On May 9 a federal court denied the Christian Civic League of Maine's (CCLM) request for a preliminary injunction, allowing a Federal Election Commission (FEC) rule that bans "electioneering" broadcasts to be applied to the nonprofit group. The FEC prohibits broadcast references to federal candidates 30 days before a primary or 60 days before an election. Because the injunction was rejected, starting on May 14 and lasting until June 13 (when the senate primary in Maine takes place) CCLM will be barred from airing grassroots lobbying ads urging people in Maine to contact Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and ask her to support the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. CCLM has appealed to the Supreme Court. The case challenges the constitutionality of the "electioneering communications" provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), which is intended to stop sham issue ads funded with soft money. CCLM, a 501(c)(4) organization, filed the case on April 3, and the request for a preliminary injunction was argued before a special three-judge panel on April 24. The facts of the case are similar to those in Wisconsin Right to Life, which is pending in the lower court after the Supreme Court ordered it to consider whether the facts require an exemption from the rule on First Amendment grounds. CCLM has a donor willing to pay $3,992 for a radio ad urging Maine's two U.S. Senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, to change their position on the Marriage Protection Amendment, which is expected to be debated in the Senate in June. The proposed text of the ad states CCLM's position supporting the amendment, and goes on to say, "Unfortunately, your senators voted against the Marriage Protection Amendment two years ago. Please call Sens. Snowe and Collins immediately and urge them to support the Marriage Protection Amendment when it comes to a vote in early June." The ad then provides phone numbers to call. The court rejected CCLM's request for a preliminary injunction, because other avenues for its message were available. CCLM could broadcast its ad if it was sponsored by an affiliated political action committee. CCLM could also publish it in a non-broadcast medium or delete the reference to Sen. Snowe. The court's opinion raises troubling issues for groups that wish to use broadcast media for grassroots lobbying campaigns. First, the court acknowledges that the ad addresses an issue central to CCLM's mission, and "would address a legislative issue at a time when that issue is likely to be under consideration by the Senate," and that Snowe is unopposed in the election. Yet it claims the ad "appears to be functionally equivalent to the sham issue ads identified in McConnell." (In McConnell v. FEC 540 U.S. 94, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the "electioneering communications" rule. However, in the WRTL case the court ruled that the FEC rule could be challenged as it applies to specific fact situations.) By applying the "electioneering communications" rule to grassroots lobbying, the CCLM court assumes that any criticism of an elected official can be regulated by campaign finance laws because it "may improperly influence the election." The opinion says the ad might "have the effect of encouraging a new candidate to oppose Sen. Snowe, reduce the number of votes cast for her in the primary, weakening her support in the general election, or otherwise undermine her to gather such support..." It goes on to note that CCLM's newsletter comments favorably on a potential challenger to Sen. Snowe. In all, the court finds that "the League's proposed 'grassroots lobbying' exception would seriously impair the government's compelling interest in protecting the integrity of the electoral process." As an example, the court says "candidates or their allies could easily schedule an issue for 'legislative consideration' during the run up to an election as a pretext for broadcasting a particular subliminal electoral advocacy advertisement." The argument ignores that fact that the same candidates and allies could schedule controversial legislation for votes during the 60/30 day blackout periods in order to avoid full public airing of the issues. In addition, the court's ruling does not recognize that political committees are limited to contributions from individuals, and their primary purpose is to support or oppose candidates for office. Legitimate grassroots lobbying communications are lawful activities for civic leagues like CCLM, as well as public charities exempt under 501(c)(3) of the tax code, and can be paid for out their corporate treasury funds. The debate on whether genuine grassroots lobbying broadcasts should be exempted from the "electioneering communications" rule is also pending in the FEC, where OMB Watch and five other groups have asked the commission to hold a rulemaking to consider the issue. The FEC has not yet decided whether it will conduct the rulemaking.