Posted on 09/26/2004 6:56:56 AM PDT by OESY
It's starting to look like there's no limit to how far the campaign-finance reformers are willing to go in order to suppress political speech.
...Michael Moore has been bullied out of airing ads for "Fahrenheit 9/11" ahead of the presidential election; and a conservative group, Citizens United, has been forbidden by the Federal Election Commission from airing ads....
The charge, in both cases, is that ads for these movies would constitute "electioneering communications," aimed at electing or defeating a candidate for federal office — which the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law bans incorporated from doing in the weeks before a primary or general elections.
That both Kerry- and Bush-bashers are being stifled here doesn't make it fair or just.
Both fims, whatever their merits, are pure political speech. Which is exactly what our nation's founders were trying to protect when they penned the words, "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press."
...[A] system of laws and regulations surrounding political speech that make it virtually impossible for anyone without the resources to hire a team of lawyers to participate in democratic debate.
[T]he FEC, noted in a recent opinion, even books now risk running afoul of McCain-Feingold if they support or oppose a candidate for federal office....
If you're Dan Rather, fighting the partisan fight under the guise of "news reporting," you're safe. But if you're part of a concerned group of citizens digging up facts and trying to present them to the public, like Citizens United, you have no protection.
America is arriving at a point where in order to get your message out, you either have to be part of the established media or you have to be independently wealthy, like George Soros, the billionaire who funds groups like MoveOn.org....
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
At least one newspaper gets it....
What the heck do we pay all the gummint employees for. This guy figured it out. Why couldn't the legislature?
What happens to talk radio?
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_061704/content/truth_detector.member.html
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/eibessential2/dnc_platform.member.html
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/estack/illustrating.member.html
sorry, first link not working for some reason
nice to see that somebody gets it.
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