Over at National Review, Hans A. von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation looks at today’s passage of the anti-First Amendment DISCLOSE Act in the House of Representatives. You can find more background here and here. The measure was targeted largely at preventing organizations likely to support Republicans from utilizing free speech rights.

Left-wing unions? Exempted.

But, of course, it is too much to ask that unions abide by such a transfer-disclosure requirement, so the Democrats approved an exemption: the $50,000 trigger does not include any “funds attributable to dues, fees, or assessments which are paid by individuals on a regular, periodic basis.” In other words, union dues that are all collected on a periodic basis don’t count. And who sponsored this exemption? Why none other than House Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Brady (D., Pa.). And who were the top five political contributors to Brady from 1998 to 2010? The Plumbers/Pipefitters Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Carpenters & Joiners Union, the American Federation of Teachers, and the Laborers Union gave him over $330,000.

This legislation is not only unconstitutional — it grants certain groups protection under the First Amendment while denying other law-abiding groups the same — but very corrupt. Just ask Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), who can be found admitting on video (first link) that the purpose of the legislation is to keep Democrats in power.