June, 08 2010, 12:30pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Rick Bielke,Communications Director,(Ph)202.293.0222 | (Fx)202.293.0202,rbielke@publicampaign.org
Decision Has No Impact on Pending Fair Elections Legislation
WASHINGTON
Public Campaign and Common Cause released the following statement
today in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's order today blocking the
release of matching funds to candidates for office in Arizona who have
opted into their Clean Elections program.
"This case
is only about one part of Arizona's successful system-the triggered
matching funds program," said Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of Public
Campaign. "We will continue to argue the merits of the matching fund
system at every challenge, but it must be noted that this Court decision
has no impact on the Fair Elections proposals now advancing in
Congress."
That proposal, the Fair Elections Now Act
(HR 1826, S. 752) "sidesteps the Arizona problem by linking the payment
of matching funds to each candidate's in-state, small-donor fundraising,
not opponent or independent fundraising," said Bob Edgar, president of
Common Cause. "The Fair Elections bill is carefully crafted to pass
constitutional muster even in light of the Roberts Court's u-turn toward
campaign finance deregulation."
"The Court has
decided to disrupt Arizona's elections while it waiting for the
plaintiff's arguments and then determining if they are even worthy of a
hearing," Edgar said.
The Court's order did not note
any dissenting opinion and will remain in effect until the Court rules
or denies a hearing on McComish V. Bennett, AZ Sec. of State.
The Arizona Clean Elections law was implemented in 2000
and has survived several court cases and repeal threats. More than half
of the Arizona legislature and eight of ten statewide officials were
elected under the program. Similar Clean Elections laws have been
enacted across the country and have been upheld by three federal circuit
courts.
Public Campaign is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to sweeping campaign reform that aims to dramatically reduce the role of big special interest money in American politics. Public Campaign is laying the foundation for reform by working with a broad range of organizations, including local community groups, around the country that are fighting for change and national organizations whose members are not fairly represented under the current campaign finance system. Together we are building a network of national and state-based efforts to create a powerful national force for federal and state campaign reform.
LATEST NEWS
Calls to Boycott Netanyahu Speech Grow as Israeli PM Heads to DC
A new coalition of advocacy groups—some of them Jewish-led—are urging lawmakers to "amplify the voices of those in Israel, Palestine, and around the world who reject Netanyahu's failed leadership."
Jul 22, 2024
Pressure is mounting on U.S. lawmakers to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scheduled address to Congress later this week, as a newly formed coalition of civil society groups announced a protest against the far-right leader—whose policies and actions in Gaza are on trial for genocide at the World Court.
As Netanyahu "brings to Congress his message of extending and expanding the devastating war in Gaza, neglecting the safety of Israeli hostages, and ensuring impunity for the actions of his government, an alternative message must be heard," the new coalition said in a statement Monday. "To amplify a message of safety, freedom, just peace, collective liberation, and human rights for ALL Palestinians and Israelis, nine diverse groups have come together to form the Peace and Justice Protest Bloc."
The groups—American Friends of Combatants for Peace (AFCFP), Win Without War, T'ruah, Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, Israelis for Peace, Halachic Left, and three local chapters of Supporters of Standing Together—"will come together in Washington this week to urge members of Congress to skip Netanyahu's speech, sponsor community events with peace activists from the region, and amplify the voices of those in Israel, Palestine, and around the world who reject Netanyahu's failed leadership."
"The bloc, made up of hundreds of Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs, Jews, and allies, will unite to demonstrate that collective struggle and liberation are possible, and there is a growing movement that embodies it," the coalition added. "We must act now to ensure that the voices for a just peace are louder than those of division and bloodshed."
A larger protest by a coalition of groups including Palestinian Youth Movement, National Students for Justice in Palestine, CodePink, ANSWER Coalition, the People's Forum, International Peoples' Assembly, Al-Awda-N.Y., and the Palestinian American Community Center-N.J. is also planned for Wednesday, when Netanyahu is set to speak. Organizers are planning to surround the U.S. Capitol.
"A visit by Netanyahu to Congress and the U.S. confirms something we already knew: The United States of America financially and morally supports the slaughter of Palestinians happening in Gaza," said CodePink Palestine campaign coordinator Nour Jaghama, who was arrested outside the Republican National Convention last week after being falsely accused of assaulting a Republican lawmaker. "They are no better than Netanyahu and every single Israeli official who orders the dropping of bombs on sieges on hospitals."
