Re: Political ads with phone numbers

[Dan Billings <billingsdan@yahoo.com>]

These are "issue ads" that do not fall under
the current campaign finance rules.  The courts have
ruled that only messages that directly advocate the
election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate. 
The ads you mention fall short of that.  The idea with
the phone numbers is to give cover to the idea that
the ads are promoting action on an issue, not an
election.

These ads, under current law, can be paid for by soft
money.  This whole practice really got going during
the 1996 election year and has reached such a high
level as the national parties try to spend all their
soft money before McCain/Feingold goes into effect. 
The new law will regulate soft money and bans third
party ads in the weeks leading up to an election. 
This part if the bill is the most controversial and
the most likely to be struck down in the courts.

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