MI-07: McCain Candidate Breaks McCain-Feingold Law
This is just so amazing. These holier-than-thou campaign finance regulation lovers can't seem to follow the law.
And it seems that the candidates Sen. John McCain endorses are most likely to forget about following the so-called "stand by your ad" provisions.
This time, it's Congressman Joe Schwarz, who was endorsed by McCain, who gets it wrong.
Former FEC Chairman Brad Smith sent a letter on behalf of the National Taxpayers Union Campaign Fund to Michigan TV stations notifying them that Joe Schwarz's new ads are illegal.
Excerpt:
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. . . .
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.
What it comes down to is this. Schwarz is cheating. By cutting the ad this way, he effectively gets to run a longer ad than his opponent since he doesn't have to waste precious screen time on government-mandated speech.
Typical.
And here's another interesting twist. The Republican Mainstreet Partnership PAC is getting it wrong too, according to the Smith letter.
Guess who is on the Mainstreet PAC's board?
That's right. John McCain. And Joe Schwarz.
That has to make you wonder. How exactly does RMSP PAC run an "independent expenditure" for Schwarz if the guy they are supporting is on their PAC board?
But I guess campaign finance laws are only made to apply to people who disagree with them.
Oh, and since we don't know if this might be construed as an endorsement of something we'll slap this box on the blog post and pay for it out of our PAC.
PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.
