Sunday, March 07, 2004


GOP warns TV stations on anti-Bush ads
WASHINGTON -- The Republican National Committee on Friday asked about 250 television stations to pull a liberal group's ads critical of President Bush. The RNC sent the stations a letter Friday suggesting the outlets may be complicit in breaking campaign finance laws if they air the MoveOn.org Voter Fund ads. It asked them to decline to broadcast the ads.

The RNC argues that the group, financed by so-called "soft money," is spending it on ads to influence a federal election. The campaign finance law broadly bars the use of such corporate, union and unlimited donations to influence federal elections.

MoveOn began airing ads Thursday critical of Bush's policies. MoveOn founder Wes Boyd said the ads are legal, and added that the group isn't concerned by the RNC's letter. The ads were financed with unlimited donations from individuals -- one form of soft money.

In the letter, RNC chief counsel Jill Holtzman Vogel wrote: "As a broadcaster licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, you have a responsibility to the viewing public and to your licensing agency to refrain from complicity in any illegal activity, specifically in this case, violations of our nation's federal election laws."

Federal Election Commission spokesman Bob Biersack said the FEC could only determine whether there was anything amiss in the MoveOn ad purchase by reviewing the details, something it typically would do if a complaint was filed against the group.

So why hasn't the RNC filed that complaint? Probably because it's easier to try to bully people with empty threats rather than reveal the true agenda of silencing any speach that portrays Bush in a bad light.

Hmmm. If it bugs them that much, maybe I should send MoveOn some money. :-)