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Watchdogs: Wordless political ads may break federal rules
By Fredreka Schouten, March 17, 2014
The strange, new habit among some U.S. congressional candidates of posting wordless YouTube clips of themselves looking statesman-like as they meet with constituents or visit factories could open the door to violations of federal election rules, campaign-finance watchdogs argue.
The practice of posting bland video conveniently allows super PACs supporting the candidates to grab the footage for their own television ads. Under federal regulations, super PACs can raise and spending unlimited amounts but must operate independently of politicians and cannot contribute directly to candidates.
If a super PAC spends money to republish or distribute campaign materials beyond using a brief quote from their favored candidate, that could constitute an improper donation by the PAC to a candidate, said Paul Ryan, a lawyer with the Campaign Legal Center.
Earlier this month, his group and another watchdog organization asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate possible illegal in-kind contributions and coordination between Montana Republican House candidate Ryan Zinke and a pro-Zinke super PAC, Special Operations for America, after the super PAC used photos from Zinke’s campaign in its ads.
Zinke, an ex-Navy SEAL, founded the super PAC in 2012 to help Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Zinke resigned from the group last September. Zinke and the new head of the super PAC have denied any improper coordination, and Zinke’s campaign manager called the complaint “frivolous.”
The practice of posting wordless clips went viral last week after comedian Jon Stewart spoofed a video that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s campaign made available online. In it, the Kentucky Republican says nothing at all but smiles into the camera, signs paperwork and appears at his wife’s side as innocuous elevator music plays softly.
The satire set off a wave of #McConnelling parody videos. McConnell’s camp even joined in on the fun, asking supporters to pick their favorite spoof.
As Nathan Gonzales of The Rothenberg Political Report recently pointed out, Democrats, including North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan and Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, have made their own B-roll available online.
Video footage from Democratic candidate Bruce Braley’s Iowa Senate campaign already has been incorporated into an ads run by the Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC working to help Democrats retain their hold on the chamber, Gonzales noted.
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