Today's complaint is regarding a full page advertisement that appeared Wednesday, October 11, 2000, on page A11 of the Washington Post, entitled "Under the George W. Bush Tax Plan, the Rich Get Richer". The ad listed the names of 300 economists, including 8 Nobel Laureates. (For a copy of the ad please call NLPC).
The advertisement stated at the bottom "Paid for by the working men and women of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the AFL-CIO." The Advertisement stated, immediately below the headline quoted above: "We, the undersigned, oppose the large-scale tax cuts that are the centerpiece of presidential candidate George W. Bush's economic proposals." The Advertisement later states: "Targeting the surplus to these families as proposed by Vice President Gore makes more sense." The top of the Advertisement concludes: "To waste that opportunity with this tax scheme would be economically and socially irresponsible."
The advertisement could be considered express advocacy or a coordinated "issue ad." Either interpretation of the ad results in a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act.
"In the ad George W. Bush was described as a presidential candidate as opposed to governor or without any title. That shows that the advertisement focuses on the election rather than on issues" said NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm.
Boehm continued, "The advertisement clearly is for the purpose of influencing a federal election, which means it is an in-kind contribution to Gore-Lieberman. But, because they are accepting public financing under the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act, they cannot accept contributions, including in-kind contributions, like this ad."
"The AFL-CIO says it supports campaign finance reform, but it can't
even obey existing law. It may have recruited 300 economists to be
critical of the Bush Tax Plan, but maybe they should have checked with
their own members, many of whom support the Bush plan."
National Legal and Policy Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation
promoting ethics and accountability in government through research, education
and legal action.
For a copy of the Complaint please call Dan Rene at (703) 847-3088 or visit http://www.nlpc.org