The Supreme Court has an opportunity to reconsider its disastrous Citizens United decision. The justices should take it. The damaging effects of unlimited spending by corporations and unions on elections — honestly examined — should cause the court to overturn or, at the very least, limit that ruling.
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., became an official candidate for re-election Tuesday, paying his $1,740 filing fee and urging Montanans to examine his “record of accomplishment.”
Here’s a new video of Jon, Sharla and their grandkids from Tuesday, when Jon filed for re-election at the Montana Secretary of State’s office: For Jon, filing to run for another term was a family event. As he put it: “I’m not running to improve my quality of life—I’m running to improve the lives of […]
In a separate interview with our editorial board, Jon Tester, meanwhile, said he would amend the Constitution to bring back the accountability and limits that have been lost to Citizens United, and he’s since signed on as a co-sponsor of two slightly different proposed amendments that would do just that.
We’re with Tester on this one. Corporations aren’t people, and limits and regulations on corporate spending and accountability are completely reasonable. Calling for a constitutional amendment may smack of an election year headline grab, but the fact is, Tester is on the right side of this issue.
Sen. Jon Tester is asking Rep. Denny Rehberg to join him in seeking a ban on third-party attack advertisements hitting Montana.
Tester wants his Republican opponent to sign an agreement that tells allies to stop the attacks.
The Democrat says it will work because the deal calls for penalties to be levied against the campaign whose allies continue to advertise in the state.
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, facing a strong re-election challenge from U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, asked his opponent Wednesday to sign an agreement meant to discourage “third-party” TV and radio ads attacking either candidate.
The agreement, similar to one signed by U.S. Senate opponents in Massachusetts two weeks ago, says if an outside group runs a broadcast ad attacking one candidate, the other one must pay a penalty equal to the ad buy.
“We have an opportunity to come together 10 months before Election Day and do something that’s right for Montana,” Tester told reporters on a conference call Wednesday afternoon. “I think it’s much better if we use our own campaigns to talk about what this election is all about.”
A newly released Associated Press report finds campaign donations to Congressman Denny Rehberg’s senate campaign were not identified as coming from lobbyists.
The analysis of public campaign data shows Rehberg has accepted more than $2 million in individual contributions. The AP reports nearly $20,000 of that was donated by nearly three dozen lobbyists, but were not identified as such. A Rehberg spokesman says that’s because the donors did not yet supply employer information.
Montana congressman Denny Rehberg’s bid to unseat Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) took a hit Sunday after the Associated Press uncovered lobbyist contributions to the Republican hopeful’s campaign.
The AP reports that Rehberg’s campaign received about $20,000 through October from three dozen lobbyists who didn’t reveal their place of employment on federal disclosure records. The revelation could hurt Rehberg because he has relentlessly attacked Democratic first-termer Tester for being the top recipient of lobbyist campaign funding.
Senators are now squirming over fast-moving and supposedly non-controversial legislation aimed at barring lawmakers from making insider stock trades.
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which cleared a procedural hurdle this week on a 93-2 vote, has become a magnet for amendments that could have significant impact on the power and perks lawmakers have enjoyed for decades.
The race for Montana’s Senate seat between incumbent Democrat Jon Tester and Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg has already drawn significant corporate campaign spending, and much more cash will be dumped into the race in the coming months.
Last week, Tester said he supports two constitutional amendments that would allow Congress to regulate campaign spending by corporations and labor unions.
