Power To The Swift Boaters!

by Bradley A. Smith - December 20, 2006 - Los Angeles Times

BRADLEY A. SMITH, who served as chairman of the Federal Election Commission in 2004, is a professor of law at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio.

LAST WEEK, the Federal Election Commission fined MoveOn.org, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and two other groups a total of $629,500 for violating campaign finance laws during the 2004 election. According to the FEC, these "527" organizations (so named for the tax code provision governing their activities) ought to have registered as political action committees, which would have limited their ability to receive large donations and, in the case of MoveOn and the Swifties, would probably have shut both groups out of the 2004 election altogether.

This is THE END OF DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA.

You think this statement too strong? Then you are living in a dream world. John McCain and his MSM syncophants have touted this nonsense until it is being bought by the average public.

The McCain theory? That some people should not be allowed free speech. They should instead be denied the ability to participate in democracy because they have "money". The only poroblem is that these two groups were neither funded by the rich or by business (the liberal equivalent of being the evil rich). They were instead funded by a lot of middle class people. To McCain though, it is okay for people he doesn't control (the way he controls the MSM) to be stripped of free speech.

The end of free speech is THE END OF DEMOCRACY and this insanity is ending free speech.

It is important to understand what these two groups did.

What did the groups really do wrong? Did they bribe or corrupt politicians? Well, no. You won't find "Duke" Cunningham, William Jefferson or Bob Ney connected to MoveOn or the Swift Boat Veterans. Did they make illegal contributions to campaigns? Well, no again. Did they seek out special favors or illegally coordinate their efforts with candidates? No. The FEC admitted that, after a "thorough" investigation, it found no evidence that any of the groups operated in concert with candidates or sought legislative favors.

The elitist cognoscenti in Washington, who support anything they think will take money out of politics, are pleased, huffing only that the fines are too small. The FEC admitted to going easy on the groups, given the "uncertainty" in the law. In my view, there is no uncertainty — the groups did not violate the law at all.

What these groups did was express political opinions that our government masters found unsettling. They did not contribute to John McCain and let him spend their money. They had the audacity to think that they could express their opinions directly to the people. You know, free speech. That is all they did wrong. They failed to "bribe" McCain, Christopher Shays and Martin T. Meehan and others who don't see themselves as representing us but see their jobs as telling us what to think.

This is an important article. Please read by clicking on the title above. If free speech ends, DEMOCRACY ENDS. John McCain and Chris Shays are working hard to end free speech.