While outright coordination remains prohibited, groups can legally tell campaigns about their advertising plans. Forbes and others say the RLC crosses even that line. They say the RLC works so closely with Bush that it's almost a shadow campaign. Forbes has filed an FEC complaint anyway. The National Smokers Alliance and Americans for Tax Reform, which have been running ads in South Carolina critical of positions taken by Senator John McCain, also deny coordinating with the Bush campaign.
Some experts believe the issue ad explosion is just beginning.
Once the primaries are over, trade groups representing financial companies worried about privacy restrictions, Internet companies concerned about sales taxes, and medical groups active in managed-care issues are expected to weigh in. I think we'll see more efforts that walk right up to the razor's edge of what you can and can't do,'' says Sierra Club Political Director Daniel J. Weiss. These aren't issue ads, they're campaign ads. Instead of trying to limit ads outright, as McCain proposes, Lieberman may offer legislation that would hit 527s in their pocketbooks. To retain tax-exempt status, they would have to disclose where their money comes from and how it is spent.