Luke Wachob

Director of Communications and Policy @UniteforPrivacy
Thoughts are my own, but may also be yours.

[Shoshana Weissmann, Sloth Committee Chair 🦥 @senatorshoshana]

To that end - $$ in elections has always been an overrated concern. $ can't overcome a crappy candidate that voters don't like. And on the other hand, effective grassroots fundraising too often relies on slopulism. Any method has its pros and cons and I think most laws to address them would create other bad incentives

[Charles C. W. Cooke @charlescwcooke]

Tom Steyer keeps running around saying that it’s unfair that billionaires like him can buy our democracy, then spending hundreds of millions dollars to do just that, then failing to get elected, and then repeating all the same lines the next time around. It’s extremely funny.

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

Setting aside the harms to free speech, donor privacy, and civic engagement, campaign finance laws don’t even succeed on their own terms. You could hardly name a tougher regulatory environment for this stuff than California, yet here we are.

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

A swatting call on a Supreme Court justice is practically an assassination attempt. We can’t tolerate it.

[Andrew Leyden @PenguinSix]

Police responded to a call for the sound of gunshots at the home of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett last night, but quickly realized it was a swatting call and cleared after meeting with her security detail. This is partial police audio, redacted pursuant to media reporting guidelines on coverage of swatting incidents.

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

States are turning to privacy reforms to combat political violence. Story in @thecentersquare: https://t.co/LpoPJYp31l

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

"The Roberts court has issued major pro-speech rulings in campaign finance and political spending cases... It has also protected donor privacy in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta" https://t.co/HHpcOvIl0J

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

Utah and Minnesota - two states that know the pain of political violence - are leading the way in making civic engagement safe again.

[People United for Privacy @UniteForPrivacy]

Privacy win in Minnesota! A bipartisan reform to protect the home addresses of candidates, campaign staff, and donors will make political participation safer for all. https://t.co/YSubzxOvgo

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

How can you write about the decline of political parties and the growth of outside spending without mentioning McCain-Feingold?

[Chicago Tribune Opinion @chitribopinions]

Jim Nowlan: Dark money is winning as political parties face an identity crisis https://t.co/DbvVdIrflb

[People United for Privacy @UniteForPrivacy]

NEW from @HeatherLauer in @Deseret: Utah privacy reform to protect donors at home makes political participation safer for all. https://t.co/nFYE9IpVoP

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

Protecting donors from confrontations at their homes is common sense, but outdated campaign finance laws often expose our precise street address when supporting a candidate. Time for reform!

[People United for Privacy @UniteForPrivacy]

Amid rising political violence, states like Arizona are turning to privacy reforms to safeguard civic engagement. https://t.co/7oQHh19JJ6

[Dr. Helen J. Knowles-Gardner @KnowlesGardner]

My latest @InstFreeSpeech op-ed has published! Threats to #donorprivacy, #freedomofassociation, & #freespeech are coming from all directions, so the op-ed is very timely! Thank you to the @NAACP for standing up & fighting AL's effort to oust it 70 yrs ago!
https://t.co/BHr2n7ECtH

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

The real problem here is the leap from “this was organized citizen advocacy” to “this was fake.” Organized citizen advocacy is democracy in action!

[Brett Nolan @brettnolan]

So the same AG’s office that just got (unanimously) smacked by SCOTUS when going after the names of donors to pro-life pregnancy centers is now trying to get the names of people who buy guns. Interesting.

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

States are wasting a lot of time and resources on total non-starters in the courts.

[People United for Privacy @UniteForPrivacy]

Courts across the country have repeatedly rejected efforts to restrict out-of-state donors. That hasn't stopped states from trying. https://t.co/XewigHMBzI

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

The “radical” part of Citizens United is that 4 dissenting justices thought the government should be able to censor documentary movies.

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

@TheAtlantic @michaelscherer The Atlantic is a corporation. What is your role in public life?

[People United for Privacy @UniteForPrivacy]

NEW: Georgia's political leaders wanted to silence out-of-state voices. Their plan took direct aim at the First Amendment’s protections for free speech and donor privacy. https://t.co/XewigHMBzI

[Ray La Raja @raylaraja]

https://t.co/9Dp8QS8MtL
Small donors often seen as antidote to big money in politics

In Small Donors in U.S. Politics (@UChicagoPress), @zack_albert123 and I show story is more complicated

They broaden participation but aren't typical American, amplifying most partisan voices

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

Say it with me: "Transparency is for government"

[The Seattle Times @seattletimes]

The state’s campaign finance watchdog agency settled a lawsuit for $25,000 over allegations that commissioners on its board “repeatedly and flagrantly” violated the state’s Open Public Meetings Act 22 times over the course of two years.

https://t.co/PnTWWvYB9i

[Luke Wachob @LukePUFP]

"Providing fodder for tabloid journalism gossip isn’t, to say the least, a legitimate government interest."

Disclosure comes at a cost to privacy and free speech, so it can't be unlimited. And the lines we drew in the 1970's don't make sense today. https://t.co/64mnbuuoKZ