Rush is running for congress — does he need to give up his radio show?

Great Debates
1

Rush (Limbaugh, not the Canucks) has decided to run for the congressional seat in his district.[sup]*[/sup] What happens to his radio career?

Assuming something, can he talk and talk and talk about wanting to run, considering to run, set up a PAC or other exploratory committee as freely as possible until… when? At what point does he become subject to election laws?

Or can he chatter away through election day, taking advertising and station’s fees all along? If there’s a problem with that, could he get his contracts aligned first, then continue on based on those (i.e., avoiding attacks of quid pro quo in seeking dollars)?

Ok, let’s say he gets elected.[sup]**[/sup] Now what? He could easily arrange a remote broadcast — heck, even from his congressional office. Would House ethics rules prevent him from using his congressional staff for research on his monologue? Would he have to stop taking advertisements then? Couldn’t he continue to bloviate sans advertising — as just a congressperson addressing his constituents? Would anything stop the passel of radio stations that currently carry him from continuing to do so? Could he ask for political donations from his flock all along?

What would the constraints on his time be? There’s not a bill that comes before congress that he doesn’t already have an opinion on, so there wouldn’t necessarily be any impact there, plus he’ll have staff to help with those details. Even assuming he’s in a “safe” Republican district, isn’t he already campaigning three hours a day?

And if he’s duly elected (and sent back), would there be anything the current power structure (Republican or otherwise) could do to manage him? Aside from being placed on a couple committees (which would serve him well, or at least be a minor draw on his time), is there anything else? Given his national reach and ability to motivate/spur his devoted audience, wouldn’t he have more power than the minority whip? Egad, if the Republicans regain the house, wouldn’t Speaker be his for the taking?

For general question purposes, feel free to assume he’s running in either Florida or New York (Federal election laws obviously apply).

Rhythm

[sup]*Just a hypothetical – don’t ask for a cite. [/sup]

[sup]** You can, though, ask for a paper bag to help with the hyperventilation.[/sup]

2

I don’t know the answer, but I do remember that when Schwarzenegger ran for Governor, the tv stations in California had to stop broadcasting his movies during the election, because they counted as publicity for a candidate under California laws, and they would have had to give equal time to other candidates.

3

Al Franken left Air America when he ran for senate.

4

but was that because he had to, or because he thought his time was better spent campaigning in the traditional way?

5

George Galloway did have his own national radio show and was still an MP. He had to come off the air for a month or so before an election but the rest of the time he could say what he wanted.

Different country, I know, and he’s left wing rather than right but still a comparable case I would think.

(Galloway - firebrand left wing politician, you may recall he was accused of being involved in an oil for food scandal by US Senate and came over to defend himself before a committee.)

6

He has to give up his radio show, or at least take a hiatus from it. I don’t even think they could continue to call it The Rush Limbaugh Show…something about in-kind contributions.

7

There was that little aspect where they were considering cancelling the show because his ratings were not very good.

8

I’m not sure…

Congressmen, Senators, and politicians make appearances on commercial television and radio all the time—from talk shows to press conferences (e.g., Cheney went on Rush, Rush charged advertising). Is there an ethical rule or other law that prevents any congressperson from having a Congressional Fireside Chat with his/her constituency? There’s no rule that would prevent a station in Texas from carrying the speech of a Florida congressperson.

Barring that, and assuming that there would be a small amount of work to do to duplicate the distribution network, I don’t see why he couldn’t continue his daily broadcast, albeit without EIB-generated advertising or station fees. Nor is there anything stopping him from accepting personal contributions to his PAC or campaign — or making the address known or even making direct appeals for contribution.

Stations would lap up the opportunity to carry his show sans syndication fee. Some that stopped carrying him because of increased fees would come back, and some that never carried him before would sign up. Some may drop due to oversaturation, but bottom line is that he has a dedicated audience of X today; if his basic format remains the same (and why not?) he’s likely to maintain it.

He’s got gobs of money as it is. Republicans retake the House, Rush throws in with a “safe” district, and we’re looking at Speaker Limbaugh. He’s got money; now he’s got power. I daresay it’s pretty much his for the taking.

Please… please find a cite that shows where I went astray.

9

The onus wouldn’t be on Rush to leave his show. The onus would be on any radio station broadcasting his show to provide equal time to any and all of his opponents based on the same agreement they have with Rush (i.e., if Limbaugh paid to have his show broadcast, they’d have to sell the same amount of time at the same cost to his opponents; if Limbaugh doesn’t pay, opponents wouldn’t have to pay.)

And it wouldn’t just be the radio station in his home district, it would be any radio station that could conceivably reach voters in that district.

As for what point his talking about running would put him over the line, it’s a good question. I think the answer is that some point he’s considered to be “actively” running (in other words, taking some positive action to get on the ballot, collect money, spend money or asking voters for their support) and that’s where the line is crossed.

It would be a fascinating trial of free speech vs. election laws. Rush’s program isn’t owned or distributed by a network (EIB is its own entity) so he wouldn’t have to worry about what those namby-pamby corporate lawyers would say. Theoretically, I suppose he could still broadcast all over the world, except around the immediate area where he’d be a candidate. Would there be any practical difference between a 49-state Limbaugh network and a 50-state Limbaugh network? Would the FCC and the courts rule that a station that gives 3 hours a day to any candidate anywhere has to give 3 hours to every candidate for the same office who asks for it?

