FEC dismisses complaint on MoveOn's "Betray Us" ad

[babylonsister]

http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/06/04/fec-dismisses-complaint-on-moveons-betray-us-ad/

FEC dismisses complaint on MoveOn's "Betray Us" ad
@ 2:38 pm by Aaron Blake


The Federal Election Commission (FEC) ruled Thursday that The New York Times did not provide MoveOn.org with a special rate for its 2007 full-page ad critical of Gen. David Petraeus.

The ad, which ran in 2007 and called Petraeus "General Betray Us," caused a lot of controversy when it first ran, and Democrats were forced to separate themselves from the liberal group.

Conservative commentators also alleged that MoveOn was given a special rate for the ad - evidence of the New York Times's supposed liberal bias - after a reporter was quoted a higher price for a full-page ad than MoveOn said it paid.

The American Conservative Union (ACU) filed a complaint with the FEC that said this amounted to a corporate contribution.

The FEC said Thursday that there was no reason to believe that MoveOn was afforded a special rate and that, in fact, it appeared it was given a "usual and normal rate."

[gratuitous]

1. What a bunch of nonsense

An ad taken out in a newspaper of general circulation, paid at the usual and normal rate, dedicated to an issue of public interest, and the Federal Elections Commission spends two years trying to figure out if some whiny conservatives are entitled to governmental intervention with the freedom of the press.

Why does the American Conservative Union hate the Bill of Rights?

[Mythsaje]

2. And how much tax-payer money was spent on this bullshit?

I shudder to think.

[babylonsister]

4. Wouldn't the ACU have to pay since they brought it on?

Edit to add, nevermind. I get it-tax dollars for the SEC to investigate.

Yea, waste of money.

[onehandle]

3. This complaint was bullshit, but the ad itself was ill advised.

In my opinion, Move On damaged their reputation severely with that ad.

But the ACU was clearly in the wrong.