I was just joshin'!

I thought my bit of skylarking about treating Fahrenheit 9/11 and its related advertising as BCRA-regulated campaign speech was just an innocent brain fart. But as Stephen Bronstein notes in the comments, in D.C. no fart goes unsmelled: The FEC's general counsel will recommend today that ads for the movie be banned after July 31 (30 days prior to the start of the Republican convention news cycle). From The Hill:

In a draft advisory opinion placed on the FEC?s agenda for today?s meeting, the agency?s general counsel states that political documentary filmmakers may not air television or radio ads referring to federal candidates within 30 days of a primary election or 60 days of a general election.

The opinion is generated under the new McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law, which prohibits corporate-funded ads that identify a federal candidate before a primary or general election.

The proscription is broadly defined. Section 100.29 of the federal election regulations defines restricted corporate-funded ads as those that identify a candidate by his ?name, nickname, photograph or drawing? or make it ?otherwise apparent through an unambiguous reference.?

Presumably this means no more Daily Show promos, no more house ads for Conan O'Brien featuring the Talking Bush video (a gag that oughta be retired anyway), and for that matter no more ads for any news program at all, unless they scrupulously avoid showing any actual newsmakers. But my real worry: What about Miller's President of Beer spots, and Budweiser's attack ad rebuttals?

Comments

[fyodor]

Mark S,

LOL!! Mind you, we've been together for 18 years, and she at least has a perspective on Moore, saying, "I want to see this movie even if it IS a pack of lies!" We actually agree on a lot, if not everything (who does?), and she's certainly less enamored with the left-wing catechism than most of our friends (avocational hazard; see website) but the election season sure do bring out that ol' annoying partisan bug....

[Tim Cavanaugh]

Alas, everybody seems to have forgotten Miller High Life (even Miller, which doesn't even whisper about its workhorse brew in the commercials), but High Life had the most hilarious slogan of them all:

"The Champagne of Beers"

[c]

And another thing . . . at the end of the Bud rebuttal spot, there's a weird exchange about how the spokesman ended up hosting some reality show about "shoes and socks." Doesn't that sound ominously threatening, in a "you'll-never-work-in-this-town-again!" kind of way?

If there were only something I could do to show Miller my support without having to drink their beer...

[Constantine]

I have to commend Miller simply for coining the term "travishamockery."

Oh, and if the FEC allows the F911 ads to continue under the terms of M-F, expect to see lots of ads for low-budget, ultra-limited release films by both parties in future election cycles.

[Ken Shultz]

"...no more house ads for Conan O'Brien featuring the Talking Bush video (a gag that oughta be retired anyway),..."

When Clinton was in office, I remember thinking that the Talking Clinton video was getting old, but last night, Conan had Talking Clinton video on again, and I laughed at it all over again. But, then again, I like "Frankenstein Wastes a Minuite of Our Time".

[J]

I guess I'm the only one around here who actually likes the Bud commercials. I haven't seen a Miller ad to compare them to, but I get a kick out of the chameleons and the ferret. I think the silly voice of the more vocal chameleon is used to good comedic effect. But then, I'm mesmerized by even simple animation....

[B.P.]

Gee Fyodor, I hit your website, and it turns out you are located six blocks from me (26th and Quitman). You used to run an overnight radio show on KGNU when I was at dear ol' CU, no?

Enjoy the show at the Esquire -- all the righteous will no doubt be out.

(Sorry for the threadjack, folks... at least I'm not talking about Michael Moore)

[garym]

Citizens United is now calling for the FEC to censor TV ads for F911.

Link

[fyodor]

B.P., you West Highlander, you,

I still do the late night KGNU show, 2nd & 4th Saturdays, and in fact I'm doing a Friday afternoon show tomorrow, if you can pick up the station down here...

