And They Keep Coming

Independent groups are vying to get in the last word before the election's over, so we'll try too. Here's a litte potpourri of last-minute efforts...

And it doesn't get more last-minute than this: Vets for Freedom just busted out with a TV ad today, airing in Pennsylvania and Ohio, channeling some veterans' anger at Obama. The ad (below) starts out talking about Dwight Eisenhower and some letters he wrote and how Obama only wrote one letter, except that's a metaphor...but the real message is that Obama only saw failure in the courageous efforts of Iraq War veterans. It ends with a spoof of one of Obama's slogans, saying, "Can we win our war? Yes we can."

Meanwhle, RightChange.com picked up a star of Republican Big Money: Bob Perry, the mega-donor who gave millions to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004. Perry gave $100,000 to RightChange's campaign against Obama and in defense of Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC). It's somehow reasuring to know that Perry isn't slacking off this election season.

Progressive Future, which we already profiled, put up an anti-McCain ad on cable that's more about mood than message. It shows images of people struggling with the economic downturn set to Paul Simon singing, "I don't know a soul who's not been battered..." When Simon gets to the lyrics, "I wonder what's gone wrong," the ad ends up on a Bush-McCain hug.

Guns and abortion -- with a special appearance by Chuck Norris -- after the jump...

Continue reading "And They Keep Coming" »

4:14 PM ET | 11- 4-2008 | permalink

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I'm Not Endorsing, But Vote For Him Anyway

On his latest Focus on the Family Action radio broadcast, evangelical leader James Dobson says, "While I will not endorse either candidate this year...I can say that I am now supportive of Senator John McCain and his bid for the presidency."

With Dobson's definition of "supportive," who needs an endorsement? Dobson was reading from his October newsletter, which goes out to millions and lays out his reasons for supporting McCain and, even more vigorously, opposing Obama. Also on the radio recently, Dobson said, "I want our listeners to know that I have never, never been so concerned about the state of our nation," pointing to the willingness of many voters to elect "a leader, Barack Obama, who supports and will promote the most radical and unconscionable forms of abortion and policies that will result in many, many more babies dying."

Before that, Dobson dedicated another broadcast to talking with two women behind Born Alive Truth, a new 527 airing anti-Obama TV ads. Focus on the Family Action itself recently spent $112,000 airing a radio version of the ad in stations across Colorado. Now that's "supportive."

The abortion issue is at the top of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund's agenda as well, but the group has so far kept the debate out if its ads, even as it attacks McCain and running mate Sarah Palin.

Planned Parenthood's newest ad (below) focuses instead on the group's own study ripping apart McCain's health care plan. Airing in the Washington D.C. market, which covers Obama-friendly Northern Virginia, it features a nurse calling the McCain plan "bad medicine." And yes, Planned Parenthood did endorse Obama.

-- Will Evans

10:10 PM ET | 10-27-2008 | permalink

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When Speeches Come Back To Haunt

Obama said in Wednesday's debate that he would try to find "common ground" on abortion. But his words on the issue to a liberal advocacy group certainly didn't help him with a conservative one.

The new ad from the Family Research Council Action PAC uses a speech Obama gave to Planned Parenthood -- the crowd loved it -- in order to hurt him with pro-life voters.

"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act," Obama says at a Planned Parenthood podium. That one sentence -- perhaps not exactly what you'd want to broadcast to swing voters -- has been picked up and distributed widely by many conservative organizations and publications. The ad concludes, "Barack Obama. Dangerous values."

Family Research Council Action's PAC plans to spend $100,000 on TV ads and a radio adaptation this week in Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. The group is targeting markets and stations where the Matthew 25 Network ran its pro-Obama ads. The aim is to "counteract their message," according to executive director David Nammo. The Matthew 25 Network has sought to promote Obama's Christian credentials. Its most recent ad features conservative Douglas Kmeic, who was legal counsel to President Reagan, arguing that anti-abortion voters should support Obama.

The Family Research Council -- the 501(c)(3) mothership to the FRC Action 501(c)(4) and the PAC -- sprang from the efforts of evangelical leader James Dobson, and it was once a division of Dobson's Focus on the Family. Dobson still sits on the board. Dobson is campaigning for John McCain, and his group recently produced radio ads to hurt Democrats in Senate races in Colorado, Minnesota, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina.

Info about FRC's financing after the jump....

Continue reading "When Speeches Come Back To Haunt" »

5:01 PM ET | 10-16-2008 | permalink

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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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Christian Right Leader Backs McCain On The Air

Evangelical leader James Dobson sure took his time, but has finally come around to supporting John McCain. And last week, he put a bit of money behind his new position.

Dobson's Christian conservative advocacy group, Focus on the Family Action, reported spending $40,000 on a radio broadcast supporting McCain. That's a far cry from Dobson's message earlier this year, when he said he wouldn't vote for McCain. That was a big deal because Dobson and other religious right leaders mobilized evangelicals to vote for President Bush in 2000 and 2004.

Why the change of heart? Credit McCain's VP pick, Sarah Palin. On his recent broadcast, Dobson called Palin "a deeply committed Christian" and said, "If I went into the polling booth today, I would pull the lever for John McCain." With Dobson's influence, that means a lot more than just one vote.

-- Will Evans

6:33 PM ET | 09- 9-2008 | permalink

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