Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Is This An Attempt To Silence Conservative Speech?

The Supreme Court refused Monday to speed up an appeal by a conservative organization seeking to air a radio ad on same sex marriage around election time.

The proposed ad by the Christian Civic League would refer to the two U.S. senators from the state of Maine, a format the Federal Election Commission says would violate the ban on “electioneering communications” in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.

The reform law bars corporations or labor unions from paying for any broadcast referring to a candidate for federal office within 30 days of a federal primary election or 60 days of a general election. On May 9, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., rejected the civic league's request for a preliminary injunction to fund the ad, saying that it represents “the sort of veiled attack that the Supreme Court has warned may improperly influence an election.”

The group said the Senate debate on the Marriage Protection Amendment to the Constitution will take place in early June and it asked the Supreme Court to schedule oral arguments in the case sometime this month. The court issued a one-sentence order denying the request.

The amendment declares that marriage is solely between a man and a woman. The Maine primary is June 13 and the proposed ad asks the public to call the state's two senators, Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and urge them to vote for the amendment. Snowe is running unopposed. The FEC had urged the Supreme Court not to put the appeal on a fast track, saying it has no obligation to reorder its calendar and issue a decision under the “extraordinary expedited schedule” the civic league proposes. The case is Christian Civic League of Maine v. FEC, 05-1447

6 comments:

Steve Mule said...

Mr. Hornback,
Given the timing of this ad, the coming primaries and the vote on the admendment itself, would it not be unreasonable to assume that this whole thing is just a charade to try to motivate a discouraged conservative base to vote for "good" Republicans in August and then again in November?
Especially given the silence that descended on this issue following the '04 Presidential race?
Can you convince that I am wrong in thinking that this is just another emotional wedge issue being used to manipulate the American people?
Thank you!

SteveMule

Brian Hornback said...

SteveMule,

Your going to think, whatever you are going to think. The facts are that this issue isn't a new issue, just to create in your words "a wedge"

It was the Mayor in San Francisco, I believe that was the first to decide to marry couples of the same gender. Then pockets of Mayors began marrying same gender couples across the country. I believe had the liberal pro-gay-marriage Mayors not started marrying same sex couples, the Republicans would not have to be saving the union of marriage.

This issue cost John Kerrey, the pro-labor state of Ohio. This is not a new wedge issue to save the Party.

Steve Mule said...

Mr. Hornback,
You are correct - the issue has been around a while. However, it seems to only get back into the limelight just before election time. In between elections it seems to fall off the radar adnd everyone's legislative calendar.
You are again correct to point out that it cost Sen. Kerry Ohio in the last presidential election and, consequently, the election itself. However, immeadiatly after all this it dissapeared until now - just in time for the '06 mid-term elections. Pres. Bush and the GOP as a whole aren't doing that well pollwise and here it is again. It's not the act itself so much that bothers me, it's the timing. It just seems to be a convienent wedge issue, one that can be resurrected whenever needed.

SteveMule

Deacon David Oatney said...

I think Steve will always believe that these important cultural issues are "wedge issues" because in the world of the Left wing of the Democratic Party, those issues really do only come up at election time.

However, we on the Right are talking about them and doing things about them-even when it isn't election season.

Brian Hornback said...

The Lord said "they would always be among us"

Was he also referring to the likes of liberal whackos like Steve?

Steve Mule said...

Mr. Hornback,
David is correct - liberals do tend to ignore those issues between elections because they are inconsequential to governing. Conservatives do not ignore those issues - they fret over them, pray over them, preach over them and finally at election time the "conservative" politicians trot them out and we're where we are now - MFA and a mid-term electiion that at the moment doesn't look so good for "conservative" politicians. Even Dr. Dobson is getting wise to the game.

SteveMule