Gop Tries To Intimidate TV Stations
“ILLEGAL MINNICK TV ADS EXPOSED” screamed the headline in a news release from the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
In what has become almost routine in major elections, a national group was trying to influence an Idaho campaign.
This approach was a little different, however. A letter from the committee, signed by general legal counsel Craig Engle, attempted to intimidate Idaho television and radio stations into pulling ads for Walt Minnick, the Democrat seeking to oust Republican Sen. Larry Craig.
The letter alleged the ads were not properly identified. It also hinted the stations would face discipline from the Federal Communications Commission if they continue running them. “Such a violation could result in the FCC admonishing the station licensee” or imposing a fine, the letter claimed.
But the news release is misleading, part of a GOP ploy to coerce Democratic Party organizations in 12 states, including Idaho, to withdraw ads for their Senate candidates.
An eight-page complaint filed last week with the Federal Election Commission labels as illegal the “issue” advertising by the AFL-CIO and the national and state Democratic parties criticizing Republican candidates.
Although the Idaho state Democratic Party is named as a defendant, neither it nor Minnick is cited anywhere else in the complaint.
Democrats see it as nothing more than an effort by Republicans to offset this fall’s heavy advertising attack on GOP incumbents, such as Craig, and their records. A Colorado court decision indicates those ads are legal.
Minnick spokesman Bill Broadhead said he has not heard of any Idaho station being scared off by the tactic.
“Not at all,” he said. “The Republicans - and I presume Larry Craig is behind it - don’t want Idaho voters to know about Larry Craig’s record in the Senate.
“They are trying to use a heavy-handed legal maneuver to scare television stations into not running ads that examine Craig’s record,” Broadhead said.
This is the latest turn in what has become an unprecedented - and extremely nasty - advertising campaign this year. If people think the airwaves are being saturated by politicians, it’s because they are.
Minnick, trying to stop Craig’s bid for another six years in the Senate, has spent $600,000 on ads, the first of Craig’s Democratic challengers to have matched him in ad spending.
Craig plunked down $250,000 in March to buy television time late in the campaign and paid another $250,000 in August. He also has paid out $40,000 for billboards and another $65,000 for print media ads.
The Idaho Democratic Party, thanks to Minnick’s national fund-raising efforts, spent $293,000 for September radio and television advertising. And of the $270,000 the party had on hand on Oct. 1, much of it doubtless will go for candidate advertising.
The barrage of advertising from both sides seems to have left many voters numb - and that’s why the National Republican Senatorial Committee is trying to get an edge with its “legal” letter to the stations.
It doesn’t appear to be working.