* Congressman Bobby Schilling’s campaign has filed a ludicrous complaint with the FEC…
The Schilling campaign accused Bustos of illegally coordinating with the House Majority PAC in a complaint to the Federal Election Commission. […]
The Schilling campaign’s complaint says that the House Majority PAC is violating election law by using video the Bustos campaign put on YouTube in August in a new ad that targets Schilling. The complaint said use of the footage is illegal direct and in-kind contributions, and it asked for an investigation. […]
Andy Stone, a spokesman for the House Majority PAC, said it is on the right side of the law.
“The footage used in the ad is publicly available and was found on the Internet,” he said. “The FEC has made clear that using clips of a candidate’s footage is perfectly legal and does not violate the rule against redistribution of campaign materials.”
In a news release, the Schilling camp said Bustos who was breaking the law, too, by “illegally coordinating with the House Majority PAC.” The complaint filed with the FEC does not make that charge, however. Jon Schweppe, a Schilling spokesman, said the Bustos campaign put the video on the Internet and the House Majority PAC used it.
“We define that as coordination,” he said.
That’s goofy.
A video is posted online, somebody else uses it and that’s somehow illegal coordination?
C’mon, man.
…Adding… This is odd…
Veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert has dropped out of a radio debate with Democratic challenger Bill Foster that was set for Oct. 16, saying a co-sponsor didn’t appear neutral.
At issue for Biggert is information from AARP and the organization’s logo appearing in liberal-sponsored television advertising and mailers that attacked her. Biggert announced her withdrawal from the debate in a statement Wednesday night. […]
Biggert, in part, questioned whether AARP can be a “neutral arbiter.”
* But it looks to me like Biggert was using this as an excuse to get out of the debate…
One TV ad from last week, titled “Judy Biggert: Bankroll” and paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, attacked her for purportedly favoring tax cuts for the wealthy and “removing Medicare’s promise of secure health coverage.” AARP’s logo appeared in the spot, along with a note citing the organization for information.
But Heppner said AARP takes public positions on issues and can’t control how the information is used by others.
LIVE session coverage...
- Pot calling kettle - Thursday, Oct 11, 12 @ 11:27 am:
All that matters is that the campaign can issue a press release saying that “charges have been filed…” and that the media will pick it up. This seems to be a trend with Republicans.
Seems they the Plummer and Schilling people are using the same playbook. If it works, expect more of these “charges have been filed…” press releases for both sides.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 11, 12 @ 11:58 am:
Sounds like Biggert believe she’s in a spot where making no news is the best strategy.
- Sally - Thursday, Oct 11, 12 @ 12:13 pm:
Wow desperate times call for desperate actions.
Schilling is toast
- anon - Thursday, Oct 11, 12 @ 12:14 pm:
I think the bigger story is the fact that John Lapp is the GC for Bustos. Ali Lapp runs House Majority Pac.
I’m sure there is “no coordination”
Don’t worry. John and Ali say that they don’t talk about work when they get home.
- Lil Enchilada - Thursday, Oct 11, 12 @ 12:29 pm:
Televised debate tonight between Schilling (who can’t think on his feet) and Bustos just got much more interesting.
- Aaron - Thursday, Oct 11, 12 @ 12:32 pm:
Anon, that supposed coordination is no problem according our goofy campaign finance laws in this country. There are political consulting firms where some partners are working for super PACs supporting a certain candidate and the other partners are working directly for the candidate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/us/politics/loose-border-of-super-pac-and-romney-campaign.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
- BigDawgPundit - Thursday, Oct 11, 12 @ 3:08 pm:
Schweppe seems sharp. Looks to have a future in politics. Would like to seem him on some ballot in 2014
- former WRMN Politics - Friday, Oct 12, 12 @ 7:57 am:
It seems like Rep. Biggert is just following the practices of former Rep. Bill Foster. During his campaign for the 14th district and during his term of office, I repeatedly asked and scheduled Mr. Foster to appear on WRMN Politics & Issues.
- former WRMN Politics - Friday, Oct 12, 12 @ 8:03 am:
It seems like Rep. Biggert is just following the practices of former Rep. Bill Foster. During his campaign for the 14th district and during his term of office, I repeatedly asked and scheduled Mr. Foster to appear on WRMN Politics & Issues. Although, Mr. Foster’s campaign agreed to a number of on air interviews, all were subsequently cancelled. Interestingly, officeholders such as, Speaker Hastert, Rep. Hultgren, and numerous others chose to appear on this local show. In my opinion, Mr. Foster was one of the most detached officeholders I have encountered in the 17 years I did Politics & Issues.