.@rickhasen explains why the crowd-sourced fundraising for Sen. Collins' TBD opponent if Collins votes to confirm Kavanaugh is not in any way bribery ... and why it's rich for Collins et al. to claim that it is.https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/susan-collins-complains-of-bribery-after-nonbillionaires-try-to-influence-her-kavanaugh-vote.html …
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It's not about "running". It's explicitly about an exchange of cash depending on her vote on K's confirmation. Otherwise you'd have to say it wouldn't be bribery if they said, "Senator Collins, if you vote NO, we'll give YOU the money."
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If it involves Collins, it would be extortion, not bribery. Not sure how you can bribe someone who hasn't been determined yet.
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It's not about bribery of a pol "to be named later". And as for whether it's also extortion as to Collins, that's a diff Q.
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Sure it is. Running a campaign against someone bc they have failed to keep their campaign promise not only isn't bribery, there's a very long history of it on both sides, usually not crowd-funded.
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Charles Koch calls a D senator running for reelection this Nov. "Senator, I was planning on having a fundraiser next month to raise $1M for your opponent. But if you vote YES on Kavanaugh, I won't hold the fundraiser." I say that's an offer of a thing of value.
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CHarles Koch calls up a D Senator and says, "in the past, I've supported you because you like unrestricted capitalism. I consider a vote for a SCOTUS candidate who favors restricting capitalism an important vote." Which happens --- every single day.
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A) While I recall congressmen being prosecuted for doing official acts in return for $ for themselves, I don't recall any being prosecuted for taking $ for their campaigns. B) Yes, things happen every day that are arguably illegal & yet aren't prosecuted. 1/
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C) People are saying Collins is wrong to have said "bribery". Saying no one is ever prosecuted for what that group is doing doesn't mean it's not bribery. 2/
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