Boston Globe: Roundly condemned, mudslinging ads thrive under shift in laws

[Eugene]

Roundly condemned, mudslinging ads thrive under shift in laws

By Michael Kranish and Alan Wirzbicki, Globe Staff And Globe Correspondent |
October 28, 2006

WASHINGTON -- One ad paid for by a national Republican committee implies
that a Democrat is using public dollars for phone sex. Another suggests
that a Democrat is partying with Playboy models. A third insinuates that
a Democrat would like to have "coffee talk with the Taliban."

In every case, the Republican candidates who are supposed to benefit from
the ads have condemned them in terms ranging from "tacky" to "despicable"
to "over the line." But the ads continued to circulate.

The three are among dozens of attack ads paid for as "independent expenditures"
by national party committees, taking advantage of changes in campaign finance
laws that enable national political committees to exceed spending guidelines
if they don't coordinate with the candidates.

The result has been a multimillion-dollar barrage of commercials with seemingly
outrageous or false assertions hitting the airwaves just as the campaign comes
to a close. Yesterday, the nonpartisan group FactCheck.org , said the most
egregious ads were on the Republican side, alleging that the National Republican
Campaign Committee is smearing the personal character of Democrats with
"mudslinging on an industrial scale" while the Democratic attack ads tend to be
more focused on President Bush.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/10/28/roundly_condemned_mudslinging_ads_thrive_under_shift_in_laws

[tblue]

1. I hope we can outlaw this kind of garbage someday

I mean, you shouldn't be able to legally lie to defame someone. There should be consequences for the PERPETRATORS not the victims!