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Yet amazingly, in certain ways they actually are more

A good idea to cut down on sneaky campaign ads

buy canada goose jacket cheap State Democrats are understandably livid about a series of misleading campaign mailers popping up canada goose outlet michigan in key legislative swing districts. These direct mail ads, canada goose outlet eu which look as if they are coming from progressive groups, urge local voters to reject the Democratic candidate on the ballot and write in another „real progressive“ instead. buy canada goose jacket cheap

canada goose clearance Just by looking, you might not know the ads were paid for by conservatives looking canada goose outlet locations in toronto to sway close races. That partially because the mailers say they are bankrolled by a group called Conscience of the Progressives, whose sole donor is another committee called Send a Message PAC. canada goose clearance

canada goose coats These ads are wildly deceptive. https://www.canadagoosestorevip.com Yet amazingly, in certain ways they actually are more transparent than state law requires. The conservative activist behind them, Glen Morgan, took the unusual step of including his name and email address on the mailers, when he legally could have hidden behind the two canada goose outlet london uk mysterious political action committees. Thead listed The Leadership Council as the sole donor. canada goose coats

canada goose coats on sale This tactic of using a series of shell PACs to conceal the true forces behind political advertising is nothing new. But while this so called washing is technically legal, it would be in Washington voters best interest if it were banned. canada goose coats on sale

canadian goose jacket To that end, state lawmakers should revive legislation next year canada goose outlet mississauga that would force these political committees to list their true donors on their advertisements. This would close a loophole in the law that is too easy for campaigns to exploit, to the public detriment. canadian goose jacket

buy canada goose jacket most aggressive negative ads oftentimes have the actual donors obscured, because people don’t want their names canada goose outlet buffalo associated with these sleazy ads, said state Sen. Andy Billig, D Spokane, who sponsored this year attempted fix, Senate Bill 5108. buy canada goose jacket

you require disclosure, you not only have a more informed electorate, canada goose outlet factory which is healthy for our democracy, you also are likely to raise the level of discourse. theory, political committees buying independent expenditure ads are already supposed to list their top five donors clearly on their advertisements. So are committees urging voters to support or canada goose outlet boston reject ballot initiatives.

canada goose clearance sale But by routing money through vaguely named political action committees, these political groups may list only these shell PACs in their disclosures, rather than their top individual, union or corporate contributors. canada goose clearance sale

canada goose uk outlet To an extent, that also what Morgan has done with the faux progressive ads, which have appeared canada goose outlet reviews in the 47th Legislative District, the 26th District, the 6th District and the 19th District. Had Morgan not canada goose jacket outlet directed contributions through a second political action committee, he would have been legally required to list himself on the ads canada goose outlet in usa as a top five donor, along with Peter Zieve, an aerospace entrepreneur from Mukilteo canada goose outlet vancouver whohas expressed jarring anti Muslim sentiments. canada goose uk outlet

Canada Goose Online Sneaky use canada goose outlet online uk of interconnected canada goose outlet trillium parka black PACs also played a role in one of the state biggest campaign finance scandals, this one orchestrated by Democratic groups. In 2010, the liberal political consulting firm Moxie Media was working to elect a progressive Democrat, Nick Harper, to replace a more moderate Democratic state senator, Jean Berkey, in Everett 38th District. Canada Goose Online

Canada Goose Parka Shortly before the August primary, Moxie created PACs with conservative sounding names to attack Berkey as being too liberal. Those PACs sent out mailers and robocalls urging conservative voters to instead cast their ballots for a little known canada goose jacket outlet toronto third party candidate, Rod Reiger. Reiger edged out Berkey for a general election ballot spot but went on to lose big to Harper. Canada Goose Parka

Canada Goose sale While Moxie Media was slapped with a six figure fine over its actions, Morgan appears to have avoided canada goose outlet london some of the same reporting errors (which went far beyond layering PACs). Still, many people have filed complaintsabout Morgan ads, which falsely suggest certain progressive groups are endorsing candidates who are not currently on the ballot. Canada Goose sale

cheap canada goose uk Those complaints are now pending before the state Public Disclosure Commission. But the shady stacking of PACs isn their main focus, since that alone isn illegal. cheap canada goose uk

Canada Goose Outlet These gaps in the law illustrate why the 2019 Legislature should revisit Billig proposal. His bill would require political ads to list the top five individuals and entities who donated money, as opposed to just the top five contributing PACs. This would mean drilling down to the bottom level of political committees to determine actual donors. Canada Goose Outlet

canada canada goose outlet goose black friday sale Voters should be canada goose outlet miami able to look at political ads and quickly discern who is trying to influence them. Legislators should pass a version of Billig legislation next year to help make that happen canada goose outlet las vegas canada goose black friday sale.