Activism Change

INFO: FEC Investigates ACT UP/SF Over Marlboro/Miller Boycott

Question:

As the Chronicle tells it … what do I know, just reporting what I read, ther are political parties and Political Parties.  The ones with the CAPS have to register.  By saying “don’t support Helms supporters” Act-Up is now in the CAPS requirement.  Which means that somebody better anti up soon, or everybody can get to watch a temporarily inactive activism group   get into action.

Response:

i don’t understand what the big deal is … after all, has there been any wrong-doing on the part of ACT UP/SF? (i don’t think so … ) — #     via X.400: S=mensch; OU=informatik; P=tu-muenchen; A=dbp; C=de

Response:

ther are political parties and Political Parties.  The ones with the CAPS have to register.  By saying “don’t support Helms supporters” Act-Up is now in the CAPS requirement.

___  __ Well, there are overall issues about the right to speak one’s   _ mind about an incumbent candidate during an election year.     But I think what’s most relevant here is the equation of a     boycott with election campaigning. ___  __ To me a boycott serves several ends:  It lets me know when an   _ otherwise relatively apolitical act (i.e., buying something)     is in fact having political consequences; and if I don’t want     to support those consequences, that’s valuable information. ___  __ Also, it helps one see connections between private and public   _ parties.  Why tax money is going for tobacco subsidies, or     why Coors can get away with polluting Colorado, or why General     Electric makes so much money from the nation’s arms policy. ___  __ And, of course, it does some of what election campaigning   _ does.  But to equate the two is much too intrusive.                               * * * ___  __ Another issue is the fact that ACT UP/San Francisco is on   _ the opposite side of the country.  Who in San Francisco is     voting in North Carolina?     <_Jym_

Response:

Humph.  I’m not gay, I’m not a member of ACT UP – but I have been an opponent of Slimebag Helms for some time.  I am extremely disgusted that the citizens of North Carolina had the poor taste to return this jackass to office.  As a person who has enjoyed the hospitality of North Carolina, I am almost inclined to boycott the whole state because of him.  Helms is an embarrassment to free-thinking people everywhere. But a Museum!?!?!  What a crock!  I think the best museum to Jesse Helms could be done with one room, and with one exhibit – the south end of a north-bound mule….. Duane

Response:

opponent of Slimebag Helms for some time.  I am extremely disgusted that the citizens of North Carolina had the poor taste to return this jackass

Duane, et. al. North Carolina is a fine state with a few (~50%) misdirected voters ( ie. << %70 adult pop. ).  Helms blasted out his standard hateful lies and pull another election off.  His type of hate will be rewarded, is being rewarded by the contempt must of the civilized world holds for him. The NC  senate race was a good example of media manipulation and self- censorship.  It’s trully disappointing that so many could not work through Helm’s decit and throw him out of office. Please, though, don’t consider NC a total write-off. The state, if you’ll consult a map, is rather long. The last election had Gantt carrying all the urban areas ( even with the mysterious breakdowns of voting booths in Greensboro and Durham predominately black districts) in NC, and all the counties some by a narrow margin, between the mountains and I95. Everytning west of the mountains and east of I95 ( except Pitt cty. and New hanover) went for Helms. Draw your own conclusions. Will     *******       Will Raymond – Northern Telecom NTP in RTP |  | ~   ~ |  |    . O   o .      Work: …uucp!rti!ntpdvp1!willr |     .V.     |   Fun:  …uucp!cs.unc.edu!raymond      ._ _. |      U      |   I speak for myself.

Response:

