FEC Eases Rules on Ads Before Elections

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Unions, businesses and interest groups of all political stripes may run TV and radio "issue ads" that name candidates in the days before elections, federal regulators said Tuesday, easing previous restrictions and opening the way for groups to influence next year's elections with big-money advertising campaigns.

Following the lead of the Supreme Court, the Federal Election Commission voted unanimously to soften its advertising rules in a decision that could lead to fresh ads as soon as next month in Iowa.

Under the change, an organization that supports a presidential candidate, for example, may use corporate or union money to run independent ads that cast the candidate in a good light or that criticize his rivals, provided the overall message is a call to action on a public policy issue

. . .

"People may be tempted to blame the FEC; the FEC is a convenient whipping boy" he said. "But the opening is absolutely called for by the Supreme Court opinion."

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5glxLRJGYXl2qCzirOL_o5HIuXamAD8T1LRN80

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Bush's Supremes ruled in favor of the wingers when they wanted to go after Dems to vote up or down for very conservative judges.