Commentary
The People’s Business
Secret spending in elections is toxic. The Obama administration's draft executive order to increase transparency in political spending is a big step in the right direction. It is time for the president to sign it.
Authored by: Elizabeth Kennedy and Adam Skaggs
– 06/16/11
Why is GOP Fighting Disclosure?
For years, campaign finance debaters all agreed on one thing: disclosure. Now President Barack Obama ponders an executive order to require federal contractors to make public their campaign spending.
Authored by: Michael Waldman
– 06/10/11
Strength, Security, and Shared Responsibility: Preventing Terrorist Attacks a Decade after 9/11
The Brennan Center for Justice and NYU School of Law hosted Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on June 7th for a discussion on post-9/11 homeland security.
Authored by: Secretary Janet Napolitano
– 06/07/11
An Attack on Elections With Broad Implications
Reasonable people can debate the wisdom of voting to oust elected representatives before their terms are up – or the merits of rethinking the rules that govern public-sector unions. But there is no way to defend the one-two move to destroy a crucial safeguard of judicial integrity while burdening the right to vote.
Authored by: Mimi Marziani
– 06/04/11
Letter to Attorney General Holder on the Justice Department’s State Secrets Policy
The Brennan Center for Justice sent the following letter to the Department of Justice asking it to implement the state secrets policy it announced on September 23, 2009. The Brennan Center initially sent a letter on December 15, 2010, but after five months the DOJ has neither responded to nor acknowledged receipt of the letter.
– 05/16/11
In Wisconsin, Judges Are Elected—But Candidates Are Now Publicly Financed
Wisconsin’s 2011 Supreme Court election has been widely criticized, but there are also some silver linings. Most importantly, this election illustrates the importance of Wisconsin’s new judicial public financing system.
Authored by: Mark Ladov and Maria da Silva
– 05/06/11
Darkness or Disclosure?
Secret spending in our elections is a toxic problem. But last week, strong steps in the right direction were taken to fix it.
Authored by: Elizabeth Kennedy
– 04/27/11
Bringing Transparency to Maryland Elections
Dark money in politics poses a serious threat to our democracy. Maryland's disclosure laws are some of the worst in the country, but a new bill, currently awaiting the governor's signature, seeks to bring clarity on the Chesapeake.
Authored by: Mimi Marziani
– 04/22/11
Did Marge Have a Bake Sale or Did Monty Burns Write a Check?
Many of the financial disclosure laws that govern our elections are woefully out of date. Oregon's Legislature is currently considering a bill that would fix this problem through improved on-ad disclaimers.
Authored by: Ciara Torres-Spelliscy
– 04/16/11
Emily Berman Discusses the PATRIOT Act in New Podcast
Emily Berman participated in the most recent installment of the There Is No Spoon podcast series, which examined civil rights and civil liberties issues raised by the PATRIOT Act and FBI stings authorized under the 2008 Attorney Generals’ Guidelines issued by then Attorney General Michael Mukasey.
– 04/12/11