.@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 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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D) Actual framing matters. Consider how some ppl who ask a celeb for money to not publish a tell-all book are prosecuted for extortion while others are not – b/c how the "ask" was framed. 3/3
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In sum, look at the group's very words: "Either Sen. Collins VOTES NO on Kavanaugh OR we fund her future opponent" You can describe what's behind it however you want, but their words matter… which is why your hypo here is nothing like what they're doing.https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1040307463877275654 …
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