No Free Speech for NASCAR

In another stupid ruling prompted by the ridiculous campaign finance laws now in effect, a NASCAR car owner has been chastised for putting a Bush-Cheney sticker on his car:

It’s no secret that NASCAR drivers skew Republican, which is fine with the Federal Election Commission, just so long as they don’t display their preferences where anyone can see them.

In a decision announced Tuesday, the FEC sent an “admonishment letter” to Kirk Shelmerdine Racing. Kirk Shelmerdine, a former pit boss for the late Dale Earnhardt, has been an unsuccessful, underfunded and undersponsored driver. He has never finished higher than 26th.

So back in 2004, in a move perhaps designed to draw some attention to his car, he placed a “Bush-Cheney ’04” decal on his rear quarter panel, which was otherwise unencumbered by advertising. Democratic activist Sydnor Thompson complained to the FEC, and the agency found that Shelmerdine “may have made an unreported independent expenditure or a prohibited corporate expenditure.”

Former commissioner Bradley Smith dissented in one of the case’s early votes and blogged about the result this week. He has written that in reference to the FEC’s $250 expenditure limit, “evidence is strong that the market value of Shelmerdine’s rear quarter panel was approximately $0, give or take $249.”

Shelmerdine runs a quixotic campaign at best in NASCAR, pretty much running the whole thing by himself with a handful of mostly volunteer crewmen. He owns the team as well as drives the car and is a supporter of President Bush. The fact that his car got TV time shouldn't deprive him of his right to express his political views on his car like any other citizen.