#239 - He Has a Pack of Hypocritical Thugs Working for Him

Courtesy Helpful Reader Rob, a double dose of perniciousness from the Republican National Committee:

The Republican National Committee on Friday asked about 250 television stations to pull a Berkeley-based group's ads critical of President Bush.

The RNC sent the stations a letter Friday suggesting the outlets may be complicit in breaking campaign finance laws if they air the MoveOn.org Voter Fund ads. It asked them to decline to broadcast the ads.

The RNC argues that the group, financed by so-called soft money, is spending it on ads to influence a federal election. The campaign finance law broadly bars the use of such corporate, union and unlimited donations to influence federal elections.

MoveOn founder Wes Boyd said Friday that the ads are legal and were financed by contributions from individuals.

"It's silly,'' he said of the RNC letter. "It's an attempt in the name of the president to silence the opposition to this administration.'' (via the San Jose Mercury News)

And in other news, proving that RNC knows whereof it speaks when it comes to breaking campaign finance laws:

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has entered into conciliation agreements with the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae") resolving violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act).

The conciliation agreement resulted in total civil penalties of $132,000. Fannie Mae will pay $10,000, the NRSC will pay $24,000, and the RNC will pay a penalty of $98,000. (from a press release on the Federal Election Commission web site)

It's gonna be a long seven months.