In the ongoing legal machinations over City of San Diego contribution limits, the Republican Party within the last hour heard that the emergency motion to lift the stay on donations to its endorsed candidates was granted.
This means that the GOP is able to make direct contributions to its candidates – in any amount. The Party is now also able to engage in coordinated expenditures with its candidates in reaching out to non-Republicans.
Party Chairman Tony Krvaric said a press release will follow. “Of course,” he also said, “this First Amendment right applies to ALL political parties, so our hard-fought victory will permit the Democrats to do the same. That’s alright. We’re more than happy to stand up for the First Amendment rights of ALL Americans and ALL political parties.”
Comments 3
Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom
1 South 6th Street
Terre Haute, IN 47807-3510
PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Contact: James Bopp, Jr.
Phone: 812/232-2434; Fax: 812/235-3685; jboppjr@aol.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9th Circuit Court of Appeals Grants Republican Party’s Emergency Motion
Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Republican Party of San Diego’s
emergency motion, allowing it to make contributions to its candidates for the upcoming San
Diego election. The Republican Party’s lead attorney, James Bopp, Jr., said, “This is a victory for
the First Amendment, which guarantees that citizens may form political parties for the purpose of
helping to elect candidates. Political parties have a constitutional right to make contributions to
their candidates, and we are grateful that the Ninth Circuit recognized that.”
The district court had previously granted a preliminary injunction against the “party contribution
ban,” the law that keeps political parties from contributing to their candidates. The court found
that the ban was likely unconstitutional, and that the Republican Party would likely be irreparably
harmed by its enforcement. But, the district court stayed its order, to give San Diego time to
enact constitutionally permissible contribution limits. This meant though that even though the
Republican Party had won the injunction against the party contribution ban, they still could not
make contributions to their candidates.
When the City failed to enact the limits quickly enough to allow political parties to make
contributions for the June 8 election, even though it had ample opportunity to do so, the
Republican Party asked the district court to lift its stay. The district court declined, so the
Republican Party then filed an emergency motion with the Court of Appeals, asking it to lift the
district court’s stay. That is the motion that was granted today.
Mr. Bopp explained that the Supreme Court ruled in a case known as Randall v. Sorrell that the
government cannot constitutionally reduce the voice of political parties to a whisper. “But this
law does not just reduce the voices of political parties to a whisper; it silences them altogether,”
Mr. Bopp said. “Such a law cannot be constitutional.”
The case is Thalheimer v. San Diego, No. 09-CV-2862 (S.D. Cal.).
UT posted it at virtually the same time. We’ll be sporting and say they had it by 30 seconds…
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/may/18/ban-on-political-party-donations-lifted/
Well, we dead broke Libertarians won’t benefit from this ruling. But we are DELIGHTED with it nevertheless!! Restrictions on such spending is downright unAmerican.