, for Thursday.
Why not [Wednesday], you might ask? Because there are no votes in the Senate scheduled...and that may be, in part, because there's something else going on tomorrow: A big New York fundraiser for the Senate Democrats.
The event has prices raising up to $15,200, but a mere $2,500 contributed or raised buys you access to a "VIP reception with members of Congress." The money goes to the House Senate Victory Fund, which splits its recepts between the DSCC and the DCCC.
An then, it's back to D.C. to get all that big money out of politics.
In case you've forgotten the particulars (and who could blame you, considering the avalanche of dreadful ideas coming out of this Congress?), here's a helpful primer on why the DISCLOSE Act represents an unconstitutional end-run around the Supreme Court's recent Citizens United decision on free speech.
It's a virtual certainty that no Republican will defect on this vote (as none did in July), so Democrats are simply bringing this to the floor to make Republicans eat a political crap sandwich by filibustering a bill that's unconstitutional, but very easily demagogued. Who can blame the Democrats for thus stunt, really? Desperate times call for desperate measures. But what makes this nasty piece of political theater unusually cynical is its timing, as elucidated by the Politico report linked above.
"We demand limitations on the influence of money in politics!" Democrats sanctimoniously inform voters (while carving out exceptions for labor unions and the AARP), "And we're going to do something about it, goshdarnit...right after we return from our lavish New York fundraiser."
Harry, you clever devil. Well played, sir.
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