Just In Case You Missed It...

[AngryOldDem]

...Skinner has a little homework project for us in General Discussion: Campaign 2004.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=649597&mesg_id=649597

If you see or hear of any local GOP events, Web sites, etc. that mention the Swifties, speak up ASAP.

[cmd]

1. I went though all 88 counties and only found ......

one obvious violation. It was an interesting exercise. Many counties do not have websites. Many are in the works. One was spewing the garbage about Heinz outsourcing and advertising runny W ketchup. One knocked me off the internet both times I tried the link. An interesting note about that one - it had two links by two different pubbies, apparently they can't get along well enough to have one site.

The obvious violation was my own county (Tuscarawas) which had a direct link to the not so Swifties at the bottom of their homepage.

[AngryOldDem]

2. Noticed That, Too

I was very surprised that I came up dry looking for a Montgomery County GOP Website. And I can't say I was exactly thrilled with the state site, either. Not a whole lot of county info on there.

I imagine they will be playing things very close to the vest on this from here on out. If I go to any festivals or fairs though, I'll make a point to visit the local GOP booth to see if there's anyone who wasn't copied on the memo.

(And I'm surprised -- well, on second thought, maybe not -- that the Heinz rumor is still going around. That has been soundly debunked.)

[Kukesa]

5. Undercover Dem!

Good idea, AOD. We looked for a GOPer booth today at "Mountain Days" -- nary a one, nary a one.

Of course, I might have looked a bit suspicious since I was wearing my "Kerry On" T-shirt.

[mongo]

3. This is starting to get confusing....

Ok, swifties is a 527 and therefore can't be connected to a campaign. That I understand.

But where does it end? If I have ever volunteered for moveon.org can I still do phone banking for the Kerry campaign?

My real question is this. I want to print some flyers from here: http://www.kerrysupport.com/ and leave them at our local campaign office.

Their website says they are a grassroots organization and not affiliated with the Kerry campaign. Nowhere that I can find does it say that they are (or not) a 527.

With all the "I saw a swiftboat flyer at the GOP office" threads, I am now afraid that it could be against the law for the flyers I want to print up to be in a official campaign office.

The flyers are here: http://www.kerrysupport.com/issues.html Some of them say they are from the Kerry website, but some of them reference other sites like center for American progress, kerry.meetup.com and independentsforkerry.com.

Any help? I started a thread in GD 2004, but it dropped like a rock with no real answers to my question.


mongo confused...

[Kukesa]

4. Here's my understanding of your question, mongo:

As long as you are a VOLUNTEER and are not being paid for your work either by the Dems or a PAC, you're welcome to work for whomever you please, whenever you please.

I asked the same question because I considered making phone calls this weekend for ACT; instead I worked for Dem HQ (unpaid, as a volunteer), selling yard signs and registering voters at a major festival here in the Dayton area.

I am quite sure your official Dem campaign office will not allow you to bring those flyers to the office because they have literature that is sanctioned by the Kerry campaign or by the Ohio Coordinated Campaign - Victory 2004 folks, and that's what they're displaying and distributing. Something about all of us being on the same page.

Any time you print a flyer or leave information ANYWHERE it must contain a a tag line stating "Paid for by volunteer donations; printed in-house; labor donated"

mongo, I'm confused, too.

Maybe CoalMinersDaughter can shed some light on this subject since she's got more experience than I.

Where are you, CMD???

[cmd]

6. Stepping in carefully

527's are tricky areas. As I understand it, 527's must stay out of Kerry or Bush offices. Kerry and Bush are not allowed to coordinate anything with 527's. Employees of 527's may not be directly involved in Kerry/Bush campaigns when they are in the employment of said 527. What they do in their off time is their own business, they must make sure the two campaigns are kept separate.

As for the flyer, Mongo, I don't know if the Kerry campaign would want you to use it in the office. You can always ask. There is no reason why you can't distribute it on your own.

I'm by no means the expert on 527's, I'm just relaying what I've been told. Any corrections would be welcome. cmd

[Kukesa]

7. Thanks, CMD; that's what I thought, too.

Is there any way to determine if an organization is a PAC? Is there a listing somewhere? Is there a disclaimer they must display?

[cmd]

9. Open secrets has a list - there are a lot of them

http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtes.asp

[Kukesa]

11. Great work, CMD; thanks for the link to the list!! n/t

[cmd]

8. Here is what I'm thinking

The Kerry campaign is probably going to want to use their own literature. However, that is not to say, that you cannot distribute it out of office on your own. Consider hosting a Move On party. You and your guests could use that opportunity to canvass a region and pass out the flyers of your choice. Make sure you print a disclaimer on the bottom that states that they flyer is not from the Kerry campaign. A disclaimer appears at the bottom of the website you mentioned. I didn't open any files but a disclaimer may already be there. Hope this helps. cmd

[AngryOldDem]

10. You've Gotten Answers....

...better than this one, and I don't want to sound like a parrot...but I think the fact that you are having doubts yourself should say something to you. I wouldn't leave the flyers at the campaign office. Even though there is no monetary or other tie between the two, that is the impression it creates.

As for MoveOn and working for Kerry -- freedom of assocation, I think. MoveOn is not a front for the Kerry campaign (unlike the SBVs), nor is the Kerry campaign funding MoveOn. It's just one more organization you belong to, and for the time being, that's still legal.

Bush had two goals with this Swiftie campaign -- to smear Kerry (obviously) and to put 527s (and 503s, whatever the second number is) out of business. Do we need any more reasons to vote this <<insert expletive of your choice here>> out of office? Kerry will survive; I very much doubt the 527s will. At least not as MoveOn, etc., exists today. And I consider that another backdoor blow to the democratic process. The MoveOn ads make you think; the facts they have are documented and easily confirmed. Those are two things that make for an educated electorate. And God knows we can't have that.

[mongo]

12. Thanks everybody for your help! (n/t)