Anti-Kerry group slapped with largest-ever election law fine

[kpete]

Anti-Kerry group slapped with largest-ever election law fine
Michael Roston
Published: Thursday March 1, 2007

....................

The agency fined the Progress for America Voter Fund $750,000 after determining that the group had functioned like a political action committee without registering to become one.

“This settlement demonstrates once again that the commission is serious about enforcing the campaign finance law,” said Robert Lenhard, the FEC’s Democratic-nominated chairman. “It should now be clear to organizations that want to be active in the 2008 cycle that the activities we saw in this case are prohibited under the law.”

Progress for America raised roughly $45 million during the 2004 cycle from Alexander Spanos, Bob Perry, T. Boone Pickens and other prominent Republican donors. The group, which ranked fourth in size among 527s that cycle, used the money to purchase more than $30 million worth of radio, television, direct mail and Internet advertising — some of it questioning Kerry’s ability to lead the military.

Such ads may have been allowed, according to the commission’s ruling Wednesday, but only if the group had registered as a political action committee.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/AntiKerry_group_slapped_with_largestever_election_0301.html
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[zulchzulu]

1. That's chump change for what these motherf*&kers did...

3/4 million bucks is a monthly allowance at Vegas for these people.

Look for 527s to do the same thing in 2008 and know they get a tiny fine and maybe a reprimand...certainly no MSM will cover their little misbehavior.

[tk2kewl]

2. exactly.

they spent $30M on illegal activity and got fined $0.75M.

part of the cost of doing business

BFD

[blm]

5. These fines are worth it to them. They make millions and billions off of BushInc

and his policies.

The same thing will happen in 2008, and if the Democrats even TRY to pull something like this in a much smaller way the corpmedia will be there to POUND on them BEFORE the election.

[glitch]

7. The only fines that would work are ones that break them.

We need to start looking at that kind of level of punitive damages.

[mzmolly]

8. Agreed.

:(

[Unbowed]

13. Exactly.

It's a small price to pay for a presidency.

[Canuckistanian]

17. They probably spill more than that at lunch

That sum is no deterance to any "Voter Fund", even as defined by the 527 standards.

They should have been banished, prevented from ever raising funds again.

[porphyrian]

3. Good. - n/t

[rodeodance]

4. they did it even as they knew they might be caught! Damage was done.

[stillcool]

6. typical bean-counter philosophy...

or the ends justify the means.

[meldroc]

9. Time to change fine structures.

Rather than setting possible fines in the statutes as hard dollar amounts, set them as percentage of income. So for a speeding ticket, let's say you make $40,000 per year. Set the fine to be 1/2 of 1% of your annual income, so for that guy making $40,000, he pays $200. For the multi-millionaire who pulled in $5,000,000 per year, that speeding ticket will set him back $25,000.

In the same way, corporations that commit offenses should be fined a certain percentage of their annual revenue, and non-profits should be fined based on their annual revenue.

IIRC, Norway does things this way.

[Joe Chi Minh]

11. Hard time for all the principals wihout possibility of pardon or amnesty.

[Unbowed]

14. Now that would be sweet.

Or offer them a tour in Iraq in lieu of jail time.

[Joe Chi Minh]

10. How they must love adding insult to injury. But for how long will they

be able to?

[ProSense]

12. Third largest fine

here.

It should have been the largest, and it still wouldn't have been enough.

[nam78_two]

15. K&R.nt

[JI7]

16. this is another example of what is wrong with the system

considering how much they raised and spend, the fine is nothing.

they could do it again in the future and just view the fine as part of a SMALL cost of doing business.