___  __ I’ve been catching up on old news.  I thought the following   _ news items, though dated, were worth passing along.  If any-     body has more information on this, please post it.  It has     repercussions for anybody starting a boycott! ___  __ I find it ironic that the FEC is investigating ACT UP/SF while   _ ignoring the shenanigans that went on in the North Carolina     on and before election day.  (Some of these shenanigans bore     a chilling similarity to events that went on in the recent     elections in El Salvador.)     <_Jym_              Helms’ Revenge:  Feds to charge ACT UP?                         by Andrew O’Hehir                            _SF_Weekly_                            13-Mar-1991 === ACT UP/San Francisco is being investigated by the federal     government for conspiring to influence an election—last     fall’s senatorial election in North Carolina. === How did a local coalition of AIDS activists become implicated     in a sinister plot to affect an election 3000 miles away?     Good question.  It seems that homophobic and censorious     Senator Jesse Helms claims that the gay and lesbian boycott     of Philip Morris products cush as Miller beer and Marlboro     cigarettes (because of the company’s generosity to Helms)     damaged his re-election campaign. === Well, Helms was re-elected anyway, although gays, women,     minorities and artists across the country would have welcomed     a different result.  Crystal Mason of ACT UP/S.F. sees the     continuing Federal Election Commissions inquiry as pure     government harassment.  “We think the FEC is just on a     fishing expedition,” she said.  “It’s clearly ridiculous.     None of us vote in North Carolina, and we spent no money in     North Carolina.” === Mason said that as an organization, ACT UP/S.F. gave no money     to Helms’ opponent, Harvey Gantt, even though Helms is     “clearly an enemy of the gay and lesbian community.”  She     added, “We are non-partisan.  We are an AIDS activist     organization, and we don’t get involved in political     campaigns.”  Lawyers for ACT UP will file a response to the     initial FEC interrogatory this week, she said.               FEC Targets ACT UP Over Miller Boycott                          by Dennis Conkin                        _Bay_Area_Reporter_                             7-Mar-1991 === The Federal Election Commission has demanded that ACT UP/San     Francisco produce documents related to the boycott of Miller     beer, Marlboro cigarettes and other Philip Morris products. === The FEC action was prompted by an August 1990 complaint by     the committee to Re-Elect Jesse Helms, a political action     committee of the Conservative Campaign Fund. === The right-wing group alleges that the purpose of the boycott     was to advocate the defeat of Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.). === Philip Morris, a North Carolina-based conglomerate with major     interests in tobacco, is a major financial supporter of Helms. === Federal election law requires any group that receives or     spends $1,000 to influence any elections for federal office     register as a political committee and file financial reports. === The regulations also require that any individual spending more     than $250 file a statement with the FEC. === In a letter to the group’s counsel on Feb 9, the FEC said that     there is “reason to believe” that the group violated federal     election regulations concerning political lobbying. === The records demanded from the AIDS activist group include a     detailed list of all activities undertaken on behalf of the     boycott, a complete list of all contributions and expenditures     made by the group, and a description of all activities engaged     in by the group since its inception. === According to Rob Lowe, a member of the AIDS activist group,     ACT UP/San Francisco has not decided how to respond to the     FEC demands. === “ACT UP/San Francisco will decide as a group how to respond     to these questions,” Lowe said. === The decision will be made at the general ACT UP meeting March     7. === Lowe said that many of the questions seemed to represent     “a rather broad political agenda that has less to do with     violations of the Federal Election Commission Act than     political harassment. === “It’s a bald-faced effort at intimidation at the behest of     people on the far right wing of the political spectrum, which     has considerable influence in Washington,” he said. === The FEC also demanded that ACT UP/San Francisco identify     whether Nancy Solomon, a member whose quotes in an August     1990 _Washington_Blade_ article about the boycott and the     defeat of Jesse Helms formed part of the basis of the     complaint to the FEC, was speaking on behalf of the group. === ACT UP was also required to provide the government agency     a list of the occasions Solomon made statements on behalf     of the group and the text of each statement. === However, Michael Petralis, a member of ACT UP/D.C., whose     comments in the same _Washington_Blade_ article are under     investigation, said that the complaints against him and     Solomon were not being pursued. === “This is the long arm of Helms reaching out through the     FEC to silence gay and AIDS activists,” Petralis said in     a statement released by ACT UP/D.C. === The complaint filed by the Conservative Campaign Fund also     names the Dallas Gay Alliance and the Tarrant County (Texas)     Gay Alliance. === The boycott targeted [sic] Philip Morris’ donations to Helms’     re-election campaign and a $200,000 contribution to the     Monroe, N.C., Jesse Helms Museum, which is expected to open     in 1992. === The boycott was started by ACT UP/D.C. in April 1990 with a     boycott of Marlboro cigarettes.  ACT UP/San Francisco expanded     the boycott in June when it voted to boycott Miller beer.

Response:

Filed under: Lobbying

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