Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Left Tries to Censor Veterans: Free Speech Is for Bush Haters Only
Democrats screamed for campaign finance "reform" but then immediately torpedoed it by launching multimillion-dollar Bush-hating 527 groups financed by the likes of George Soros. But now they're trying to censor anti-Kerry groups.
Three self-appointed watchdog groups filed a complaint today accusing Swift Boat Veterans for Truth of violating the campaign finance law that pro-Democrat groups are allowed to violate.
Democracy 21, Campaign Legal Center and Center for Responsive Politics claim that the veterans' $500,000 ad, running in Wisconsin, Ohio and West Virginia, violates the ban on unlimited "soft money."
"We think this is open and shut, that the only purpose of this group is to influence the presidential election," said Fred Wertheimer, head of Democracy 21. Apparently he doesn't mind that the only purpose of the Bush-hating fat cats' countless ads is to influence the presidential election.
Mike Russell, a spokesman for Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, put the critics in their place. The ad is legal because it does not tell viewers which candidate to vote for, he noted.
"The ads are meant to tell the truth about John Kerry's service record so people can make their own decisions," he said.
The Associated Press reported, "The veterans group said it has at least 5,000 new contributors and has raised more than $230,000 since the ad started running last week."
Democrats screamed for campaign finance "reform" but then immediately torpedoed it by launching multimillion-dollar Bush-hating 527 groups financed by the likes of George Soros. But now they're trying to censor anti-Kerry groups.
Three self-appointed watchdog groups filed a complaint today accusing Swift Boat Veterans for Truth of violating the campaign finance law that pro-Democrat groups are allowed to violate.
Democracy 21, Campaign Legal Center and Center for Responsive Politics claim that the veterans' $500,000 ad, running in Wisconsin, Ohio and West Virginia, violates the ban on unlimited "soft money."
"We think this is open and shut, that the only purpose of this group is to influence the presidential election," said Fred Wertheimer, head of Democracy 21. Apparently he doesn't mind that the only purpose of the Bush-hating fat cats' countless ads is to influence the presidential election.
Mike Russell, a spokesman for Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, put the critics in their place. The ad is legal because it does not tell viewers which candidate to vote for, he noted.
"The ads are meant to tell the truth about John Kerry's service record so people can make their own decisions," he said.
The Associated Press reported, "The veterans group said it has at least 5,000 new contributors and has raised more than $230,000 since the ad started running last week."
