Evangelical Leader Goes All In For McCain

And to think that anyone thought James Dobson would sit out this presidential race.

The Christian Right leader and his advocacy group, Focus on the Family Action, are planning a multi-state strategy to help elect McCain, and to prevent Democratic gains in Congress while they're at it.

The group's September newsletter spells out some nightmare scenarios it says could happen with an Obama adminisration: Supreme Court Justice Hillary Clinton; open homosexuality in the barracks; a Freedom of Choice Act invalidating all abortion limitations.

The newsletter then explains the group's action plan for defeating Obama: 1. Harness the media with crafty "marketing ingenuity." 2. Directly target voters "in a big way in up to 16 states with key U.S. Senate and House races." That will include mailers, emails and "carefully targeted radio ads."

Click on the image for the full newsletter:

For the mailers, Focus on the Family Action has prepared special messages for battleground states. In the Colorado version, for example, Dobson writes:

As a Colorado voter, you are right in the middle of one of the most important and closely watched Senate races in the country. The stakes in this contest could not be higher. If Barack Obama wins the White House -- a very real possibility -- the U.S. Senate will be the last defense against his liberal agenda on abortion and marriage. Sen. Obama has already promised to support the Freedom of Choice Act, which would overturn every pro-life law on abortion in the nation. He has also pledged to abolish the Defense of Marriage Act and to allow open homosexuality in our military. The only hope of stopping this radical onslaught will be a strong showing of commonsense conservatives in the Senate.

Of the Senate candidates, Dobson writes that Republican Bob Schaffer "maintained a consistently pro-life and pro-family record in Congress" while Democrat Mark Udall "established an audaciously liberal record." An accompanying chart contrasts their views on marriage, abortion and taxes. Click on the image below to view the mailer:

Similar mailers lambast Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Democratic Senate candidates Al Franken of Minnesota and Kay Hagan of North Carolina. Still other mailers target House races in Texas, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Michigan and Florida -- all with an emphasis on Obama. View them here.

It's unclear, however, how many of these mailers will go out. The September member newsletter contains this postscript:

You should be aware that contributions have been well below budget all summer, which has put us in a position where we may have to scale back some of the plans I've mentioned. Your gift now, however, can still help ensure that we are able to go full force with the full plan -- right up to November 4.

Dobson's money plea, plus that suggestion of a black-robed Hillary Clinton on the high bench, constitute an admirable piece of the direct-mail writer's craft.

-- Will Evans

1:56 PM ET | 10- 1-2008 | permalink

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Defenders Of Wildlife, Not Republicans

Nobody's accusing Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) of shooting wolves from planes, but Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund doesn't like him anyway.

The group has a new TV ad out implying that Pearce, who is running for Senate, has some non-wildlife-related ethical problems to explain. The ad, which tries to cram in much more than the usual 30-second blitz of buzz words, says that Pearce chaired a 2003 hearing involving an energy company which, at the same time, was negotiating to buy Pearce's company. The ad suggests that the company bought Pearce's firm at an inflated price. It says, "New Mexico Deserves Answers."

The ad cites a story by Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Capitol Hill. But the paper found "no evidence that Pearce has taken any legislative action to specifically benefit" the energy company.

Meanwhile, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) just can't catch a break. More after the jump...

Continue reading "Defenders Of Wildlife, Not Republicans" »

6:32 PM ET | 09-23-2008 | permalink

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Unions Can't Stop Giving To Democratic Operative

Unfortunately for Sen John Sununu (R-NH), Democratic operative Craig Varoga seems to have a never-ending pot of union money to run attack ads against the incumbent.

Varoga oversees a complex network of 527 organizations including Patriot Majority, which has extended its ad buy tying Sununu to President Bush and "Big Oil." Varoga already picked up millions in union money this year.

Now he reports this September bounty:

Pharma Pumps Big Money Into Ad Campaign

The ads by America's Agenda: Health Care for Kids may seem like fuzzy thank-you notes to members of Congress for supporting the State Children's Health Insurance Program. But no one spends this kind of money just to say thanks.

The industry association Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has dropped $11.3 million into the ad campaign, according to a new filing by the group. That pays for a lot, including ads supporting senators running for reelection including Gordon Smith (R-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Max Baucus (D-MT), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Jack Reed (D-RI), as well as Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO), who is running for Senate. There are even more ads praising senators not up for reelection and members of the House.

The legislators benefiting from the complimentary ads were chosen because they voted for a bill expanding the children's insurance program (which was vetoed by President Bush) but are under pressure to abandon that support, according to a spokeswoman for America's Agenda.

"We felt these were the ones that needed to be told to continue to support SCHIP," said Nicole Korkolis. "It's a call to action."

The organization is a business-labor coalition, so it's a bit novel that some ads praise Republicans that unions are opposing and others support Democrats that pro-business groups hope to oust. For example, one of the America's Agenda's board members is the head of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers. That union helps fund American Rights At Work, a pro-labor group running ads against Republicans Smith and Collins, among others.

Korkolis, though, says this has nothing to do with elections. "It's a coincidence that it's during the election cycle," she says. "We're not trying to support candidates in their races."

Can't hurt though, less than seven weeks before Election Day.

-- Will Evans

7:22 PM ET | 09-18-2008 | permalink

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Conservatives Go After Embattled Republican Congressman

Republican Don Young, Alaska's congressman for nearly 36 years, has come under attack by three conservative groups.

He's under investigation on corruption allegations. His leading opponent, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, has been endorsed by Gov. Sarah Palin.

Such help as he's getting is coming from Democrats.

First, the attacks, which all play off the Justice Department investigation and Young's reputation for extravagant earmarking of federal budget dollars.

The Club For Growth PAC has this ad on Alaska TV, calling Young "just another Washington politician."

The PAC says it's also running radio ads and a telephone campaign against Young.

The congressman, never known for letting an attack go unanswered, complained to the Federal Election Commission that the "Club for Lack of Growth in Alaska," as he calls it, violated election law. CFG PAC brushed him off with another swipe at his record.

Continue reading "Conservatives Go After Embattled Republican Congressman" »

7:30 PM ET | 08-25-2008 | permalink

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Here's A Switch: Tarred For Taking Environmentalist Money

When Freedom's Watch ran an ad accusing Rep. Nick Lampson (D-TX) of "politics as usual," the group's line of attack was anything but usual.

Unlike a barrage of ads from independent advocacy groups attacking Republicans for accepting contributions from "Big Oil," Freedom's Watch accuses Lampson of taking donations from an environmentalist group -- or rather, "a liberal special interest group that favors high gas prices." The group at issue was the Sierra Club. The ad ran over the last two weeks.

-- Daniella De Franco

5:29 PM ET | 08-19-2008 | permalink

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Conservative Group Hits Republican In AK Primary

The Club for Growth hits beleaguered Rep. Don Young (R-AK) with this ad accusing him of pushing for an earmark that would benefit an out-of-state campaign contributor. Young is currently under federal investigation for corruption, including scrutiny of the Florida earmark cited by the ad. Club for Growth has endorsed Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who is challenging Young in the Republican primary. The ad buy, which starts today, will cost $350,000, according to the group.

-- Daniella De Franco

3:26 PM ET | 08-13-2008 | permalink

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