Groups including the Council on American Islamic Relations and CodePink have circulated petitions urging members of Congress to boycott Netanyahu's speech, which is set for Wednesday. Numerous congressional Democrats have already said they will not attend the address, as has Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who on Monday reaffirmed why he'll skip the speech.
"Netanyahu and his right-wing, extremist government have waged total war against the Palestinian people, killing at least 39,000 Palestinians and injuring 89,000—60% of whom are women, children, or elderly people," Sanders said. "Netanyahu should not be welcomed into the United States Congress."
"On the contrary, his policies in Gaza and the West Bank and his refusal to support a two-state solution should be roundly condemned," the senator added. "In my view, his right-wing, extremist government should not receive another nickel of U.S. taxpayer support to continue the inhumane destruction of Gaza."
Axios Capitol Hill reporter Juliegrace Brufke said Monday that Vice President Kamala Harris—whom many Democrats have endorsed for president since U.S. President Joe Biden's Sunday withdrawal from the 2024 race—has "declined" to preside over Netanyahu's speech, as is her prerogative as Senate president. So has Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.), leaving uncertainty as to who will preside over the session.
Like Biden, Harris has been an
ardent supporter of Israel during her tenure in the U.S. Senate and White House. She is facing fresh calls take a "clear stance" against any more weapons sales for Israel.
In 2015—the last time Netanyahu addressed Congress—nearly 60 lawmakers including Sanders boycotted his speech.
Some progressive groups and individuals have called for more than just a boycott of Netanyahu.
The Center for Constitutional Rights on Friday asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Netanyahu and other Israeli officials for allegedly committing or authorizing genocide, war crimes, and torture. The group led a federal genocide complicity lawsuit against Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that was dismissed last week.
Last month, former Democratic Ohio state Sen. Nina Turnerargued that Netanyahu "should be arrested on the spot" for "overseeing a genocide."
Meanwhile, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)
warned attendees of a Republican National Convention event last week that he would order the arrest of any lawmakers who get "out of hand" during Netanyahu's speech.
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Ohio GOP Senator Says 'Civil War' Needed If Trump Loses
"Inciting violence over an election that hasn't even occurred yet is irresponsible and undemocratic," said the Ohio Senate Democrats.
Jul 22, 2024
Just over a week after an assassination attempt against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump resulted in the killing of one bystander and left two people critically injured, a GOP state senator from Ohio was condemned for saying a Democratic victory in November would result in a "civil war."
"I believe wholeheartedly Donald Trump and Butler County's JD Vance are the last chance to save our country, politically," state SEn. George Lang (R-4) said at a rally for Vance, the first-term U.S. senator from Ohio whom Trump selected as his running mate last week. "I'm afraid if we lose this one, it's going to take a civil war to save the country, and it will be saved."
Lang apologized on social media soon after he made his comments at the rally in Middletown, Ohio, saying they were "divisive" and calling for all politicians to "be mindful" of what they say at political events ahead of the election.
But Lang's comments came after numerous polls have shown sizable portions of Americans, particularly Republican voters, sympathizing with the state lawmaker's message.
In May, the Marist National Poll found that 47% of Americans believed a civil war in the U.S. would occur in their lifetime, including 53% of Republican voters.
In April, 28% of Republican voters said in a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist survey that violence may be needed to "get the country back on track."
Lang's call for "civil war" came as endorsements poured in for Vice President Kamala Harris to run as the Democratic nominee, a day after President Joe Biden announced he was stepping aside in the presidential race following weeks of pressure and concerns about his age and health.
Ammar Moussa, spokesperson for the Harris for President campaign, said Lang's comments were no accident and called on Trump and Vance to denounce the call for violence.
"Donald Trump and JD Vance are running a campaign openly sowing hatred and promising revenge against their political opponents. It's a feature, not a bug, of their campaign and message to the American people," said Moussa. "Trump and Vance pay lip service to unity, but their actions are more focused on dividing Americans than bringing us together. It's the polar opposite of everything Vice President Harris stands for."
The Ohio state Senate Democrats denounced Lang's comments as "irresponsible and undemocratic," and noted that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have condemned political violence.
But despite widespread agreement that violence is not the way to solve divisions in the U.S. over immigration, abortion rights, and other issues, Lang's remarks echoed Trump's repeated warning of a "blood bath for the country" if he loses the election, as well as West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's statement last week at the Republican National Convention that "we become totally unhinged if Donald Trump is not elected in November."
Earlier this month, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said the country is already in the midst of a "second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be."
