Ads Hit McCain In Home State, Obama In Florida

Arizona is McCain territory -- he's made his home there since 1982 -- and losing it to Barack Obama would sting. So it's no wonder MoveOn.org wants to make that happen. With Obama's campaign gearing up in the state, the liberal group joins in with this TV ad, showcasing a Republican vet who is voting for Obama.

Obama's homestate of Illinois isn't really in play, so his foes are hitting him where it will hurt most. The Republican Jewish Coalition extended its ad buy in Florida with a $104,000 donation from David Kaufman, a Connecticut businessman who runs an eye care center.

It's down to the wire, folks, so this is your last chance to lay down $100k for the cause!

Whichever cause that might be.

-- Will Evans

5:02 PM ET | 10-31-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

The Shame, Oh, The Shame

At this late date, the Obama and McCain campaigns aren't prospecting for new, persuadable voters anymore. They just want to get out the vote they know they can count on.

And what's the best way to make someone vote? Shame, it turns out.

So here comes the political action committee of MoveOn.org, one of Barack Obama's best friends this year, with a viral video considerably hipper than its usual pushing-the-political-envelope approach. It's a fake TV news report, detailing America and the world's reaction to one shlump who didn't vote and let Obama lose. The techno-geek element is the embedding of said shlump's name, repeatedly, in the video.

This is the video with your faithful correspondent as the shlump.

Think this feels familiar? Maybe like The Onion, the only humorous thing to be found in American journalism these days? There's a reason. It was created by Peter Koechley, MoveOn's expansion director, formerly The Onion's managing editor.

More about video-induced shame after the jump....

Continue reading "The Shame, Oh, The Shame" »

5:40 PM ET | 10-27-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

MoveOn Money Behind The Curtain

"Paid for by MoveOn Political Action" appears at the end of only one TV ad these days, but MoveOn.org is involved in more behind the scenes.

MoveOn, for example, gave $583,000 to bankroll Health Care for America Now's recent ad hammering McCain's health care policy.

MoveOn also gave $400,000 this month to Campaign Money Watch, which recently ran an ad against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and today has a new one taking on McCain. (Private equity billionaire Jerome Kohlberg, a long-time advocate for campaign finance reform, also pitched in $130,000.)

The new CMW ad, aimed at conservative viewers in Florida, Virginia and on national cable, spotlights McCain's penchant for gambling and his contributions from the gambling industry. Here's a Las Vegas Review-Journal story on the subject. The ad starts by comparing McCain to "celebrities" who "love to gamble" like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. It's a sarcastic allusion to a much-discussed McCain campaign ad comparing Obama to the pop stars.

It may seem a bit odd that an organization dedicated to the public financing of elections would go after McCain, the only candidate who actually decided to take public financing for his campaign. Obama's explosive fundraising, meanwhile, is being blamed by some for the imminent demise of the system.

But David Donnelly, director of Campaign Money Watch, explained to us a while ago, "Our view is that the current system is broken. Candidates are going to fund their campaigns in whichever way they think will bring them to victory." For Donnelly, the question is, "Which candidate has pledged to make fixing the presidential system a priority?" His answer: "Obama has."

-- Will Evans

5:10 PM ET | 10-27-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Choose Your Weapon

It's the hunters and the hunted. MoveOn.org uses a wall-mounted moose head in a new TV ad against the McCain-Palin ticket; Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund blames dead polar bears on Sarah Palin; and the National Rifle Assocaition says Obama won't let you defend yourself against criminals.

MoveOn's animated talking moose head tells us, "You really gotta question John McCain's judgment pickin' Sarah Palin as his VP." After making some cracks about Palin's national security experience -- or, as the moose would say, her lack thereof -- the hunter's trophy says, "She may be a little 'trigger-happy' -- I should know." The ad will will run in cities Palin visits over the next two weeks.

Defenders of Wildlife takes the whole animal-killing thing a bit more seriously, after the jump...

Continue reading "Choose Your Weapon" »

8:23 PM ET | 10-21-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

MoveOn Hits McCain When He's Gone Silent

John McCain may have suspended his campaign so he can help save the economy, but that hasn't stopped MoveOn.org from blaming the mess on him and his allies.

In terms of production values, the ad is a bit rough around the edges. It plays on McCain's fondness for the phrase "my friends," bringing in campaign manager Rick Davis, former senator Phil Gramm and, of course, President Bush.

The ad comes from MoveOn's political action committee, which means it's financed with small, reportable contributions. The group says it's spending $100,000 to put it on national cable.

-- Peter Overby

5:42 PM ET | 09-25-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

MoveOn Matches Obama's Message On McCain

When MoveOn.org put up its new anti-McCain video on YouTube a couple days ago, it issued a plea to members: "We can only get it on the air if enough of us chip in. Can you donate?"

I guess they could.

After a bunch of press that likely helped with the fundraising appeal, the ad is now up and running. It mocks McCain's habitual use of the phrase "my friends" in speeches, saying that the friends he's really referring to are the lobbyists connected to his campaign. "So when it comes to gas prices," the ad says, "John McCain won't be taking care of you. He'll be taking care of 'my friends.'"

The ad dovetails beautifully with the Obama campaign's recent push to highlight McCain's ties to lobbyists. Of course, MoveOn and Obama can't legally coordinate, but maybe Democratic minds think alike?

On the other end of the spectrum, a new conservative group called Move America Forward Freedom PAC is trying to raise money to get its own anti-Obama YouTube ad on the air. More after the jump...

Continue reading "MoveOn Matches Obama's Message On McCain" »

3:42 PM ET | 09-19-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

MoveOn Aims For Two Birds With One Stone

MoveOn.org's latest ad goes after Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) for their associations with the oil industry. The ad accuses McCain and Dole of being "in the pocket of Big Oil" for accepting contributions from oil companies and allowing the industry to reap tax breaks. MoveOn is expected to begin airing the ad this week.

-- Daniella De Franco

5:46 PM ET | 08-19-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

MoveOn.org Leaning On "Volunteer Army," Not Just Ads

MoveOn.org may not like the Iraq war, but apparently it's not averse to using some military tactics of its own.

In an email to supporters today, the organization asks for money to help "build a volunteer army to make sure voters in swing states don't buy McCain's lies."

It sounds like activist boot camp:

We'll recruit and train many thousands more volunteers in swing neighborhoods nationwide. We'll prepare to reach out to persuadable voters. A team of top-notch volunteers will give extra support and encouragement when the going gets tough.

And the cost for these brigades? Only $300,000, according to the funding plea. Not bad, considering MoveOn spent almost that much on TV ads in the last week alone.

-- Will Evans

7:41 PM ET | 08-12-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

MoveOn Keeps Hammering McCain

MoveOn.org airs this ad calling calling McCain's offshore drilling proposal an ineffective "gimmick." Starting Aug. 5th, it ran in Michigan, North Carolina and on cable.

-- Will Evans

3:42 PM ET | 08-12-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

MoveOn.org Airs "Hope" Ad

MoveOn.org airs a pro-Obama ad on cable that makes "hope" sound like a contagious disease, for comic effect.

-- Will Evans

9:00 AM ET | 07-30-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

MoveOn Hits McCain With "Timetable" Ad

MoveOn.org ran an ad on cable criticizing McCain for his lack of a timetable for leaving Iraq.

-- Will Evans

9:38 AM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail