FEC Dismisses Complaints Against Nader

[barbaraann]

By MATTHEW DALY
The Associated Press
Thursday, September 22, 2005; 6:39 PM

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Election Commission dismissed complaints that Republican and conservative groups improperly worked with Ralph Nader to get him on state presidential ballots last year.

The commission said it found no reason to believe that any of the groups had violated the law as Nader sought to qualify as an independent presidential candidate in Oregon, Michigan and New Hampshire.
...
The Oregon complaint was filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal-leaning watchdog group. The New Hampshire and Michigan were filed by state Democrats. They alleged that Republicans and conservative groups violated election laws by telephoning people and collecting signatures to help Nader get on the ballot.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/22/AR2005092201732.html


Apparently it is legal for conservatives to engage in campaigns for the sole purpose of sabotaging the Democratic Party.

[papau]

1. I like the headline- no mention of GOP getting Nader on ballot to hurt Dem

Indeed it was the GOP action that was found to be legal by the GOP majority FEC.

:-(

[Mairead]

2. "it is legal...for the sole purpose of sabotaging the Democratic Party"

And what's REALLY dastardly is that the law allows Democrats to do the exact same thing to the GOP.

Ain't it awful?!

[President Jesus]

3. full list of people who donated to Nader (over $200)

interesting: http://www.newsmeat.com/campaign_contributions_to_politicians/donor_list.php?candidate_id=P20000527

[lakeguy]

4. that's a short list!

[President Jesus]

5. you have to click letters at the top to see donations from average joes

[jessicazi]

6. Arianna Huffington donated over

$5000 to Repugs...? Was she a Repug back in the early 90's? That is when she donated.

[barbaraann]

7. Yes, and she was married to a GOP Senatorial candidate.

She became a Dem about the same time he came out as gay.

[Mairead]

8. Yes, she was a religiously-based (Greek Ortho) conservative

and a Republican. She used to have (maybe still does) the story on her site of why she converted. As a religious conservative, she believes strongly in charity, so she expected that the wealthy-elite 'religious' 'conservatives' would feel similarly.

She didn't say how long it took for the penny to drop for her, but after the umpty-ith time they ducked out on her, lied, or let her down, it finally penetrated that the wealthy elites for all their big smiles and smooth talk really, truly were nothing but human sharks, avatars for what Adam Smith called the 'vile maxim of the masters of mankind' ('all for ourselves and nothing for anyone else').

That's when, enraged at their uncaring viciousness, she changed her politics.