Trump's electoral loss in 2020 resulted in the then-president urging his supporters to riot at the U.S. Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying Biden's victory.
Despite Lang's apology on Monday, said Sean Carberry, managing editor of National Defense, his call at the rally was "not some isolated/offhand comment."
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Rights Group Demands End to Detention and Mistreatment of Palestinian Children
"These children are trapped, unable to move or see the sun, forced into crowded cells with appalling, unsanitary conditions, and subject to severe abuse and violence," an expert said of Israeli detention centers.
Jul 22, 2024
Save the Children on Monday said that Palestinian children in Israeli detention increasingly face starvation, disease, and abuse including sexual violence, and called for a moratorium on the arrest of children and the release of all those "arbitrarily" detained.
The nonprofit's statement, which includes testimony from two 17-year-olds who were in detainment late last year, comes following a number of reports since October 7 of abuse in Israeli detention centers, including of minors. About 650 Palestinian children from the West Bank have been detained by Israel in the last nine months, as well as hundreds from Gaza; roughly 250 in total are reportedly still detained.
"We've been working alongside our partner on the ground and speaking to hundreds of former child detainees in the past years, and we have never seen such devastation and hopelessness," Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children's regional director for the Middle East, said in the statement.
"These children are trapped, unable to move or see the sun, forced into crowded cells with appalling, unsanitary conditions, and subject to severe abuse and violence," he added. "The children we spoke to have endured horrors an adult should never witness, let alone a child."
Over 650 children from the West Bank & an unknown number from #Gaza have been detained since Oct by Israel.
They're facing increasing starvation, infectious diseases & abuse.
The arbitrary detention & ill-treatment of Palestinian kids must end.
Read👇 https://t.co/tUXpmoigOg
— Save the Children International (@save_children) July 22, 2024
Save the Children, which has worked in Palestine since 1953, has previously called for a moratorium on child detention and the release of child detainees in Israel, which is the only country in the world that systematically prosecutes children in military courts. Israeli forces detained roughly 500 to 700 Palestinian children every year even before the war, with "stone throwing" being the most common charge—an offense that can carry a 20-year sentence.
In 2022, Save the Children documented the negative impact of family separation on child detainees, who are often denied their right to contact loved ones. In July 2023, the group released a report showing that 86% of Palestinian children detained in Israeli centers were beaten and 69% were strip-searched. Some experienced sexual violence or were transferred between locations in small cages, the report said.
Reports have grown more dire since the war began. In February, Save the Children and partner organizations warned that conditions for children in Israeli detention centers were growing more violent and crowded, with a higher level of abuse and inhumane treatment. In May, whistleblowers who worked at the centers revealed "barbaric" conditions and mistreatment, including of women and children, in line with the findings of human rights organizations.
Last week, Amnesty International said that Israel was engaging in "rampant torture"—all 27 former detainees who were interviewed, including a 14-year-old boy, said they were tortured—and institutionalizing "enforced disappearance," due to lack of family contact and transparency regarding the legal process.
Save the Children on Monday said that the legal basis for Israel's detention of Palestinian minors was further eroded by last week's advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, the United Nations' top court, which said that Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is unlawful and must end "as rapidly as possible."
The new statement details the stories of two 17 year olds from the West Bank, referred to by the pseudonyms Firas and Qusay, who were detained prior to October 7 and released at the end of 2023. Qusay reported that newer detainees were as young as 12 and 13 years old.
"The younger children were really scared and kept crying, I wanted to take care of them, but when I asked the prison guard to allow me to stay with them, I was violently beaten," he told Save the Children.
Firas, who was in a different detention center than Qusay, said that a surge of children were detained in the first five days after the October 7 attack, after which conditions rapidly deteriorated.
"The horrors we endured made me think that pre-war life in prison was heaven," Firas said.
Both teenagers faced tick infestations, with Qusay covered in bites upon his release and Firas recalling that he used a lighter to burn ticks. The Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs has also warned of infectious skin diseases like scabies spreading in the centers.
"One child prisoner had a severe rash, so we asked the guard to allow him to sit in the sun or clean his body," Qusay said. "The guard said, 'Call me back when he's dead.""
For detained minors, the suffering doesn't end with detention itself. Child psychologists report that released Palestinian children struggle to recover from the shock of detainment and live in fear of being re-arrested, which can prevent them from planning for the future.
"They can't make decisions," an unnamed child psychologist told Save the Children. "They say, 'Why would I think of tomorrow if they will re-arrest me.' Their families describe them as 'frozen.""
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