Mitt Romney Super PAC Republishes 2007 Romney Ad, Violating Finance Laws, Watchdog Says

[highplainsdem]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/23/mitt-romney-super-pac-ad_n_1297482.html

WASHINGTON -- The main super PAC supporting Mitt Romney's presidential campaign has violated campaign finance law, a nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog group said on Thursday. Paul Ryan, a lawyer for the Campaign Legal Center, called foul on the Restore Our Future PAC for recycling a 2007 ad from the former governor's prior presidential bid.

The move by the group, which is filled with former Romney staffers and colleagues, violates campaign finance law that prohibits the republication of campaign materials by a super PAC, Ryan said.

On Thursday, Restore Our Future released an ad, titled "Saved," which is identical to a 2007 Romney campaign ad titled "Searched." The ad features Robert Gay, a former business partner of Romney, explaining how Romney shut down Bain Capital and brought 50 employees to New York City to track down Gay's daughter, who had snuck off from home to go to a rave. Both ads feature the same footage and the same monologue from Gay.

The only difference between the ads is that the Restore Our Future ad ends with the line "Brought to you by Restore Our Future" rather than the closing line of the 2007 Romney ad "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message."

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[truthisfreedom]

1. Heh. It's not like we didn't expect full-on collusion. Nothing will be done.

Financial hand-slap.

ANY violation of the rules should result in all of the funds being divided equally amongst his opponents.

[MaineDem]

2. Oh, they'll say "sorry" and all will be well

And there is no coordination. Nope, none at all. *sigh*

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. How is this against the law?

This cracks me up. So Dems can't reuse 2008 Obama ads?

Thats just stupid given the Citizens United Lord of the Flies approach that is ongoing.

Unlimited, anonymous campaign donations?

Reusing ad material?

[beac]

4. I believe it is not the "reuse" of old material that makes it illegal but the

fact that, in order to obtain the ad, the Super PAC must have "coordinated" with the Romney campaign, which is a no-no.

Of course, we all know the truth is that those shadowy Super PACs are all coordinating with the various candidates they support, but Romney & his PAC buddies are either too stupid or too incompetant to have realized such a blatant violation wouldn't go unremarked.