Bradley A. Smith is an American political scientist. Smith is a former Commissioner, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and currently serves as Professor of Law at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. ^[1] A Michigan native, Mr. Smith received a B.A., cum laude from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1980, and his J.D., cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1990. Bradley P. Smith (born 11 May 1979) is an Australian Rules Footballer currently listed with the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Political Science is the field concerning the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behaviour. ... The Federal Election Commission (or FEC) is an independent regulatory agency created in 1975 by the United States Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance legislation in the United States. ... Capital University is a university of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Bexley, Ohio, founded in 1830, that offers five schools of study: College of Arts and Sciences; the Conservatory of Music; Capital University Law School; School of Management; and School of Nursing. ... Capital University Law School is a law school in Columbus, Ohio, affiliated with Capital University. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Ohio, USA Coordinates: , Country State Counties Franklin, Delaware, and Fairfield Government  - Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D) Area  - City  212. ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Largest metro area Metro Detroit Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 97,990 sq mi (253,793 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 491 miles (790 km)  - % water 41. ... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B.) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. ... Kalamazoo College (K College or K) is a private, highly selective liberal arts college located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. ... Nickname: Location of Kalamazoo within Kalamazoo County, Michigan Coordinates: , Counties Kalamazoo County Incorporation 1883 Government  - Type Council-Manager  - Mayor Hannah McKinney Area  - City  25. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... J.D. redirects here; for alternate uses, see J.D. (disambiguation) J.D. is an abbreviation for the Latin Juris Doctor, also called a Doctor of Law or Doctorate of Jurisprudence, and is the law degree typically awarded by an accredited U.S. law school after successfully completing three years... Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. ... Harvard Law School (colloquially, Harvard Law or HLS) is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ...

A Republican, he was nominated to a Republican-designated seat on the FEC on February 9, 2000 by then-President Bill Clinton to a six year term and confirmed to the post by the United States Senate on May 24, 2000. Before his nomination to the FEC in 2000, Smith was seen as one of the leading experts in campaign finance in America, and has often expressed strong views against campaign finance reform, with his writings on campaign finance and election issues having appeared in noted publications like the Yale Law Journal, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and the Harvard Journal of Legislation. He had also been called on to serve as a witness before the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate on matters of campaign finance. ^[2] is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Politics Portal      The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral United States Congress, the... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Campaign finance refers to the means by which money is raised for election campaigns. ... Political campaign Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns. ... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Politics Portal      The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral United States Congress, the...

In 2001, Princeton University Press published Smith's book, Unfree Speech: The Folly of Campaign Finance Reform in which he argued that most regulations on campaign finance are unconstitutional. When first nominated to the FEC there was a strong objection to his nomination from reform advocates. The libertarian magazine Reason noted that virtually all reform advocates, "agreed that he was the wrong person for the job".^[3] His nomination, however, received strong support from groups and organizations opposed to regulating campaign finance, including, in addition to Reason, the Wall Street Journal, the Cato Institute, and others. Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... See also Libertarianism and Libertarian Party Libertarian,is a term for person who has made a conscious and principled commitment, evidenced by a statement or Pledge, to forswear violating others rights and usually living in voluntary communities: thus in law no longer subject to government supervision. ... The libertarian Reason Magazine dedicated an issue to Ayn Rands influence one hundred years after her birth. ... The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Institutes stated mission is to broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets, and peace by striving to achieve greater involvement...

As Commissioner and Chairman of the FEC, Smith remained controversial, particularly in 2004, when as Chairman he bucked the Republican Party and refused to support new regulations of so-called "527 groups," organizations largely unregulated by campaign finance laws that were generally believed to favor Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry.^[4] After leaving the FEC, Smith founded a non-profit organization, the Center for Competitive Politics, to promote pro-freedom views on campaign finance reform. Smith is also a Senior Fellow at the Goldwater Institute, a member of the Board of Scholars at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions. He serves on the Advisory Board ^[5] of the Institute for Law and Politics at the University of Minnesota Law School. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A 527 group is a type of tax-exempt organization named after a section of the United States tax code, created primarily to influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts, in his fourth term of office. ... The Goldwater Institute is a Phoenix, Arizona-based public policy think-tank established in 1988. ... The Institute for Law and Politics is an interdisciplinary research institute based at the University of Minnesota Law School. ... Walter F. Mondale Hall, home of the Law School The University of Minnesota Law School, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a professional school of the University of Minnesota. ...

Smith, a Catholic, lives in Ohio with his wife and youngest daughter. Another daughter is away at college.

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External Links

• Center for Competitive Politics