RE: Patt Morrison for Friday, January 20, 2012

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, January 20, 2012

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 –1:30 OPEN

 

1:30 – 1:58:30

South Carolina primary: four remaining candidates face “firewall” election

The Republican presidential primary race is getting more contentious by the minute. The four remaining candidates – Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, newly crowned Iowa winner Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul – faced one another on stage on Thursday night in a final showdown before the forthcoming South Carolina primary election. The Charleston debate followed the announcements that Texas Governor Rick Perry was dropping out of the running and that Santorum actually won more votes than Romney in the Iowa caucus. According to polls, Gingrich experienced a surge of support in the Palmetto State going into the debate, so his performance was thus closely observed. This “first in the south” primary has traditionally determined which campaigns have what it takes to go the distance in the presidential race. With Perry now out, it remains to be seen who will renounce next. How influential is South Carolina when it comes to weeding out weak presidential campaigns? How realistic are Gingrich’s chances of winning over Romney?

 

Guests:

Bill Schneider, resident fellow at Third Way, a think tank in Washington; former political analyst for CNN and the Los Angeles Times.

 

2:06 – 2:30
The rise of super PACs and the 2^nd Anniversary of Citizens United
Saturday, January 21^st 2012 marks the two-year anniversary of the Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted de facto citizenship rights to corporations and opened the floodgates for organizations to raise and spend money on political campaigns. The decision saw the rise of “super PACs” – a new type of political action committee with confusing restrictions governing how these groups can allocate money. As the ruling comes head-to-head with the first major election season some candidates who supported it are now experiencing buyer’s remorse. Former House Speaker New Gingrich went so far as to make public statements disavowing an inaccurate documentary put together by a set of former aids. Super PACs have contributed more than $27 million in 2012 alone, heating up the primary season and affecting the political landscape. Now that some Republican candidates who supported the Citizens United decision are facing super PACs who are focused on supporting their rivals, they’ve changed their tune and are crying foul. In an ongoing parody on Stephen Colbert’s late night comedy program, The Colbert Report, the comic and satirist has been exposing what he has referred to as “loop chasms” in the rules governing super PACs by forming a super PAC and subsequently announcing his candidacy for “President of South Carolina,” requiring him to turn over control of his super PAC to his Comedy Central cohort John Stewart. Is it too late to stop the influence of super PACs? How will they affect the balance of the 2012 election?

 

Guest:

Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media & Democracy, an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, public interest organization that focuses on investigating and countering spin by corporations, industries, and government agencies; former deputy assistant attorney general and chief counsel for nominations for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee

UNCONFIRMED

Representative from either Trillium Asset Management or Green Century Capital—they filed shareholder resolutions on behalf of investors at Bank of America, 3M & Target Corporation asking the corporations to refrain from political spending.

 

Trevor Potter is a member in Caplin & Drysdale's Washington, D.C. office. He is one of the country's best-known and most experienced campaign and election lawyers, and a former Commissioner and Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. Mr. Potter now represents Stephen Colbert and his SuperPAC and 501C-4. He advises Mr. Colbert on campaign finance issues on The Colbert Report.

• Mr. Potter is a leading authority on lobbying regulation, government ethics and campaign finance issues. He advises corporations, nonprofit organizations, and candidates on structuring new political efforts and administering their political, lobbying, and issue-advocacy projects.
  
  
• Mr. Potter served as General Counsel to John McCain 2008 and 2000 presidential campaigns. He also served as Deputy General Counsel to the George H.W. Bush 1988 campaign. He is the founding President and General Counsel of the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington, D.C. based nonprofit which focuses on campaign finance issues in the courts and before the FEC. Mr. Potter now represents Stephen Colbert and his SuperPAC and 501C-4. He advises Mr. Colbert on campaign finance issues on The Colbert Report.

 

 

2:30 – 2:39 OPEN

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Quick on the draw: David Horsey takes on political cartooning for the Los Angeles Times
There’s a new voice in town, and it’s a colorful one, in more ways than one. The Los Angeles Times has brought former Seattle Post-Intelligencer political cartoonist David Horsey on to revive its political blog, “Top of the Ticket.” The gig started January 1, 2012, and, as expected, the liberal Horsey hasn’t pulled any punches.  Recent cartoons have lambasted Republican candidates Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich , and Jon Huntsman, not to mention the Tea Party itself.  If Horsey’s square-jawed, strong-chinned caricatures look iconic or familiar to you, it’s only because he’s been in the business for over thirty years.  For a great retrospective, check out his last few posts at the Post-Intelligencer site, where Horsey recaps the last three decades in text and image.

Guests:

David Horsey, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist who has just joined the Los Angeles Times. He’s in South Carolina chasing GOP candidates.