The Classic Liberal Blog

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." - Noam Chomsky

On August 13, 2008 I wrote a post about Nancy Pelosi's push to silence political dissent on radio, which would ultimately silence bloggers as well. So it's no surprise that Barack Hussein Obama hates free speech too.

Obama's campaign has sent a letter to the Department of Justice demanding a criminal investigation into the American Issues Project for an ad they are running about Obama's long-term relationship with 1960's terrorist Bill Ayers. Yes, the man of "hope" and "change" is attempting to use Chicago-style political tactics to silence his opponents.

Voters have the right to know who a man running for President of the United States of America associates with. This is especially true, when we're talking about a relationship with a known, unrepentant terrorist.  And note, the Obama campaign isn't challenging the facts of the ad.  They can't, the ad is 100% true.  So they're just trying to shut their critics up instead.

The question one has to ponder is ...

If Obama demands criminal prosecution of free speech as a candidate, why wouldn't he order the prosecution of speech that opposes his interests as President?

I think we're witnessing, right now, exactly what he'd do as President. Pelosi's going after radio and tv, Obama's going after private citizens ... are bloggers next?

"Censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime." - Potter Stewart, US Supreme Court Justice

Here's the response from the American Issues Project:

Washington, DC - August 26, 2008 - The Barack Obama campaign has now sent a second letter to the Department of Justice calling for the prosecution of one of American Issues Project's donors for his role in funding a political advertisement in full compliance with all election laws.

"Having failed in its attempts to get our legal, factual and fully-supported ad off the air, Barack Obama's campaign now wants to put our donors in prison for exercising their right to free speech," said Ed Martin, American Issues Project's president.  "These over-the-top bullying tactics are reminiscent of the kind of censorship one would see in a Stalinist dictatorship, with the only difference being that those guys generally had to wait until they were in power to throw people who disagreed with them into jail."

In addition to two letters sent to the Department of Justice asking the government to investigate American Issues Project, its officers, board of directors, and donors, the Obama campaign has been contacting stations running American Issues Project's ad in an unsuccessful attempt to compel them to pull the spot.  With no success on either front, the campaign has also begun running its own ad in response.  Notably, this ad fails to dispute a single fact in the American Issues Project's initial ad.

American Issues Project is a 501(c)4 organization, similar in structure to NARAL and the League of Conservation Voters, two liberal organizations that have claimed status as "qualified nonprofit corporations" for two decades.  In accordance with federal law, American Issues Project only solicits and accepts contributions from individuals and not from any business corporation.  The FEC also sets out specific regulations for the activities of a qualified nonprofit corporation, which American Issues Project follows.

The American Issues Project's ad began airing Thursday, August 21, and will continue through the Democratic Convention.  An electronic version of the ad and full documentation of all statements made are available at American Issues Project's website:  www.americanissuesproject.org.