Candidates Should Denounce All 527s
Edward I. Koch
Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2004
The Bush and Kerry campaigns should jointly denounce the scurrilous attack ads now coming from so-called "527" committees.
The existence of these committees stems from the recently enacted McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform law, which limits the use of soft money by candidates and national parties while authorizing independent campaign organizations, known as "527" committees, to accept unlimited soft money contributions.
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These committees are often financed by supporters of both presidential candidates. One committee, made up of Kerry opponents, has been attacking him for more than 30 years, including on recent television spots. The critics are fellow Navy personnel from the Vietnam War who denounce Kerry's war record and question the validity of the three Purple Hearts and Bronze and Silver stars that he was awarded.
Why Sen. Kerry has not sued the individuals issuing these scurrilous, defamatory statements is a mystery. Some might think the Times v. Sullivan case prevents such a suit, because Kerry is a public person and not protected from defamation. Not so. A public person can sue for defamation but must show actual malice to establish the right to monetary damages. In this context, actual malice means that the libel was published with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or true.
U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater brought an action for defamation and was awarded $75,000 in damages in a decision upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The defendants had written that Goldwater was severely paranoid and psychologically unfit to hold high office.
Several years ago, then U.S. District Court Judge Pierre Leval, now circuit court judge, wrote an essay pointing out that in his opinion Times v. Sullivan and the cases that followed it did not prevent libel suits by public persons. It merely prevented the awarding of damages if actual malice was not present.
There appears to be no legal impediment to Kerry’s initiating a libel suit. So far, he has chosen not to do so. It is too late now to get a court decision before the election, but he certainly should institute a lawsuit right after the election to protect himself from such outrageous allegations in the future.
The candidates cannot prevent the 527s from operating, but an appeal to them to stop their negative ads might have that effect.
The Democrats have used the 527s to a far greater extent, and their 527s are spending much more money than those of the Republicans. They are denouncing President Bush for having served in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War and questioning his attendance. As Sen. McCain has stated, Bush’s service in the National Guard was noble, as was Kerry’s in the U.S. Navy. These campaign schmutz artists should stop it already.
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Sen. Ted Kennedy and Congressman John Lewis have been stopped at airports and prevented from boarding planes because their names apparently match those of people on the U.S. Homeland Security no-fly list. Lower-level security employees would not permit them through the gates to board planes and instead referred them to higher authorities.
Perhaps those employees viewed these incidents as integrity tests to see if Kennedy and Lewis, by wielding their titles, could break the rules. The higher authorities allowed Kennedy and Lewis to board their respective flights.
Those airport employees should be commended for carrying out their orders. No exceptions waiving rules should be made by gatekeepers for any individual except by authorized managers. When I arrive at airport security checkpoints, I am often asked to remove my shoes even though most if not all of the gatekeepers know me.
Kennedy and Lewis should carry with them a letter from Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge certifying that they are not the two individuals with similar names on the no-fly list and that they are permitted to board.
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is an Israeli of heroic proportions.
Sharon’s Likud Party repudiated him by voting down in a non-binding action his request for authorization to negotiate a coalition agreement with the Labor Party led by Shimon Peres. If Labor joins a coalition government, it would assure Sharon that when he orders the 8,000 Israeli settlers to leave their settlements in Gaza, and a no-confidence motion is introduced into the Knesset, his government will have the 61 votes needed to prevail.
Sharon’s adversaries are now a majority in the Likud Party. Notwithstanding his defeat, he is prepared to continue with those negotiations. Another option would be to form a coalition with the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, which I hope he does not do.
Sharon’s hand was strengthened last week by President George W. Bush. The New York Times reported, “An administration official, amplifying Ms. Rice’s comment, said a decision had been made this week not to compound Mr. Sharon’s political troubles at a time when he was battling hard-liners in his Likud coalition who were rebelling against his proposal to pull all settlements out of the occupied Gaza Strip.”
That new U.S. policy of approving “natural growth” in settlements makes sense. The settlement growth of new multiple dwellings will be vertical and will not expand to the land surrounding existing towns.
Supporters of the state of Israel should appreciate the fact that there has never been a U.S. president as supportive of the state of Israel as George W. Bush. If American Jews do not respond with their support in November, they will be perceived as ungrateful.
Edward I. Koch is the former mayor of New York City. His commentary for Bloomberg radio is republished here. You can hear his weekly radio show by going to www.bloomberg.com/radio. |
