2008 Woodie Awards
Obama seeks investigation of pro-Clinton groups
Jim Kuhnhenn (AP)
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: News
WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama's presidential campaign wants federal regulators to investigate fellow Democrats who are backing Hillary Rodham Clinton's candidacy, taking intraparty discord to a new level of confrontation.
Obama's campaign lawyer, Robert Bauer, filed a complaint Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, accusing the pro-Clinton American Leadership Project of violating campaign finance laws by running ads against Obama. The group is spending $920,000 for an ad in Indiana questioning Obama's economic policies.
The group is largely financed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and is run by Democratic operatives, many of them based in California and who have past connections to Clinton or her husband. Its organizers say they are abiding by the law and a 2007 Supreme Court ruling.
Bauer, in his complaint and in a teleconference with reporters, likened the group to organizations that had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for ad campaigns in the 2004 presidential election. Among them was the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which attacked Democrat John Kerry's service in Vietnam and his subsequent anti-war stance.
"This organization is a Swift Boat wannabe and it's violating the law in exactly the same way," Bauer said.
The Supreme Court in 2007 opened the door for organizations to air issue ads that mention political candidates, as long as they did not explicitly call for their election or defeat. The FEC followed up with a regulation that gave outside groups more latitude to run ads during elections.
"We have strictly and carefully adhered to every governing law and regulation, including the content of our communications and our full and timely disclosures," said ALP Chairman Jason Kinney, a California Democratic strategist.
Bauer said the Supreme Court decision has been a "source of a great deal of confusion - the confusion that this organization is trying to take advantage of."
Obama's campaign lawyer, Robert Bauer, filed a complaint Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, accusing the pro-Clinton American Leadership Project of violating campaign finance laws by running ads against Obama. The group is spending $920,000 for an ad in Indiana questioning Obama's economic policies.
The group is largely financed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and is run by Democratic operatives, many of them based in California and who have past connections to Clinton or her husband. Its organizers say they are abiding by the law and a 2007 Supreme Court ruling.
Bauer, in his complaint and in a teleconference with reporters, likened the group to organizations that had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for ad campaigns in the 2004 presidential election. Among them was the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which attacked Democrat John Kerry's service in Vietnam and his subsequent anti-war stance.
"This organization is a Swift Boat wannabe and it's violating the law in exactly the same way," Bauer said.
The Supreme Court in 2007 opened the door for organizations to air issue ads that mention political candidates, as long as they did not explicitly call for their election or defeat. The FEC followed up with a regulation that gave outside groups more latitude to run ads during elections.
"We have strictly and carefully adhered to every governing law and regulation, including the content of our communications and our full and timely disclosures," said ALP Chairman Jason Kinney, a California Democratic strategist.
Bauer said the Supreme Court decision has been a "source of a great deal of confusion - the confusion that this organization is trying to take advantage of."
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
navyvet48
posted 6/12/08 @ 12:20 PM CST
This is the beginning of the "Silence of the Opposition". Obama is so thin skinned he can't take any criticism. I support this group for their stance. (Continued…)
Shtuey
posted 6/12/08 @ 1:35 PM CST
Wow, sounds a lot like Bush/Cheney silencing dissent in the run up to the Iraq invasion. This is the politics of change? Please. America, recall Hillary Clinton to the race. (Continued…)
Portia Elizabeth
posted 6/12/08 @ 1:44 PM CST
This seems to be one more example of the sort of thug politics as practiced by the candidate for change. It makes me wonder how intelligent Americans can even consider this person acceptable as a Presidential candidate. (Continued…)
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