You Sure it's not LamER Advertising?

Lamar Advertising of Baton Rouge--which owns eyesores billboards around the country, has a less than absolute position on free, or for that matter, paid speech:

WASHINGTON - An advertising company that gives most of its political donations to Republicans blocked the Democratic National Committee from putting up billboards criticizing GOP Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio.

Lamar Advertising Co. of Baton Rouge, La., refused to put up two billboards in Portsmouth, Ohio, and another in Cincinnati with a picture of Schmidt and the following message: "Shame on you, Jean Schmidt: Stop attacking veterans. Keep your eye on the ball — we need a real plan for Iraq."

The billboards are the result of 7,000 donations, DNC executive director Tom McMahon said, after Schmidt attacked Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), a Democrat and Marine veteran, for his call for withdrawal from Iraq. Schmidt was booed off the House floor two weeks ago when she said "cowards cut and run, Marines never do."

She has since apologized.

Lamar's Huntington, W.Va., regional manager, Mark Watts, rejected the billboards criticizing Scmidt as a personal attack, said Hal Kinshaw, Lamar's vice president of governmental affairs.

Kilshaw said Lamar doesn't do many billboards for either Republicans or Democrats, but the company does have a political action committee that contributes to candidates. In 2004 elections, it gave Republicans 70 percent of its U.S. House race donations and 60 percent of its U.S. Senate race contributions.

The DNC says it went to Lamar because it controls the market in the area but is looking for other options.