The news that liberal blogger Lane Hudson yesterday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, alleging that not-quite Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson is violating election law by raising more money than he needs to “test the waters” for a White House run, is charging up discussion in the blogosphere.

Hudson explains his reasoning here. His bottom line:

It is my contention that he has violated the ‘testing the waters’ exemption of election law. He has been presenting himself as a candidate for president, he has been raising large sums of money beyond what would be required to explore a possible candidacy, and he has signed a long term lease on a headquarters for his campaign. He has even spent advertising dollars, which are specifically prohibited by the law.

Up to this point, no one has taken the time to take action against this abuse. I hope that the FEC will act quickly on this issue. Failure to do so will contribute to further corruption of the American political process.

Thompson’s response? We don’t find any at his testing-the-waters website, I’m With Fred. But, “we’re following the law,” spokesman Jim Mills told the Associated Press. The wires service adds that “under federal guidelines, the FEC will now give Thompson 15 days to respond to the complaint. Following Thompson’s response, election commissioners will decide whether to dismiss the case or investigate further.”

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