Ever wonder why Bush keeps saying he wants to do away with all 527 groups?

[flpoljunkie]

There are more Democratic 527 type groups than Republican, but the difference really shows in the money raised by the Democratic groups.

Way to go, Joint Victory Campaign Fund, Americans Coming Together and The Media Fund! And there is more to come with Vote For Change concerts sponsored by America Coming Together and MoveOn!

http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527grps.asp

http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtes.asp?level=C&cycle=2004

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. Because the RW controls the media,

527s are one of the few outlets for our message.

[Guaranteed]

2. Been thinking about that for the past week.

I tend to agree with the above poster. The only way for us to get our voice out there is to pull our money together and buy time from the media companies. Otherwise they just whore for the Repukes.

[displacedtexan]

3. Historically, Repukes have always raised tons more in soft $.

As long as that was the case, they had no problem with 527 groups.

The times, they are a'changin'.

[tridim]

4. 527's are legal. Period.

UNLESS they lie, like the SBV ads do. I'd really like some journalist to ask Bush specifically why he thinks MoveOn.org should be silenced. His real reason is that the info in the ads is damaging and true.

If Bush doesn't like the 527 rule, he should try to change the law. What's stopping him?

[Irishladdie]

5. I heard * say get rid of 527s and I

instantly donated 40 dollars to MOVE ON!!

I felt much better after words too!!

[gratuitous]

6. No, not really

That is, I rarely wonder why Stupidhead says anything. I figure it's either a lie, some self-serving mealy-mouthism, or something so densely stupid that it defies all applications of logic. I find I'm right about 137% of the time (there are instances of overlap).

So when Lil George says he wants ads by "outside groups" to stop, he's clearly against freedom of speech (alternative 3), he's ready to stop now that his side has gotten in its licks (alternative 2), and he knows that the law can't be changed for this election cycle anyway (combination of alternatives 1 and 2). Trifecta!

[kentuck]

7. We just need to get rid oof the lies....

A little help from the media might help...

[ihaveaquestion]

8. Actually, the Rethugs don't rely as much on 527s as the Dems

so they won't really miss them much if they go away. They use the another tax loophole organization more. I forget the number from the tax code, 526s or 528s, but what I'm talking about is industry groups that don't have to report on their donors or funding AT ALL.

These are groups that represent segments of business or industry, such as the Mortgage bankers Association of America (www.mbaa.org) or the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (www.nema.org), just to pick two out of the air. They usually do lobbying on behalf of their members, but they can also fund issue ads to their hearts content. Since these are business oriented, the rethugs have lots of money in them and don't have to rely on 527s as much.

This is the biggest and most underreported of the campaign finance reform loopholes.

[flpoljunkie]

9. Bingo!

[NightOwwl]

10. As usual they are looking out for their own interests.

They probably expected them to raise one or two hundred thousand dollars. Instead, they are raising millions and for the first time Dems are able to compete monetarily. You can bet if it were the other way around they would have nothing but praise. I can hear them now, "By the people, for the people. It's what America is all about!"