On Aug. 26, there was a brief letter to the editor correctly pointing out that huge amounts of money are contributed to liberal 527 groups such as MoveOn.org’s Voter Fund, which aired the Internet commercial comparing the president to Hitler. These groups are not regulated by the Federal Election Commission and are not subject to contribution limits. The Sun Journal took the extraordinary measure of printing an editor’s note immediately after the letter stating that “MoveOn.org produces its political advertisements and pays for their placement through a political action committee, which is regulated by the Federal Election Commission.” This “correction” is wrong and misleading, and left the impression that the point of the letter was illegitimate.

It is a fact that MoveOn.org’s television and Internet commercials are funded, created and run by MoveOn.org’s Voter Fund, which is indeed an unregulated 527 group.

A few days earlier, the Sun Journal had published a letter from another reader which was a scathing rant against the president and contained not one accurate fact. The Sun Journal did not offer any corrections to that letter.

It is no secret the Sun Journal’s editorial stance is far to the left, which is fine so long as it is confined to its own opinion pieces. However, it is shameful when that political bias affects the facts reported or results in a double standard being applied to letters to the editor.

Scott Gardner, Lewiston
Editor’s note: MoveOn.org does, indeed, have a 527 group called the Voter Fund. MoveOn.org also runs a political action committee. In an attempt to clarify the difference between the two in a previous letter to the editor (Aug. 26), it seems we muddied the water further. Both organizations have been involved in the campaign for president. Contributions and spending by political action committees are regulated by the Federal Election Commission. Disclosure of funding sources is required of 527 groups, but contributions and spending are not regulated. Apologies for making matters worse.

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