Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories ODOT to study I-5 viaduct's viability Emergency Services Man convicted in 1998 Wolf Creek carjack murder to be set free Clear skies ahead? Fire on Foots Creek Road near Rogue River destroys garage Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency Services Man convicted in 1998 Wolf Creek carjack murder to be set free Fire on Foots Creek Road near Rogue River destroys garage Emergency Services Alert system kept parents in the loop during shooting threat Politics and Elections Mark L. Hopkins: What the next election should be about Senate race could be expensive Talent to consider taxing recreational, but not medicinal marijuana Candidate files false statements Just one seat will be contested for Central Point council Education Phoenix-Talent gets grant to create teacher-leaders Alert system kept parents in the loop during shooting threat Ink Out provides inexpensive tattoo removal for those trying to move on State tests show a mixed report card State assessment chart: 2013-14 Environment New disease strikes Roseburg deer herds Dredgers might return to the Rogue next year Dubs' auction preview draws bidders and gawkers OR-7's pups are true wolves ODFW director Elicker will step down State news Nation - World Obituaries Kimberly M. Boucher Robert Allan Burr Charles Robert Zarka Death Notices Charles O'Neil Lamoree Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories Grizzlies register split in MWL (No heading) Americans take command in Davis Cup Mercury finish sweep of Sky for third WNBA title (No heading) Varsity 541 College Sports No. 2 Ducks not looking past Wyoming No. 25 BYU gets past Houston, 33-25 Ekpre-Olomu looks to define No. 2 Ducks’ defense Revenge on Raiders’ minds Biola blanks Raiders, 2-0 Pro Sports (No heading) Mercury finish sweep of Sky for third WNBA title (No heading) Horschel takes two-shot lead in Tour Championship Vikings’ Adrian Peterson accused of child abuse Community Sports Barry fires back into SOGC finals Super seniors strong at SOGC Crenshaw pulls off upset in SOGC Murphy claims victory in Stroke Play Championships South Korea downs Chicago for World Series title Business Latest Stories Blog: Busy Week Survival Tips Purchasers praise Harry & David's turnaround Back-to-back 66,000-plus months puts 2007 passenger record within sight Historic building owners get lessons in restoration Blog: So just what will those investigative law firms find beneath the Harry & David rock pile? Real Estate News Purchasers praise Harry & David's turnaround Historic building owners get lessons in restoration Pleasant weather, stable interest rates spurred summer home sales People In Business Transportation Agriculture Purchasers praise Harry & David's turnaround 1-800-Flowers.com buying Harry & David for $142.5 million Earlier than normal pear harvest coming up short of expectations Weisinger's Winery has earliest crush on record Amy's Kitchen begins expansion in White City Opinion Latest Letters to the Editor, Sept. 12 Obama does what must be done in the Mideast Michael Gerson: Obama's careful war against the Islamic State Matthew T. Mangino: Law enforcement options in domestic violence cases Our View: Good riddance to Super PAC attack ads Editorials Obama does what must be done in the Mideast Our View: Good riddance to Super PAC attack ads Fighting back against domestic violence Tablet computers are a tool, not a frill Other Views: The time is now to start disaster planning Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Sept. 12 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 11 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 10 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 9 We march for mental health on Saturday. Who’s watching? Guest Opinions Hazardous fuel treatments vital to protection from severe wildfires Wilderness for Kalmiopsis has served us well The summer of my discontent: An open letter to Bill Rauch The power of local philanthropy Lifestyle Latest stories Top horseback archers gather at local ranch Community blog: Rise to challenge of eating more local tomatoes Religion Briefs Fishing Report: Friday, Sept. 12 New app to help hunters in the field Food Community blog: Rise to challenge of eating more local tomatoes Quail Run Vineyards expands into Talent drainage A cook's contest Community blog: Dukkah dresses up hummus, spreads and dippers Community blog: Middle East's 'peanut butter' on the rise in U.S. Home and Garden Medford gardens to be showcased Saturday Trees aren't always the best companions for plants Hot tips for a cool (shade) garden An August checklist for your garden Green Scene: Diagnosing common tomato troubles Health Community blog: Menopause: What's it Good For? Community blog: A Fish Tale Community blog: A Healthy Way to Enrich the College Experience Community blog: What's Wrong With This Picture? Community blog: We Need to Talk Hiking Faith Religion Briefs Religion briefs Religion briefs Milestones and Achievements Ink Out provides inexpensive tattoo removal for those trying to move on Grange memberships going like hot cakes New Arrivals Engagement Wedding: Gibson-Hodnefield Columnist for a Day Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Thai House Creedence Clearwater Revival Jeff Fest to feature an all-star lineup of musicians ... named Jeff 'Cocktail Hour' shows at the Craterian Theatre Oregon Poet Laureate Peter Sears reads in Ashland Theater 'Cocktail Hour' shows at the Craterian Theatre CultureFest at Oregon Shakespeare Festival Musical 'Backwards in High Heels' opens at Oregon Cabaret Theatre Ashland Contemporary Theatre gets dialectic with "Freud's Last Session" 'Freud's Last Session" at Ashland Contemporary Theatre Music Creedence Clearwater Revival Jeff Fest to feature an all-star lineup of musicians ... named Jeff Live Music in Local Clubs Rob Zombie plays Lithia Amphitheater Jennifer Nettles plays Britt Community Events Oregon Poet Laureate Peter Sears reads in Ashland Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists 5 Things to Do This Weekend From business professor to artist Shady Cove Tie Days Swap Meet