Access to Representatives--Action Needed

[texastoast]

I received this from Defenders of Wildlife. I'm sure many of you have been hearing the same stuff from Moveon.org and other advocacy groups. Friday, April 9, is the deadline for public comment.

Dear DEN Activist:

If a proposal now awaiting imminent action by the Federal
Election Commission is approved, advocacy in the public interest
as we've known it will be ended. Advocacy nonprofit
organizations like Defenders of Wildlife and others to which
you may belong will be reclassified as political committees,
and their actions protecting the public interest will be
severely curtailed.

Many activities would be seriously restricted, including,
for example, ads criticizing Bush administration policy on
endangered species or on mercury emissions from coal-fired
power plants. Even nonpartisan voter registration efforts. And
any communication that Defenders makes including web
advertisements, speeches, direct mail marketing, and even the
kind of email alert you are reading right now. To pick an
issue that is hot right now, our ability to advocate on issues
such as the airborne slaughter of Alaska's wolves would be restricted.

Public interest organizations should not be gagged in this
manner. Free speech is at risk if these rules are adopted,
as nonprofit groups would be forced into silence and could no
longer oppose or support many administration's policies. The
proposed rules also pose a serious threat to the
checks and balances between our government and the advocacy interests of
organizations like Defenders of Wildlife. Congress and the
courts earlier considered and rejected regulating nonprofit
interest groups as political committees. The FEC must follow
their lead.

What can you do?

Send a free email to the FEC through the
DEN Action Center at:

http://www.denaction.org

Write to the FEC's officials to express your concern.
Comments must be in to the FEC no later than FRIDAY, APRIL 9th
so please send your email TODAY. Thanks for helping to protect
nonprofits like Defenders of Wildlife.