September 5, 2006

Silence!

The Washington Examiner spotlights a dark day for free speech in America, this coming Thursday:

Something almost without precedent in America will happen Thursday. That's the day when McCain-Feingold - aka the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 - will officially silence broadcast advertising that contains criticism of members of Congress seeking re-election in November. Before 2006, American election campaigns traditionally began in earnest after Labor Day. Unless McCain-Feingold is repealed, Labor Day will henceforth mark the point in the campaign when congressional incumbents can sit back and cruise, free of those pesky negative TV and radio spots. It is the most effective incumbent protection act possible, short of abolishing the elections themselves.

Betsy Newmark reminds us that despite the new law "we'll still be inundated with ads" because money that would have flowed to advocacy groups now "will instead go to shadowy 527s that are allowed to run all the ads they want (and0 don't have to follow the same requirements for reporting their donors as other interest groups do."

Says Hawkins, "The system is skewed now in favor of incumbents and millionaires who can afford to support their own 527s to target politicians they despise. A true victory for reform."

In addition to forming a "527," named for the section of the IRS tax code under which they are organized, here's another suggestion for groups wishing to continue running commercials criticizing candidates by name: Make the ads, then upload them to YouTube, and spread them via blogs. BillHobbs.com will be happy to carry commercials criticizing incumbent Democrats. Just contact our ad sales department at bill-at-billhobbs.com!