Not my headline (I would never have said “Groups”), but in the print edition they gave me top billing in the letters section -
Groups are silenced by campaign reform law
Because I generally vote Republican, I am deeply disappointed to see most Republicans give George Bush a pass on his efforts to silence private groups such as the Swift Vets and MoveOn.org. George Bush was wrong to have limited the First Amendment by signing the campaign finance reform bill in the first place. Now, he is making clear that his decision was not simply a mistake, and that he actually does believe that he and John McCain have the right to designate who can and who cannot voice their opinions during an election.
One may agree or disagree with the positions taken by the private groups, but freedom requires that all individuals and groups be free to air their opinions anytime they wish. Bush’s position is dangerous, inexcusable and ought to be facing loud opposition within the Republican party.
All Americans should condemn the efforts of any politicians to take from them their right to speak during elections. The leadership of the Republican Party at every level should be ashamed to be sanctioning this outrage, and should speak out now against it before this cancer grows out of control.
Good for you! And congratulations for getting your letter published. I wasn’t able to do the same; the San Diego Herald-Tribune declined to publish my letter. In fact, they haven’t published anything about this outrage.
What is frightening about this whole thing is that it isn’t just McCain-Feingold, or even the president who backs this travesty, but the congress which passed the law in the first place, and the Supreme Court which failed in its fundamental duty of protecting the constitutional rights of us all.
Making an issue of this right now is futile since any noise will only be drowned out by the election. But once the election is over. . . !
Frankly, I’ve been surprised that this has not received more attention on this forum. The suppression of political speech is the most dangerous to us.
I don’t really blame them for using the word “groups”; you used it yourself several times in the letter. No big deal.
I’m also surprised that this issue has not gotten much attention in general. My theory is that many people believe that most politicians are essentially representing their big contributors rather than their constituents, and that this perceived corruption is worse than restrictions on free speech.
In my opinion the news media are ignoring the issue mainly because they are not affected by the rules, which give them the ability to promote their own views with less competition from advocacy groups.