By Matt Hurley for the TIB Network:
From ABC News:
Three campaign finance watchdog groups filed a complaint Tuesday accusing a group of Vietnam veterans of violating the campaign finance law by airing an ad that challenges Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's military record.Question for these folks: what about MoveOn.org and ACT? Will these groups be filing similar claims against their ads? And didn't Bush/Cheney already lose a similar lawsuit? If so, isn't this just another frivilous lawsuit? Or is this some sort of delaying tactic? Just asking.
Democracy 21, the Center for Responsive Politics and the Campaign Legal Center argue that the ad by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth violates a federal ban on the use of unlimited donations, often referred to as "soft money," to influence federal elections.
...
In the complaint to the Federal Election Commission, the watchdog groups argued that Swift Boat Veterans for Truth should have used only limited contributions from individuals known as hard money on the ad and should disclose its donations and spending in reports to the FEC.
"We this think is open and shut, that the only purpose of this group is to influence the presidential election," said Fred Wertheimer, head of Democracy 21.
Mike Russell, a spokesman for Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, said the ad is legal because it does not tell viewers which candidate they should vote for in the presidential race.
"The ads are not meant to influence the presidential election. The ads are meant to tell the truth about John Kerry's service record so people can make their own decisions," Russell said.
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.
The questions keep piling up...
