Obama Seeks to Block Ad

All campaigns need to play by the same rules. If this organization is illegally doing this(and I don't know if it, that will probably be up to the Federal Election Commission to decide) then it must be stopped regardless of the free speech issue. Again I don't like the McCain-Feingold law and a lot of the other restrictions on election activities but the rules are the rules.

I thought that conservatives cared about playing by the rules and having order in society.

 

I have heard no one suggest that the ad is illegal. Why would you think that it is?

 

"Now Simmons has reemerged as the main financial backer of American Issues Project, the latest in a long list of political groups Simmons has financed with the intended goal of influencing public perception of Democratic candidates and derailing their political aspirations. The groups have operated under tax-exempt status under section 501(c)4 of the United States tax code giving them free rein to raise unlimited amounts of cash to run negative campaign ads.

Critics believe these swift-boat type groups have abused the tax-exempt code and should be categorized as a political committee under federal election and campaign finance laws, which would limit donations to $42,000 and require the organizations to disclose the identity of their donors.

Up until last week, Democrats have not issued a forceful challenge to the way the swift-boat groups have operated. In the past, Democratic candidates have decided to ignore the attack ads funded by individuals like Simmons so as not to draw more attention to the negative claims contained in the ads—even though many of the allegations are untrue—or provide the groups with additional publicity.

But when the American Issues Project rolled out a stinging television advertisement against Sen. Barack Obama, tying the Democratic presidential nominee to domestic and foreign terrorists, the Obama campaign responded swiftly, urging the Department of Justice to launch a criminal inquiry into the American Issues Project, as well as the organization’s officers and donors, alleging violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act. Ed Failor Jr., a former aide to Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign heads the organization.

Papers filed with the Federal Election Commission show that Simmons, who has raised between $50,000 and $100,000 for the McCain campaign, donated $2.9 million to the group on Aug. 12, all of which is being used to finance the attack ads against Obama.

Robert Bauer, general counsel for the Obama for America campaign, said in an Aug. 21 letter to John Keeney, the deputy attorney general of the DOJ’s criminal division, that the organization Simmons has funded is attempting to “evade the structures of election law” by advocating the “defeat of the Presidential candidacy of Barack Obama,” which would require the group to operate under the rules of a political action committee.

On Tuesday, Bauer stepped up his call for a DOJ probe, sending a second letter to the Justice Department demanding the agency specifically investigate and prosecute Simmons.

"We reiterate our request that the Department of Justice fulfill its commitment to take prompt action to investigate and to prosecute the American issues Project, and we further request that the Department of Justice investigate and prosecute Howard (sic) Simmons for a knowing and willful violation of the individual aggregate contribution limits," Bauer wrote.

A Justice Department spokesman said the agency was “reviewing” the letter and had no further comment.

...

Moreover, his daughters had alleged that Simmons violated campaign finance laws by donating at least $130,000 to Republican candidates through his family trust and in his daughters’ names between 1991 and 1995.

The Justice Department investigated Simmons to determine whether he violated federal election, tax or other laws. The Federal Election Commission leveled hefty fines against Simmons and longtime friend, former Sen. Phil Gramm, an aide to McCain’s presidential campaign, in 1993 for campaign finance law violations. Simmons paid a $19,800 fine to the FEC for exceeding campaign finance limits.

In a deposition, Simmons admitted he made about $200,000 in contributions in the names of his family members in excess of campaign finance legal limits.

If the DOJ launches a probe into the American Issues Project—and Simmons—it could lead to a radical change in the way these freewheeling, unregulated, Republican connected organizations have operated over the past five years. ..."

- www.pubrecord.org/politics/291.html?task=view

 

Does move-on.org sound familiar?

Sounds like the Republicans have decided to play like the Democrats have for years now.

 

Unless you have some information about moveon.org breaking the election laws your comment is nothing more than a smear attempt that takes away from your Christian character. I suggest that you withdraw your comment if you have no proof to provide.

 

Sorry, friend. You have offered no proof of wrong doing with the ad - just speculation on the part of those who want to find a way to shut it down.

I didn't say that moveon.org was breaking any laws - just that they get most of their funding from one rich guy and that they developed the techniques for skirting the campaign finance laws that you and they now dislike when used against the Democrats.

 

Got any proof or just another smear attempt on your part?

 

What smear?

 

The Dems are doing the same thing here in NC.

Source:http://projects.newsobserver.com/tags/pat_mccrory

 

Actually if the ad is an abuse of the 501 rules the place to take it would be the IRS not the DOJ.

The media probably wouldn't have been very interested in it if it was only the IRS that was being asked to look into it.

The DOJ is much more intimidating.

By the way, I heard on the news tonight that the SEC Commisioner said that he doesn't see any law being broken here.

 

Not at all. The news story mentioned nothing about having potentially broken the election laws.

 

From KenH's cut and paste:

"and should be categorized as a political committee under federal election and campaign finance laws, which would limit donations"

The Democrats want to have the group categorized as a political committee so they can say that the group broke campaign finance laws.

But they are a 501(c) - not a political committee - so they are subject to the IRS rules of a 501(c). And they haven't violated the 501(c) rules.

In other words - in order to prove that they broke the rules they have to first change the rules.

 

Right! And that is why I could say that the Dems are doing the same thing in NC to Pat McCory. It has nothing to do with breaking the law as Ken would have us believe. Apparently neither group (American Issues Project or Allance for North Carolina) has broken any laws which govern their specific organizations.

 

There are serious questions to whehter AIP has broken the law, and none abut the group in North Carolina. Your attempt to deflect from the serious questions about the legality of the actions of a group on your side failed miserably.

 

When you or someone has proven conclusively that AIP has broken some law then you can make that claim. Until then you have only empty alligations and smoke and mirrors...

 

IO still don't understand how the swift boaters were able to discredit a Viet Nam war vetern while supporting a candidate who was AWOL during his time in the National Guard which he only got into because of his father's influence. I suppose that's why they called them swift.

 

You have introduced yet another red herring here. This thread is about BHO and his campaign seeking to block an ad. It has nothing to do with John Kerry or President Bush. If you can't defend BHO's actions based on evidence and sources please do not try drive this thread off topic by introducing irrelevant (and in this case false) information.