It is interesting to note that while the Bush and Kerry camps appear to hold different positions with respect to 527 groups, it is quite clear that they are both aiming for the same result. Indeed it appears that John Kerry is the more honest of the two in this regard. George Bush has now teamed up with that great bastion of free speech, the left wing Republican John McCain, to call for dramatically limiting the free expression of all 527 groups. The Kerry camp is arguing that only the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth should be stifled. In reality, each side aims to muzzle the opposition.
With John Kerry the goal is quite clear and indeed upfront, but George Bush is hiding behind a charade of fairness. Both positions turn on the facts of the moment, which are that 527 money is going overwhelmingly to left wing groups. So while Bush’s blanket ban or curtailment of 527s appears even-handed, it is just as much an attempt to muzzle his opposition as Kerry?s specific ban. A pox on both their houses–let freedom ring and money flow.
