“I have written to your before about the 527 Groups. Below is an example of what the Democratic Party is trying to do. They are trying to take the people’s voice away!”

Wouldn’t you know it, the Bush backers are whining – again – about the Kerry campaign’s attempt to silence the Swifties. Wait, what’s that you say? Oh, that?(Yes, that.?ed) Oops… I suppose I did mistake “Democratic” for “Republican”… and look here, the date is March 16, 2004.

What follows is an actual letter to Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub, Vice Chair of the FEC. (I’m capturing it here should the link be broken, and have quoted it verbatim.)

———————- Forwarded by Rebekah Harvey/FEC/US on 03/16/2004 11:37 AM —————————

To: [email protected]
cc:

Subject: 527 Groups

Dear Commissioner Weintraub:

I have written to your before about the 527 Groups. Below is an example of what the Republican Party is trying to do. Please share my email with the colleagues.

They are trying to take the people’s voice away! Please do not let this happen.

GOP wants ads that criticize Bush pulled

By Sharon Theimer, Associated Press Writer, 3/5/2004

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.

The ads were originally to air in 17 presidential battleground states over five days at a cost of $1.9 million. Boyd said the group decided Friday to spend $1 million more to run an ad criticizing Bush’s economic policies for an additional week in several states.

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 buy by reviewing the details, something it typically would do if a complaint was filed against the group.

Thank you for your time,

Diana Wagner

I understand that this is not a legal opinion. However, it’s clear that the argument cuts both ways.