Brad Smith

Father, law professor, former FEC Commissioner, Chairman Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech, lover of liberty & dogs, evidence-based, #freespeech,

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

The Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech is looking for a new President. A great opportunity for an enthusiast for free speech in political campaigns. See details here: https://t.co/pibOhJViN1. For more on IFS, check out https://t.co/pv3Q2qTmkm

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

Don't wait around for someone else to throw a 250th birthday party. Have a big cookout for the neighbors. Decorate. Read the Declaration of Independence aloud (you can pass it around, letting each guest read a few lines--don't forget the kids, too). Buy some fireworks and light them off. Play patriotic music--there's plenty on Spotify, Pandora, Apple, etc. Wish people a "Happy 250th."

This is an amazing country, and one thing that has made it amazing is not waiting around for someone else to act.

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

@antifawokesoros @glukianoff First sentence: "There was no cancel culture." Second sentence: "Well, there was, but I use a lot of words to say there was and maybe people won't get it." "People making decisions [to silence and harass others] based on politics" is the definition of cancel culture.

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

@DLNewRoc @EsotericCD @Bencjacobs You were 4. You don’t remember the bicentennial.

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

But is Marx really important, or is he just taught as if he were important? I suppose he’s “important” sort of in the way Stalin and Hitler are important to understanding the 20th century. But Marx brings precious little of actual value to the table. There is virtually nothing in Marx that has proven prescient, true, or particularly insightful. If you are a young person looking for good or challenging ideas, you won’t find them in Marx.

Marx should be studied purely as an historical phenomenon. Part of that phenomenon is the love affair between he and the academy. Marx flatters intellectuals who think they both can and should control other people. He plays off their resentments, perceiving themselves as underpaid and not properly recognized. They think he’s brilliant for it. Sauron to Saruman, sort of.

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

@ChrisDJackson It does take some imagination, I’ll give you that.

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

@DLNewRoc @EsotericCD @Bencjacobs No, they are not. It’s too bad you weren’t there.

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

Congratulations to my friend—and more importantly, a quality judge—Matthew Byrne.

[Unofficial Trump on X @trump_repost]

I am pleased to announce the nomination of Matthew Byrne to serve as Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. As Judge on the Ohio Twelfth District Court of Appeals, Matt has distinguished himself, and delivered strong results for The Buckeye State. He comes strongly recommended by our Great Vice President, JD Vance, and Senators Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted! Matt previously worked as an attorney at two major Cincinnati Law Firms, received his J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, and earned his B.A. from Xavier University. The Constitutional Rights of the incredible people of Ohio are in good hands with Matt on the Federal Bench. Congratulations Matt! President DONALD J. TRUMP

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

This ain't bad. I regret that in the opening minutes of my comments I referenced the federal party contribution limit instead of the party coordinated expenditure limits, but the broader substance remains accurate.

[Tom Garrett @TomGarrettIFS]

NEW: @InstFreeSpeech Chairman @CommishSmith participated in a @MackinacCenter event yesterday, discussing election reform, campaign finance, and free political speech. Watch the full event HERE (Brad's remarks begin around the 42-minute mark): https://t.co/v7zxrvd5cw

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

I absolutely agree. When we think “government waste,” the 1st thing we should think about is a tribute by our military to fallen American soldiers on Memorial Day. Next up: the Blue Angels; military bands; drill teams; and, of course, the Army-Navy football game.

[Chris D. Jackson @ChrisDJackson]

I don't want to ever hear a conservative mention the term wasteful spending again. Ever.

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

@saikatc @henryolsenEPPC Kudos to Auchincloss. The possibility of an open anti-Semite with Nazi tatoo on his chest representing your party in Congress is very much an excuse to back a Member of the opposite party.

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

@ToddZywicki Biden over Coolidge?

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

Doing this program on Common Sense Electoral Reforms with my old friends from the @MackinacCenter Tuesday, May 26 in Grand Rapids, : https://t.co/1MKs5oI5NY

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

Doing this program on Common Sense Electoral Reforms with my old friends from the @MackinacCenter Tuesday, May 26 in Grand Rapids, : https://t.co/1MKs5oI5NY

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

I'd rather have people read my longer, more substantive stuff, but at least with the NYT we're reaching a different audience.

[Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech]

IFS Chairman @CommishSmith responds to @nytimes' Buckley v. Valeo piece. Gift link below.

"[The law] would have limited organizations such as the A.C.L.U., Planned Parenthood and the Chamber of Commerce to spending $1,000 “relative to” a candidate. That effectively silenced every advocacy group in America.

The act’s purpose was to limit political discussion."

All three letters to the editors are worth the read!

https://t.co/Cz5JXzNtqE

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

@EWErickson Totally different @EWErickson. Then we were talking about a president of the other party. Totally different.

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

@HistoryBoomer I always laugh at the phrase “millionaires and billionaires.” That’s like lumping together “people earning $50k and people earning $50 million.”

[Brad Smith @CommishSmith]

I think conservatives can feel nostalgia for a more patriotic time, when the two parties were not so much at each other’s throats. It is almost impossible to imagine the Reagan Revolution—a product of the 70s—happening today, b/c people are too tribal to rethink policies and allegiances, and no politician even seems willing to try to appeal beyond his part’s “base.”

No one is nostalgic for Jimmy Carter, stagflation, and retreat abroad. The nostalgia is for a country that could rally to overcome those things. People don’t see that today, but Remembering can be the 1st step to rejuvenation.

[Tom Garrett @TomGarrettIFS]

NEW, via @nytimes, @InstFreeSpeech Chairman @CommishSmith highlights Buckley v. Valeo's monumental legacy of protecting free political speech by preventing Congress from silencing advocacy groups and more - https://t.co/dyh6xhKnfl

[Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech]

🚨Nashua’s Flag Censorship Ends with Federal Court Judgment
https://t.co/HTsqbwLABH

[Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech]

The Supreme Court issued a resounding victory for donor privacy and free speech last month in First Choice Women's Resource Centers v. Davenport, but it is cold comfort to the hundreds of thousands of nonprofit organizations around the country that must continue handing over similar information to the IRS every year, write @CommishSmith and @brettnolan. https://t.co/H4Pv0lRLet