[MALAK]

Okay, you people have officially started taking yourselves WAAAY too seriously! It's a fucking movie. A Michael Moore movie. That means that anyone with sophisticated enough thought processes to solve for "X" in a binomial equation should be able to figure out what is, and isn't, nonsense in this flick. Then again, that would probably eliminate 75-80% of the electorate, wouldn't it. Sorry . . .

[Jennifer]

I wonder if this would also preclude, say, a rushed DVD release?

[Gary Gunnels]

I have to admit that I want to see the film now more than ever. 🙂

[Justin Slotman]

Bud's response ads show a real paucity of ideas. It only underscores how badly Miller and the whole President of Beers thing is kicking their ass.

[Richard]

Not to expose the obvious, but the question should now be, "Why not scrap the BCRA?" or the even better question is, "Why not scrap the FEC?" With online reporting as simple as point and click, as long as candidates immediately report their funds and sources, who the hell cares. Give candidates 24 hours to report and pass a law that says no campaign can collect any money within 2 days of an election and cannot collect any money after an election (debt payments), and no campaign can run in the red...if you don't have the money, you can stand in line and certainly get your tough shit card stamped, but you don't get a fundraiser.

And instead of the incredibly inept monkeys at the FEC trying to bring, first an agency action, and second losing the appeal, let the states vest the authority to try these people in the court system of that state. What fun it would be to sit on a jury of 12 staring down at the new governor or congressman and have him defend his actions (actions that of course must have warranted a grand jury finding that there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial).

Unfortunately, most people in power will hate this idea as it gives the average joe real power.

[garym]

I hadn't planned to see the movie. Now I guess I have to, just as a protest.

I'll pull out all my anti-censorship buttons for the occasion.

[Jason Ligon]

I can't help it. This is hilarious. Michael Moore painting himself into the corner as an influence peddler is too rich.

You big, fat special interest you.

[R C Dean]

This is great news. The way to discredit laws like M-F is to apply them strictly every single time. Read right off the page, I think M-F would apply to ads promoting political propaganda like Moore's movie.

Let the legal challenges begin! Let the Dems who voted for M-F stand up and defend their vote, now that its come back to bite their attack dog in the ass!

And if the Repubs ever come up with anything like Fahrenheit 911, the same would go for them.

[c]

"painting himself into a corner?" That fat bastard is probably giggling himself to sleep over this every night. Can you imagine the sanctimony shitstorm we're in for if they try to pull his ads? I'm going to need a bigger umbrella.

[Jason Ligon]

c:

You are right, of course. I sometimes, despite all evidence to the contrary, treat Moore as though he actually supports the positions in his movies to a greater extent than he craves the opportunity to be sanctimonious for any reason whatsoever.

Just an estimate, but I'd guess that my feelings about Moore rival Raimondo's about Bush. He is a completely disgusting human being.

[fyodor]

c is right, but I'm not focusing so much on Moore individually as the likely reaction by the left in general, which, quite sadly enough, will most likely NOT be to see the irony in this but rather to see it as simply more proof of their vicitimization by "the man."

Gonna see an advance showing tonight at the behest of my girlfriend, and I'm dreading it. Ah, the things we do for love......

[fyodor]

The paradox of my predicted reaction of the left reminds me of something I read by Camille Paglia (she of the 98.4% utter ridiculousness and 1.6% utter genius), which was that liberals desire the government to be nurturing mother while at the same time hating it for being harsh and distant* father.

*I paraphrase her adjectives for the father for lack of memory.

[Jack]

26th & Quitman in Denver? We could have a Hit & Run convention at Common Grounds on 32nd.

[Mark S.]

"Gonna see an advance showing tonight at the behest of my girlfriend, and I'm dreading it. Ah, the things we do for love......"

That's the main reason I no longer date women who have opinions that are different than mine. You don't know torture until you have a vegan dinner with a believer in reincarnation and crystal healing who also believes Pat Buchanan would make a great president and opposed interracial marriage. No amount of nookie is worth subjecting yourself to beliefs you know are bullshit.

