"Ballots and Believers"

John Fund offers this column. Here is a taste, and don't miss the third paragraph:

The now famous "527" independent-expenditure groups, named after the section of the IRS code that governs them, have become the bête noire of this year's presidential campaign. Hardly anyone has praise for the negative campaigning of either the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, challenging John Kerry's Vietnam record, or the MoveOn.org Web site, which has run ads comparing President Bush to Hitler.

But at least one independent-expenditure group claims to be completely positive in its approach and outlook. Let Freedom Ring, based in suburban Philadelphia, isn't spending anything to attack Sen. Kerry. Instead it is reaching out to people of faith to tout the record of President Bush. "We want to counteract the mudslinging that turns many Christians off of the political process," says Colin Hanna, its president. "Religious conservatives are a unique kind of 'swing voter' in that they don't swing between Bush and Kerry, but between Bush and not voting."

To further separate itself from 527 groups, Let Freedom Ring was formed as a 501c4, a nonprofit designation that allows groups to spend up to 49% of their donations on political activity without having to disclose contributors. It is attracting wealthy Christians who don't want to be seen as political but who are willing to support positive messages. Still, the group is agreeing to voluntarily disclose the names of contributors who finance any political TV ads they run.

Posted by Rick Hasen at September 24, 2004 08:59 AM