Dining Thai House Ami Sushi serves up Asian dishes Wild River Brewing & Pizza Co. NW Raw Kelly's Crepes Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Fire on Foots Creek Road near Rogue River destroys garage ... Serial arsonist gets 3 years ... Medford police found to be justified in killing armed man last month ... Fire on Foots Creek Road near Rogue River destroys garage ... Serial arsonist gets 3 years ... Medford police found to be justified in killing armed man last month ... ANOTHER VIEW Extremism in defense of re-election MailTribune.com Writer Posted Sep. 11, 2014 @ 12:01 am Posted Sep. 11, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News Since Barry Goldwater, accepting the Republicans' 1964 presidential nomination, said "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," Democrats have been decrying Republican "extremism." Actually, although there is abundant foolishness and unseemliness in American politics, real extremism — measures or movements that menace the Constitution's architecture of ordered liberty — is rare. This week, however, extremism stained the Senate. Forty-eight members of the Democratic caucus attempted to do something never previously done — amend the Bill of Rights. They tried to radically shrink First Amendment protection of political speech. They evidently think extremism in defense of the political class's convenience is no vice. The First Amendment as the First Congress passed it, and the states ratified it 223 years ago, says: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech." The 48 senators understand that this is incompatible — by its plain text, and in light of numerous Supreme Court rulings — with their desire to empower Congress and state legislatures to determine the permissible quantity, content and timing of political speech. Including, of course, speech by and about members of Congress and their challengers — as well as persons seeking the presidency or state offices. The 48 senators proposing to give legislators speech-regulating powers describe their amendment in anodyne language, as "relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections." But what affects elections is speech, and the vast majority of contributions and expenditures are made to disseminate speech. The Democrats' amendment says: "Congress and the states may regulate and set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections," and may "prohibit" corporations — including nonprofit issue advocacy corporations (such as the Sierra Club, NARAL Pro-Choice America and thousands of others across the political spectrum) from spending any  money "to influence elections," which is what most of them exist to do. Because all limits will be set by incumbent legislators, the limits deemed "reasonable" will surely serve incumbents' interests. The lower the limits, the more valuable will be the myriad (and unregulated) advantages of officeholders. The point of this "improvement" of James Madison's First Amendment is to reverse the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision. It left in place the ban on corporate contributions to candidates . It said only that Americans do not forfeit their speech rights when they band together to express themselves on political issues  through corporations, which they generally do through nonprofit advocacy corporations. Floyd Abrams, among the First Amendment's most distinguished defenders, notes that the proposed amendment deals only  with political money that funds speech. That it would leave political speech less protected than pornography, political protests at funerals, and Nazi parades. That by aiming to equalize the political influence of persons and groups, it would reverse the 1976 Buckley decision joined by such champions of free expression as Justices William Brennan, Thurgood Marshall and Potter Stewart. That one reason President Harry Truman vetoed the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act was that he considered its ban on corporations and unions making independent expenditures to affect federal elections a "dangerous intrusion on free speech." And that no Fortune 100 corporation "appears to have contributed even a cent to any of the 10 highest-grossing super PACs in either the 2010, 2012 or 2014 election cycles." There are not the 67 Democratic senators and 290 Democratic representatives necessary to send this amendment to the states for ratification. The mere proposing of it, however, has usefully revealed the senators who are eager to regulate speech about themselves: Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Mark Begich (Ark.) , Michael Bennet (Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Cory Booker (N.J.) , Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Benjamin Cardin (Md.), Thomas Carper (Del.), Robert Casey (Pa.), Christopher Coons (Del.) , Richard Durbin (Ill.) , Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Al Franken (Minn.) , Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Kay Hagan (N.C.) , Tom Harkin (Iowa), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Tim Johnson (S.D.), Angus King (Maine), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Carl Levin (Mich.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Edward Markey (Mass.) , Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Robert Menendez (N.J.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.) , Barbara Mikulski (Md.), Christopher Murphy (Conn.), Patty Murray (Wash.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Jack Reed (R.I.) , Harry Reid (Nev.), John Rockefeller (W.Va.), Bernard Sanders (Vt.), Brian Schatz (Hawaii) , Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) , Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Mark Udall (Colo.) , John Walsh (Mont.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Ron Wyden (Ore.). The italicized names are of senators on the ballot this November. But all 48 Senate co-sponsors are American rarities — real extremists. George Will's email address is [email protected]. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Sep. 11, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501