Granted, I haven't had a date in the last 7 years....

[Mark S.]

Quick edit: You don't know what torture is until you've had a vegan dinner with believer in reincarnation and crystal healing who also thinks Pat Buchanan would have made a great president and was against inter-racial marriage.

[Gary Gunnels]

fyodor,

That's meaningless pop sociology as far as I'm concerned.

[Jason Ligon]

fyodor:

"Gonna see an advance showing tonight at the behest of my girlfriend, and I'm dreading it. Ah, the things we do for love......"

That's a deal-breaker for me. Ugh.

[joe]

Slate nails it: what was Budweiser thinking? Why would they respond? And if they were going to, why do so on a technicality, making it look like they're afraid of a fair fight?

When the underdog challenger nips at your heels, you run a rosegarden campaign - you don't roll around in the mud with him. Sheesh.

[thoreau]

Mark S.-

Your vegan Buchananite sounds vaguely like one of my uncles. He isn't vegan, but he's into "natural medicine", whatever that means.

As to the beer ads, I'm confident that emergency legislation will be passed to keep the beer ads on TV. Paging Ted Kennedy! Paging Ted Kennedy! 🙂

[Mark S.]

Thoreau: The primary reason my ex-girlfriend was a Buchananite was because she liked his protectionist policies on trade, as well as his nativism. She didn't get into vegitarianism until after she received an unsolicisted mail packet from PeTA which revealed to her the "horrors" or the meat industry.

The goofy new age stuff was the most grating. She'd make her own horoscopes, then update her day planner (where she would schedule EVERYTHING she would do each day) around the "findings." She once told me that my weight problems where due to "saturn--which is your water sign--being in the 3 house."

And I thought it was because I didn't get enough exercise.

[c]

fact is I'd rather talk about the bud/miller catfight than Michael Moore. Plus there's a Moore thread like three post up, for those of you who need to get something off your chest.

Bud made a huge mistake reacting at all to the Miller campaign. If I were the Miller ad exec I'd have leapt for joy seeing such a direct response. Miller really pushed some serious buttons over there at Anheuser Busch. Plus, doing it with such ham-handedness really looks terrible. I mean, it's like they saw the Miller spots, some sort of alarm went off in the AB offices, and they threw together a rebuttal with whatever characters they already had on hand.

And to drag the lizards into it... that's just wrong.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

Get a room, you two.

[Jason Ligon]

Real Men of Genius is the greatest ad campaign of the last 20 years, though it is bit stale by now.

The Over The Top Carb Counter is sweet.

'Did that avocado have 2.2 net carbs or 2.4? Better figure it out while you eat another pound of bacon.'

[kevrob]

High Life was introduced in 1903 when Ernst Miller, son of company founder Frederick Miller, selected the name. Three years later, the slogan "The Champagne of Bottle Beer" was first used in High Life advertising. Recently, High Life received a prestigious gold medal for best American Style Lager at the 2002 World Beer Cup. Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of SABMiller plc. Principal beer brands include Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life. The company imports Pilsner Urquell and Foster's; produces SKYY Blue, Sauza Diablo, Stolichnaya Citrona and Jack Daniel's Original Hard Cola flavored malt beverages; and has primary products ICEHOUSE and Red Dog from the Plank Road Brewery, a small division of Miller. Specialty regional brands include Leinenkugel's and Henry Weinhard's. The company brews Sharp's, a non-alcohol brew, and has malt liquor brands including Olde English 800 and Mickey's Malt Liquor. More information is available at http://www.MillerBrewing.com and http://www.MillerTime.com.

Source: http://www.trpr.com/BGNMedia2.htm

Currently, MHL seems to be marketed to your Uncle Earl. Anyone wanting to support Miller could find some sort of tipple in the list above. Leinie's is OK, and MGD is a good "lawnmower beer." No drinking 40's of OE on the corner, or 5-O will hassle you.

Kevin