OK. How Will Interests End-Run McCain-Feingold?

12/10/03 | self

[pabianice]

OK. The clock has started. The SCOTUS, proving that there is something in the building that causes brain damage, has ruled that the eye-poppingly unconstitutional McCain-Feingold bill is just dandy, and that no one except for The New York Times and The Boston Globe may make any political statements within 30-60 days of an election.

Come on. This is the US! Home of inventiveness. Does anyone really think that Ms. O'Connor -- having again forgotten to wear her Foil-lined Space Alien Mind Control Ray Helmet -- has really silenced Americans?

I've already heard that the NRA -- already one of the country's largest publishers -- is applying for formal status as a news organization. Let's start counting the ways this ruling will have become moot by next summer. Or will O'Connor decide that only organizations of which she personally approves can be labeled as publishers?

[PetroniDE]

Anyone who thinks this will result in fewer ads during next election season? I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

There will be even MORE ads in the 2004 election cycle.

[Alberta's Child]

There are two ways that candidates will approach this:

1. Create campaign ads before the 60-day limit, and air them afterwards. Let the Supreme Court spend another session trying to figure out how the CFR would apply to this.

2. Create pornographic campaign ads, preferably using the most vile, debased homo-erotic pornography imaginable. This will virtually guarantee that the Supreme Court will outlaw any attempt to restrict the ads.

[WackyKat]

How about buying an old freighter, putting a 50,000 watt AM station on it and broadcasting free speech from 201 miles offshore?

It's horrible that it's come to that, isn't it?

[You Gotta Be Kidding Me]

"Or will O'Connor decide that only organizations of which she personally approves can be labeled as publishers?"

You figured that bitch out.

[OldFriend]

Perhaps Rush will get off his high horse and have republican guests.

[Right_in_Virginia]

I like your attitude, I really do!

[proxy_user]

Purchase a newspaper, purchase a radio station. Only paid advertisements are covered. The editorial content is not.

[B Knotts]

I'd create "news organizations" which buy blocks of time on television for "news programs" and sell "shares" to people.

[Steve_Stifler]

Everyone can gift me $11,000 (no tax consequences of such a gift for gifter or giftee). I'd probably (not making any promises otherwise it's not a gift) use those millions to create and run some of the most anti-Democrat ads -- with the occasional anti-McCain one for good measure -- that the airwaves have ever seen.

[oceanview]

and where are you going to get the listeners/viewers from? who is going to tune into WNRA?

[TastyManatees]

The Internet ain't "electioneering"! Check 11 C.F.R. 100.29(c)(1).

Tasty Manatees

[Keith]

They already have been getting around it...and will continue to...

same old, same old...it's unconstitutional, but we will deal with it...

[bobjam]

One word: internet. Groups can start buying commercials on some of the most popular web sites. Also, the ban involves broadcast media. What about non broadcast media? Cable and satellite (to which people subscribe) cannot be regulated the same way. There are also bill boards, sporting event sponsorships, etc.

The fallacy of this bill is that the out-of-touch libs who wrote it still think Americans get all of their news and entertainment from CBS, NBC and ABC. They are in for one rude awakening.

[dead]

We need to use stealth billboards that nobody can see to get our message out.

[skinkinthegrass]

..the fix was in, from the start. Only GWB wasn't in on it...some protection from the USSC. The US constitution has been seriously weaken. :((

[Robin Hood]

What we need is to impeach these people who cannot read the Constitution. Remove them from office and put in strict Constitutionalists. If Rush would start this wagon rolling, I'm sure that it would roll far.

[ArrogantBustard]

Radio Free America?

We have met the enemy, and they is us.

[vollmond]

My thought is to go around the country and film ordinary people giving their thoughts on the candidates and the issues. Air their unscripted, true feelings as thirty second and one minute documentaries. As a public service, purchase time in what would ordinarily be commercial slots on broadcast networks.

[Ancesthntr]

Someone should produce a very anti-Dean (assuming he's going to be the Democrapic nominee) ad and then pay spammers to circulate it all over the Internet. It will get higher viewership than any ad on the major networks would.

I would also love to see someone purposely and very publicly violate the law in question. Let's see if the Feds really have the cajones to slap someone in jail for speaking their mind. It would have to be someone with great name/face recognition, someone very respectable and "establishment," so that the Feds would look particularly stupid, someone like a former President (I guess that this isn't realistic: Carter and Klintoon won't do it, Reagan's too far gone and Bush I wouldn't do it) or retired senior Senator or cabinet official. Alternatively, perhaps a group of the Senators that voted against this piece of crap legislation and helped bring the case to court - and who aren't running for re-election - could get together and form a PAC of some sort and run the ads - let's see Bush have a bunch of sitting Senators arrested.