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Advocacy Blog
Friday, July 11, 2008
Smith Campaign Files FEC Complaint, Issue Ad or Campaign Ad?
The campaign of Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) claiming his Democratic opponent, Jeff Merkley, and the Democratic Party are attempting to circumvent campaign finance law. Two television commercials have Merkely discussing his work on veterans' issues paid for by the Oregon Democratic Party with help from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The state Democrats argue that they do not have to count the money spent on the ads as a contribution to the campaign because they are not meant to advocate for Merkley's election, instead, are issue ads meant to advocate for veterans. The ad never mentions Merkely is a candidate for the Senate, and does not mention Smith. Smith's campaign argues that the Democratic Party is using the strategy of releasing issue ads to try to give more money to Merkley for advertising.
The Oregonian reports, "The details of federal election law - and of just how the ad was put together - are complex. But the two ads featuring Merkley test the limits of the laws governing campaign finance. [. . . Paul Ryan, from the Campaign Legal Center] said the legality of the Merkley ads could hinge in part on whether they republished material from the Merkley campaign. The Smith complaint alleges that the veterans ad takes material from the Merkley Web site. Reiff, [a Democratic Party of Oregon laywer] however, said the ad merely 'echoed themes' used by the Merkley campaign."
Decide for yourself, watch one of the ads here.
Meanwhile, this complaint is one more item the new FEC commissioners are waiting to tackle. The FEC convened yesterday (July 10) for the first time in more than six months, and during the first open meeting Republican election lawyer Donald McGahn was named chairman. The FEC faces a lot of work. The Campaign Legal Center wrote a letter to the FEC urging that they quickly produce rulemakings related to the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, including rules for the disclosure of bundled lobbyist contributions.
Posted by Amanda Adams
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