GOP Thugs - Montana Edition

Stolen from Crooks and Liars :

It seems Montana Senator Conrad Burns has been caught cozying up to
ultra-corrupt Jack Abramoff. Abramoff has funneled thousands of dollars into Burns' coffers.
This guy's up to his neck in dirt. So the Montana Democratic Party has put
together some commercials that tie these two pigs together at the same trough.
How do the Republicans respond?

By trying to reasonably dispute the facts of the case? Nope. By sending out press releases that contain exculpatory evidence? Not even close. By threatening to sue the television stations that broadcast this admittedly partisan but still factual add? You betcha.

Your station must not allow itself to be used in this
way. Under Columbia roadcasting System, 412 U.S. 94 (1973), and its progeny,
and Federal Communication Commission precedents, your station is not obligated
to air any advertisements from the MDP. See National Conservative Political
Action mm., 89 FCC2d 626 (1982). These precedents hold that third-party
spenders such as MDP do not have a guaranteed right of access to air their
advertisements on your station. In fact, if your station does not stop
airing this advertisement after gaining knowledge that it contains false and
misleading statements, you are subjecting your station to potential
liability. See 47 U.S.C. § 315 (providing immunity to stations for
statements made in legally qualified candidate ads, but not extending such
protections to third-party ads).

Attached to this letter is an annotated script for the advertisement
highlighting the false and misleading statements contained in the MDP
advertisement. Since the MDP advertisement contains false and misleading
statements, we hereby demand that your station stop airing this advertisement
immediately. If you are unwilling to do so, we reserve the right to pursue any
appropriate legal action and request an explanation of the basis of your
decision in law or station policy

Thugs. These guys are splitting hairs of a "I did not have sex with that woman" proportion (Kos explains the details), and are resorting mafia-style intimidation to keep this add off the air. Seems to me they tried this before (don't have time to google it right now) . Remember that these adds are correct. That's important to keep in mind. This guy is intimately tied to one of the most corrupt figures in American politics since the god-damned teapot domescandale. But because they think this guy is clean on a technicality, then they're going to bully every media outlet in and around Montana to keep theseallegationss hushed.

As far as I'm concerned, two can play at this game. This is a new tactic the right is using. Don't get me wrong, these guys have never been above resorting to schoolyard bully tactics when they don't get their way, but just recently have they begun threatening media outlets who run FACTUALLY CORRECT adds.

The gloves are off. Lets see them try to swift boat another Democrat. Two can play at this game. Lets see how well their slime holds up to this kind of scrutiny