News

FEC Targets Political Ad

The president of the Christian Action Network (CAN) says the Clinton administration is trying to eliminate the organization and settle an old grudge at the same time.

The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) has threatened to levy a fine of up to $250,000 against CAN for airing a 30-second commercial during the 1992 presidential campaign. The FEC says the commercial crossed the line between educating the public about candidates to endorsing them. “There’s a potential here to set back the whole Christian activist movement,” says CAN president Martin Mawyer. “This is a very, very strange interpretation the FEC has come up with that you can’t educate people about where a candidate stands on the issues.”

CAN ran commercials in 70 television outlets nationwide that highlighted promises Clinton had made at a meeting with homosexuals, promises that Mawyer says the mainstream media had not yet reported to the public. At the end of the ad, CAN posed a question: “Is this your vision of a better America?” Mawyer says the commercial angered Democratic party chairman Ron Brown, who reported CAN to the FEC. Now, Mawyer says, the Clinton administration is settling old debts.

“What our ad said was certainly not expressed advocacy,” Mawyer says. “I don’t think they have a legitimate claim.” An attempt at an out-of-court settlement failed, he says.

Copyright © 1994 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also in this issue

Reaching the First Post-Christian Generation: Baby Busters make new demands on the church

Cover Story

Reaching the First Post-Christian Generation

Randall Terry Attacks Religious Right

Christians Aid Forgotten Guyanese Poor

Christians Suffer Renewed Attacks

Muslim Death Threats Protested

Protesters Offer Silent Witness in Haiti

Florida Shootings Stifle Pro-lifers

Science Finds Religion at Symposium

NORTH AMERICAN SCENE: Fragrance-free Service Initiated

New Catechism a Bestseller

Christians Decry Rights Bill

Urban Relocators Build Bridges

Jews for Jesus Fights Cult Label

City Erects Pagan Sculpture

Has Rift Between Orthodox, Protestants Begun to Heal?

Group Picks First American Leader

Churches Challenge Synod Ruling

BOOKS: Rating Our Theologians

SIDEBAR: Worth Mentioning: News, notices, and curiosities of religious publishing

PHILIP YANCEY: What Surprised Jesus

Christians Suffer Renewed Attacks

News

News Briefs: September 12, 1994

News

Closing the Ultimate Sale

News

Media Campaign Targets Unchurched

Talking 'Bout a Generation

In Praise of Premise Keepers

The Unrepeatable Tom Skinner

Editorial

EDITORIAL: Blinded by the ’Lite’

Editorial

EDITORIAL: AIDS Policy Failure

News

Hard-Core Porn Technology Hits Home

SIDEBAR: Busters Online

SIDEBAR: X-ing the Church

ARTICLE: Testing the Spiritualities

ARTICLE: Charting Dispensationalism

SIDEBAR: Dispensationalisms of the Third Kind

ARTICLE: Clocking Out

ARTICLE: Who’s Afraid of the Holy Spirit?

Classic & Contemporary Excerpts from September 12, 1994

View issue

Our Latest

News

Space Force Hymn Lifts Prayer to the Heavens

Southern Baptist chaplain says God prompted him to write song for the newest branch of the US military. 

Beijing, Let My Daughter Come Home

Power Without Integrity Destroys Us

Evangelicals helped elect Trump. Can evangelicals also hold him accountable?

The Bulletin

Sultan of Swing

The Bulletin addresses the election of Donald Trump.

What Another Trump Presidency Means To Evangelicals Around the World

Christian leaders from Nepal to Turkey greet the US election results with joy, grief, and indifference.

Our Faith’s Future Depends on Discipleship

The Lausanne Movement’s State of the Great Commission report details where and how Christianity is growing. 

News

Trump’s Promised Mass Deportations Put Immigrant Churches on Edge

Some of the president-elect’s proposals seem unlikely, but he has threatened to remove millions of both undocumented and legal immigrants.

God Is Faithful in Triumph and Despair

I voted for Kamala Harris and mourn her loss. But I want to keep politics in its proper place, subordinate to Jesus.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube