George Bush vs. the 527s

Great. George Bush has finally come out against the attack ads being sponsored by the ironically-named group Swift Boat Veterans For Truth - not because he believes the attacks are false, or because he admits that, in violation of election rules, members of his election committee coordinated attacks with members of the SBVFT group. No, he did it because he says that 527 groups shouldn't be running television ads at all - because they're "bad for the system."

Once again Bush and his handlers have manufactured a win-win situation for themselves. If the SBVFT ads run without rebuttal, the message goes out that Kerry is a liar who didn't earn his Purple Hearts. If Kerry attempts to respond to the ads, suddenly the ads themselves become a news story and get far more exposure than they would have on their own - which is what has happened. Bush, rather than condemning the ads, has instead condemned the general principle by which the ads have come into being - 527 groups, some of which incidentally pose at least as big a danger to Bush's re-election prospects as the Kerry/Edwards ticket.

So what's a 527 group? Here's a definition - and an interesting tidbit of information:

During April of 2004, the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) held hearings to determine whether or not 527s should be regulated under campaign finance rules; see campaign finance reform for additional details. In May, they decided to delay any ruling for an additional 90 days, almost certainly pushing it to past the 2004 presidential election. *

The meeting was held last Thursday, August 19th, and in what must have been a great disappointment to the Bush gang, the FEC did not propose any dramatic restrictions or sweeping changes. Here's the New York Times article on the subject, but a free registration may be required to view it.)

But I doubt the Bush team will let the issue rest there - why else would he bring it up now, rather than directly addressing the truthfulness of the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth ads, and their coordination with the Bush election campaign? So George's boys get in a few dirty punches; he denies any connection, and then (at some point in the near future) makes a noble-sounding recommendation to the FEC on what action they should take to avoid the appearance of future impropriety - and thereby block any possible future ads by 527 groups like MoveOn.org. And if Kerry disagrees with Bush on this issue - well, then he's just a hypocrite, right?

Dirty tricks and smear campaigns are nothing new in politics, and Bush and his cronies certainly have a good deal of experience in both areas. So, expect more of the same from the Bush gang. They're fighting dirty, and they're running scared. But don't be surprised by any dirty tricks they may pull out of their sleeves.

And REGISTER TO VOTE, dammit!