GWBush.com, nearly a year ago. On
Friday, the Federal Election Commission
quietly dismissed the complaint on the grounds that it was too low a
priority to warrant use of FEC resources.
Policy analysts are pleased with the outcome but worry that the
commission's lack of action leaves the issue open for interpretation in
the future.
"The FEC needs to speak clearly on the issue and speak in a way of
general applicability," said James X. Dempsey, senior staff counsel for
the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit group in Washington,
D.C. "The FEC shouldn't view these on a case-by-case basis but should
instead look at the issue in a way that gives clarity and assurance to all
Internet users."
Earlier this year, election regulators collected
suggestions from individuals and organizations on how to regulate
political activity on the Web, if at all. In response, the
commission received more than a thousand emails and letters from the
online public urging the FEC to keep their hands off the Net.
The commission took no further action after the comment period ended in
January. In the meantime, complaints have been evaluated one by one,
sometimes with contradictory results.
Lately, regulators have appeared reluctant to curb political activity
on the Web, Dempsey said.
"I don't think individuals have anything to fear from the FEC," he
said. "In fact, I think the message to federal campaigns is, don't try to
quash these Web sites."
Members of the Bush campaign could not immediately be reached for
comment. Benjamin Ginsberg, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who handled the
case for Bush, also could not be reached.
Ginsberg had argued that Exley's activities amounted to campaigning
that should comply with relevant election laws. The complaint said Exley
should be required to post a disclaimer identifying the site's origin, to
register with the FEC as a political action committee, and to disclose the
amount of money spent on the site.
Exley, in turn, gained the support of the conservative Rutherford
Institute, which financed the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit.
The complaint had an unintended affect of driving thousands of visitors
to Exley's parody site, which features cartoons of Bush with cocaine on
his nose and letters from federal inmates serving time on drug offenses.
In press interviews, Bush has admitted to using cocaine.
"I put up this little joke site and Bush blew it into a big deal," said
Exley, who added that he gets about 400,000 new visitors to the Web site
each month.
Exley has taken advantage of the boost in traffic by selling buttons,
bumper stickers and T-shirts ridiculing Bush. "It would be un-American if
I didn't try to sell these people something," he said.
Copyright 1999 CNet.com. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.