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NRCC launches deceptive fund-raising websites

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And yeah, I know, water is wet.

Rebecca Leber at ThinkProgress reports on the deceptive and illegal websites the National Republican Congressional Committee is putting up to route donations to Republican challengers of sitting Democratic members of Congress. Large pictures of the Democrat and their names, a big donate button, which donates to the Republican challenger.

Here’s the one in opposition to John Tierney, entitled “John Tierney for Congress” at johntierney2014.com.

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  1. …the example TP uses clearly say, “Donate now to help defeat…” and the johntierney2014 site is all obviously negative. Not sure how they can be illegal. Seems such sites, though crass, would be protected by the first amendment.

    • The sites are deceptive – technically legal? Yes, but no one is contesting the legality, just the relative honesty, of which there is very damned little.

      • they are contesting the legality, and steve-stein did so right here, my eyes went right past it on the first read. But now that I’ve read the link, it seems the legality can be questioned:

        According to Ryan, the websites appear to violate a Federal Election Commission regulation prohibiting political committees and parties from using a candidate’s name in special projects. The FEC considers websites, including microsites, a special project falling under this rule. The only exception is when the site makes it unambiguously clear it is opposed to the candidate. In Ryan’s opinion, the page set up under Tierney’s name “does not unambiguously show opposition to Tierney.” However, he noted, the FEC is “not a nimble organization” and it can take two years to complete an investigation, well past election day.

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