Political Speech and a Senator's Election Rights of Special-Interest Groups to Air Ads May Be One of the Thorniest Issues Facing Campaign-Finance Reform

Warren Richey, writer of The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor

Last fall, Democratic incumbent Lynn Adelman was locked in a tight race for his Wisconsin State Senate seat when, suddenly, a week before the election, he faced a $100,000 television advertising blitz.

The media deluge was not funded by his Republican opponent. Instead, it was organized and financed entirely by the state's largest business group, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. The group's TV campaign portrayed Mr. Adelman, a 20-year Senate veteran, as an antireform "liberal" who "put the rights of criminals ahead of the rights of victims."

Adelman's election eve nightmare was similar to that of hundreds of other candidates nationwide last year who found …

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Publication information: Article title: Political Speech and a Senator's Election Rights of Special-Interest Groups to Air Ads May Be One of the Thorniest Issues Facing Campaign-Finance Reform. Contributors: Warren Richey, writer of The Christian Science Monitor - Author. Newspaper title: The Christian Science Monitor. Publication date: April 3, 1997. Page number: 4. © 2009 The Christian Science Publishing Society. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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