Lois Herr is accusing the Chester County Republican Committee of breaking the law in its support of Congressman Joe Pitts.
The Democratic candidate claims videos have been produced attacking her as "Left Wing Lois" while no federal campaign finance reports have been filed reporting who paid to produce the videos. Federal law requires that any expenditure designed to influence the outcome of an election be reported. This includes "in kind" contributions if the videos were produced by someone who was not paid to do so.
The fact no one has reported any expenditure for videos is a serious offense and the Herr campaign has filed an official complaint with the FEC. Herr slammed this overt violation:
"The influence of money in our elections is a great hazard," Herr said. "We require that campaign money be reported for a reason. As Louis Brandeis said, 'Sunlight is the best disinfectant.' It is very disappointing that Chester County's Republicans are hiding in the dark."
"Federal law requires that groups like the Chester County Republican Party report their contributions and disbursements on a very regular schedule," said election law attorney Gregory Paulson. "This could be a mistake on their part, but it is very disturbing that we do not know who is paying for these attacks this close to an election."
"I don't know where the Chester County Republicans get their money," said Herr 2010 Campaign Manager Mac Booker. "What I do know is that Pitts duly reported that his campaign is funded by corporate interests. What could be so much worse to convince the Chester Republicans it was worth breaking the law to hide it?"