Posted on 08/29/2006 10:32:04 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Federal election regulators refused to ease limits on political advertising Tuesday, blocking an effort to let interest groups run radio and television ads mentioning elected officials within weeks of an election.
The Federal Election Commission voted 3-3 on a proposal that would have allowed such ads as long as they addressed public policy issues and did not promote, support, oppose or attack a sitting member of Congress. Supporters of the change said they wanted to strike a balance between campaign ad restrictions and constitutional free speech guarantees.
The measure failed on a tie vote with the commission's three Democrats voting against the proposal and the three Republicans backing it.
With 70 days left before this year's general election, the change could have let loose a wave of unrestricted ad spending in the weeks leading up to Election Day.
The vote lets stand a provision in the 2002 campaign finance law that requires independent groups to limit the contributions and to disclose the donors of money used to pay for ads that run within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election.
Advocates of the change ranging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to unions to the ACLU argued that the law not only restricted campaign advertising but also prohibited interest groups from voicing their views on legislation before Congress.
Critics, including the congressional authors of the 2002 law, complained the change would create a loophole for secretly financed ad campaigns.
Democrats are against. Why did the Republicans pass and GW sign this bill again?
" ...secretely financed ad campaigns."
The Democrats have never opposed secret campaigns. Hillary is in trouble for running just such a campaign. Bill was notorious for accepting Chinese money for his campaigns.
The law is not being used to sunshine ad campaigns. It is being used to stifle the truth.
The one condition that is absolutely unacceptable to Democrats is interest groups speaking truth to their lies. Swift boat vets proved this conclusively. Democrats will stop at nothing to prevent a recorrance of just such dissemination of the truth.
Once again the liars subvert open public discourse. This is a Marxist/Fascist tactic that noone in a free Republic should tolerate.
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