Kerry Ads For Free?
A front-page article in The New York Times reports that outside groups are spending millions on ads for the Kerry campaign. Groups such as MoveOn, The Media Fund, and the Democratic National Committee are running spots that appear to be promoting Sen. Kerry, although the ads are not coordinated directly with the Kerry campaign. Under current campaign finance laws, 527's and other non-profit groups fall under a specific portion of the tax code that prohibits them from coordinating their activities with campaigns. Even so, these organizations craft effective ads that often have nearly identical messages to those of the campaign itself.
These new ads have been particularly important to Kerry, as he has not been able to tap into his campaign coffers after accepting his party's nomination July 29th. He, like Bush, can spend $75 in public campaign funds between his nomination and the election on November 2nd. Since Bush will receive the nomination a month later than Kerry, Kerry aides have feared that he will be outspent.
While I am all for ads benefiting the Democrats, I question whether our current campaign finance laws are truly effective. In the future, outside organizations must be more tightly regulated to cut down on the ridiculous amounts of money that flow into campaigns. Ultimately, this country needs fair and clean elections laws such as the state of Maine have. Individual contributions will undoubtedly remain for quite some time, as it will be difficult for the courts to argue against free speech laws. Yet it would benefit the system dramatically if a much greater percentage of candidates' funds came from public coffers. This would level the playing field and reduce the amount of money from corporations, Political Actions Committees (PACs), and other special interest sources.
It is also interesting to note how saturated the nation's airwaves are with political ads this election season. In the 2000 campaign, more than $6 billion was spent on political ads. Viewers often get disgusted at the frequency of the ads and tune out after a while, a fact that is clearly demonstrated by the amazing 20 times consumers must see a political ad to remember it!
I would love to hear your opinions on campaign ads, so feel free to add your two cents.
These new ads have been particularly important to Kerry, as he has not been able to tap into his campaign coffers after accepting his party's nomination July 29th. He, like Bush, can spend $75 in public campaign funds between his nomination and the election on November 2nd. Since Bush will receive the nomination a month later than Kerry, Kerry aides have feared that he will be outspent.
While I am all for ads benefiting the Democrats, I question whether our current campaign finance laws are truly effective. In the future, outside organizations must be more tightly regulated to cut down on the ridiculous amounts of money that flow into campaigns. Ultimately, this country needs fair and clean elections laws such as the state of Maine have. Individual contributions will undoubtedly remain for quite some time, as it will be difficult for the courts to argue against free speech laws. Yet it would benefit the system dramatically if a much greater percentage of candidates' funds came from public coffers. This would level the playing field and reduce the amount of money from corporations, Political Actions Committees (PACs), and other special interest sources.
It is also interesting to note how saturated the nation's airwaves are with political ads this election season. In the 2000 campaign, more than $6 billion was spent on political ads. Viewers often get disgusted at the frequency of the ads and tune out after a while, a fact that is clearly demonstrated by the amazing 20 times consumers must see a political ad to remember it!
I would love to hear your opinions on campaign ads, so feel free to add your two cents.
posted by Ben at 11:15 AM
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