Redstate

Posted at 4:16pm on Aug. 3, 2006 Another Reason to Vote for Walberg

By Kel Pennypacker

Joe Schwarz and his liberal cronies at the Republican Main Street Partnership are breaking the law.

In their ads, they fail to meet certain disclosure requirements outlined in the Bipartisan Campaign Fianance Reform Act, something Schwarz supports.

Bradley A. Smith, a former FEC Chairman and regular RS commentator, wrote the complaint on behalf of the National Taxpayers Union Campaign Fund. I have pasted the letter below.

On behalf of the National Taxpayers Union Campaign Fund, I wish to call your attention to the fact that recent advertisements of the Schwarz for Congress Campaign and of the Republican Main Street Partnership PAC do not comply with the requirements of the Federal Election Campaign Act, as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 ("McCain-Feingold"), and regulations adopted by the Federal Election Commission.  We have reason to believe that the Schwarz for Congress Campaign and the Republican Main Street Partnership PAC have purchased or will seek to purchase advertising time on your station for the illegal advertisements in question.  

We wish to inform you of the legal violations contained in these ads, and remind your station that as the Republican Main Street Partnership PAC is not an authorized candidate committee, you are under no legal obligation to carry its illegal advertising.  Furthermore, we note that 47 U.S.C. §312 provides that broadcasters shall permit candidates for office to use their station facilities for advertising, and 47 U.S.C. §315 prohibits stations from "censoring" the material broadcast by candidates.  At the same time, as you are well aware, public broadcast licensees have an obligation to operate in the public interest.  Before running an illegal ad, you may wish to contact the Schwarz for Congress Campaign to ascertain if they intend to insist upon any rights they may have to demand that you run an illegal ad that fails to comply with the requirements of the McCain-Feingold law.

The specific violations in these ads are detailed below.

A.    Schwarz for Congress Ad

Specifically, the Schwarz for Congress campaign ad, "Family Results," is illegal because it fails to include the proper spoken and written disclaimers required under 2 U.S.C §441d and FEC Regulation 11 C.F.R. §110.11.

2 U.S.C. §441d(1)(B), governing "disclaimers" for television advertisements by candidates, requires, "a statement that identifies the candidate and states that the candidate has approved the communication."  The statute specifically requires, in pertinent part, that this statement:

(i)    shall be conveyed by

(I)    an unobscured, full-screen view of the candidate making the statement, or

(II)    the candidate in voice-over, accompanied by a clearly identifiable photographic or similar image of the candidate.

Federal Election Commission regulation 11 C.F.R. §110.11(c)(3)(ii)(B) requires that for a photographic image of the candidate to be considered clearly identifiable, it must be at least eighty (80) percent of the vertical screen height.

The ad "Family Results," which began running in the 7th Congressional District on or about July 31, 2006, does not contain an unobscured, full-screen view of the candidate making the statement.  Although it does contain a voice-over of Schwarz making the statement, that voice-over is not accompanied by a photo of candidate Schwarz.  Instead, Schwarz for Congress uses those valuable seconds - approximately 6 to 10 percent of the commercial running time - to show image clips conveying the substantive message of the ad, giving him an unfair advantage over other candidates and organizations that comply with the law.  

Additionally, the ad fails to meet the disclaimer requirements of 11 C.F.R. §110.11(c)(3)(iii), which requires, in pertinent part, that, "[a] communication transmitted through television or through any broadcast, cable, or satellite transmission, must also include a similar statement [to the approval statement of §110.11(c)(3)(ii)(B)] that must appear in clearly readable writing at the end of the television communication."  The Schwarz for Congress disclaimer appearing at the end of the advertisement does not state that candidate Schwarz approved of the contents of the ad.  Like the failure to comply with 11 C.F.R. §110.11(c)(3)(ii)(B), the failure of Schwarz for Congress to comply with 11 C.F.R. §110.11(c)(3)(iii) provides the campaign with valuable space for its advertising message, to the detriment of other candidates and organizations that comply with the law.

B.    Republican Main Street Partnership PAC Ad

The Republican Main Street Partnership PAC ad, "Count on Tim Walberg," is also illegal.  Advertisements by persons other than the candidate and not authorized by the candidate are governed by 2 U.S.C. §441d(2) and 11 C.F.R. 110.11(c)(4).  11 C.F.R. 110.11(c)(4)(iii) requires that:

"A communication transmitted through television or through any broadcast, cable, or satellite transmission, must also include a similar statement [that the organization is responsible for the content of this advertising] that must appear in clearly readable writing at the end of the communication." (emphasis added).

    The RMSP PAC ad contains the statement at the beginning of the advertisement, not, as required by law, at the conclusion.

As RMSP PAC is not an authorized candidate committee, your station has no statutory obligation to run this ad, which violates the law.  

    For your convenience, we have attached copies of story boards for both of these ads, compiled by CMAG.  CMAG is an authoritative source of political advertising that has been relied on by the Federal Election Commission in adopting regulations.  The Schwarz for Congress ad "Family Results" can be viewed at http://www.schwarzforcongress.com/portal/alias__IRIS/lang__en-US/tabID__28/
DesktopDefault.aspx.  The RMSP PAC ad, "Count on Tim Walberg," may be viewed at http://www.mainstreetpac.com/.  Additionally, we will gladly provide you with copies of the ads at your request.

Very truly yours,

Bradley A. Smith

Counsel to the National Taxpayers Union

Campaign Fund

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Posted at 3:10pm on Jun. 7, 2006 Time to Fight Corize in New Jersey

By Kel Pennypacker

Governor Jon Corzine (remember him?) has proposed a massive $1.8 billion tax hike in NJ. Obviously this is a proposal all of us oppose, but Corzine has given us some help by pushing for a 16 percent sales tax increase that most Democrats oppose.

This is a huge fight that really has the ability to sway usually recalcitrant Democrats. The National Taxpayers Union has led the fight by publishing op-eds and a paper on the proposal.

NTU has also put up a new website with a hilarious parody of Corzine and his plan. If you'd like to get involved in the fight, have a few laughs, and contact your local legislator, visit www.stopthetaxman.org so we can defeat Corzine's plan.

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