10

Does the Schwartznegger precedent count here? Did broadcasters in neighbouring states stop broadcasting Arnie’s flicks? And what about satellite and internet radio?

11

Wow, didn’t even think of that. Is that a result of the Fairness Doctrine? I remember when Guliani was mayor (not sure about Bloomburg), 770 ABC had an hour a week with him being interviewed and taking calls. I don’t remember any hue or cry about other potential candidates wanting equal access.

Given Rush’s love of the FD, I can see that being a challenge he’d welcome.

12

It’d be just like Rush to blame this on the fairness doctrine, given that the fairness doctrine was abolished in 1987.

This is a separate rule–the “equal-time rule” (Equal-time rule - Wikipedia), which has existed since 1927. (contrast to the fairness doctrine, created in 1949). The equal-time rule is far less controversial.

kunilou has it right-The equal time rule affects radio/television broadcasters that are giving candidates free airtime, not the candidate getting the free airtime. (and Rush the candidate is a separate legal entity to the corporation he’s formed to broadcast his show–even if he owns 100% of it). The broadcaster must give opposing candidates equal time on request. (with exceptions if the “air-time was in a documentary, bona fide news interview, scheduled newscast or an on-the-spot news event”).

Unlike the FD, it has nothing to do with the points of view broadcast–it applies whenever the broadcaster is giving a candidate airtime–so presumably, it’d apply to a republican primary opponent and to a democrat, a libertarian, or a green party candidate on the general ballot).

The giuliani example might have been a news interview (which doesn’t trigger equal-time), or it might have been before he was a formal candidate for election (since it only applies to “legally qualified candidates”–presumably, formally filing to get on the ballot would qualify–I don’t know if other things will too). Rush, however, looks like exactly the kind of candidate the law was designed to apply to.

There may or may not also be issues of campaign donations–since, legally Rush the candidate is a separate entity to Rush’s broadcasting company. At the least, I’d assume the broadcaster would have to disclose the amount of money (in the form of services) donated to Rush’s campaign.

13

Nah. Let him keep his radio show.
I just hope he gives up his head. :smiley:

14

When Fred Thompson was trying for the GOP nomination, I believe there was an issue about his role on Law & Order. I can’t remember if it was only NBC that stopped airing episodes with him, or if the cable channels did too.

15

They didn’t. But then, TNT is cable while NBC is broadcast. The Equal Time provision apply only to folks using the public airwaves.
Anyway, it’s all moot. I think it highly unlikely Limbaugh would give up the millions of bucks he’s making now. I’m dead certain he could never give up the ego trip.

Besides, his present gig is a damned sight better than being a congressman. He can spout positions and programs to his heart’s content and never have to actually do something to make his proposals come about, but never have to take the blame when his programs fail. Now, he has power. As a congressman, he would be little more than part of the herd.

16

I understand that - I just remember there was talk of the cable channels doing it voluntarily. Just couldn’t remember which way they came down on that in the end.

17

Congress?!?!?!?!?!?

I was hoping the drug addled gasbag would run for President in 2012. :mad:

18

My recollection is TNT went ahead and ran those episodes.

19

Jesse Ventura had to give up his radio gig to run for Governor. He stayed on as long as he could without running into equal time issues.

20

It sounds like you’re hypothesizing these three separate steps:

  1. Rush moves his residence to a safe Republican district without an entrenched incumbent, so that he can easily win a House seat.
  2. Republicans retake the House.
  3. The new Republican majority bypasses all of its members with accrued seniority and experience in lawmaking to elect Rush Speaker.

Since this is all idle speculation about the future, it’s to even imagine what type of cite might exist which would show where it goes astray. So let’s try just reasoning through it:

#1 I think is the most likely (meaning, assuming Rush wants to be elected, I think he could find a district in which he’d be likely to win.)

#2 I think is particularly improbable. Firstly, at the moment, Republicans are being seen by majorities of the US voter population as obstructionists, and are quite unpopular. So they’d have to find some way to turn that ship around, but they seem quite disinclined to do so, and that will probably remain true until they lose at least one more election cycle. And lastly, any election in which Rush is running in one district is likely to turn out masses of new voters to vote against him. He’d be a lightning rod, and a sufficiently unpopular lightning rod that he’s unlikely to turn out enough dittoheads, especially outside of his district, to outweigh this effect.

#3 is also unlikely. I’d imagine House Republicans are more likely to elevate one of their own, such as John Boehner or Eric Cantor to Speaker than pick a freshman representative, no matter how well-known.

But, even if Limbaugh wants and achieves this trifecta, it’d almost be manna from heaven for Democrats. (Sure, I imagine they’d rather keep the majority, but if they gotta lose it, this would be a great way to do so.) Limbaugh would instantly be boogieman they’ve been trying to make Pelosi out to be for years - the second-coming of Newt Gingrich. Democratic election strategy would write itself in that world.