The Political Bridge

Steve Henry to pay $10,000 fine for campaign violations, reports The Courier-Journal

Former Lt. Gov. Steve Henry has agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and to stop raising money to repay what’s left of more than $1 million in loans he made to his 2007 gubernatorial campaign as a settlement of charges leveled against him by the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

That now clears the way for a special prosecutor to decide if he will seek criminal charges against Henry in connection with his gubernatorial campaign and a federal fundraising account that Henry said was exploring a 2008 race for the U.S. Senate.

The registry voted Friday to accept an agreement negotiated by the registry staff and Henry's lawyer.

The registry had previously found that Henry illegally accepted contributions greater than state law allows from six people, inaccurately reported the rental value of three computers as an in-kind contribution, gave incomplete descriptions of donors and accepted contributions from six people who laundered money from an employee of an eastern Kentucky road contractor.

Read more: The Courier-Journal

Dems Need to Remember Their Home Base in 2010

The Cook Report, September 19, 2009 

In June 1953, cartoonist Walt Kelly had one of his characters say the immortal words, "We have met the enemy and he is us." Congressional Democrats would be wise to take this line to heart.

Some Capitol Hill Democrats are accusing President Obama of pushing too hard; others argue that he has not provided enough leadership or pushed hard enough. Although Obama has indeed made some critical miscalculations and missteps this year, the Democratic Congress has significantly damaged itself. And its members -- not Obama -- will be the ones on the ballot in November 2010...

The Views of Senior Citizens on Health Care Reform and Medicare Reform might be Crucial in Election Cycle 2010

The Rothenberg Political Report

Senior citizens remain a crucial electoral group, both because of their attention to politics and because they vote, even in midterms. So the two parties are jockeying for position, trying to portray themselves as “friends” of seniors and the opposing party as an enemy.

In both 2004 and 2008, exit polls showed that voters age 65 and older constituted 16 percent of the presidential year electorate. But in 2006, voters 65 and older constituted 19 percent of the midterm electorate. That’s a significant difference.

Federal Appeals Court Voids Campaign Finance Reform Rules, reports The Washington Post

A federal appeals court overturned hard-fought campaign finance reform regulations in a ruling on Friday that will make it easier for independent political groups to raise and spend money to influence elections.

The three-judge panel struck down regulations intended to blunt the power of such organizations, including the controversial Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and MoveOn.org, which drew heavy criticism for spending tens of millions of dollars on aggressive advertisements during the 2004 presidential campaign.

The ruling, if it stands, could provide a boost to Republicans and their allies as they try to win back Congress in 2010 and the White House in 2012. Outside conservative groups could become particularly important in countering the fundraising juggernaut of President Obama, who shattered past records by raising more than $750 million during his 2008 campaign.

Read more: The Washington Post

Jim and Katie King: Report finds that father, daughter violated campaign-finance laws, reports The Courier-Journal

Metro Council member Jim King, a Democratic candidate for mayor, violated campaign-finance laws last year when he gave his daughter $145,000 during her election campaign for District Court, the staff of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance has found in a preliminary report.

The staff also concluded that “there is reason to believe” that Katie King, who narrowly won the seat in the general election, broke the law in accepting the gifts and later reporting them as personal loans for her campaign.

But the registry staff found the violations didn’t appear to be committed knowingly and recommended that the board refer them for conciliation when it takes up the case Sept. 25.

Read more: The Courier-Journal