Promoting An Ethnic Wedge Issue

A Republican Latino group with ties to the Bush Administration is airing ads alleging that Obama puts African Americans before Latinos and Africa before Latin America.

The 527 group, Latinos For Reform, is new this month and now it's running a Spanish-language radio ad in Pennsylvania and Colorado and a TV version in New Mexico. The ad translates, in part, as:

Barack Obama a friend of the Latino community? The record demonstrates the opposite. Did you know that after the 2000 census that showed a tremendous growth of Latinos in Chicago, Obama told reporters in Chicago that while everyone agrees that the Hispanic population has grown, they cannot expand by taking power from the African-American community. You heard right...but there's more. Did you know that Obama has never hired a Latino to a senior position in his office throughout his legislative career? Did you know that Obama has opposed trade with Mexico, Central America and Colombia, yet supports free trade with Africa?

The chairman of Latinos For Reform is Robert Deposada, who has served in the leadership of the Hispanic Business Roundtable and The Latino Coalition, and was formerly director of Hispanic affairs for the Republican National Committee. In 2001, President Bush appointed Deposada to a commission to advance the administration's plan for privatizing Social Security.

Deposada tells us that with Obama, "You start seeing that traditional relationship that you have between African-American elected officials and Latino elected officials. I think it's been a tension."

The treasurer of Latinos For Reform is high-powered Republican lobbyist Juan Carlos Benitez, whose firm brags that he "has exceptionally close ties to the White House." Benitez was a Pioneer -- he raised more than $100,000 for the 2004 re-election campaign -- and President Bush named him special counsel for immigration-related unfair employment practices. Benitez also raised between $50,000 and $100,000 this election cycle for McCain.

Deposada says he and other conservative Latinos are disappointed that McCain hasn't put more effort into courting the Latino vote.

"We were honestly so ridiculously frustrated," he says. "There's never been a Republican candidate with a better track record with the Latino community. Our big concern is that I can just picture the Republican Party after the election saying, 'If we couldn't get the Hispanic vote with John McCain, who is so pro-Hispanic, then why bother?'"

-- Will Evans

8:13 PM ET | 10-24-2008 | permalink

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Teachers Come Around To Obama

John McCain is "more of the same" and "not really in touch," while Barack Obama "gets it." That's the message for eight battleground states, in a $2 million radio ad campaign by the American Federation of Teachers.

It wasn't always such a love affair between the teachers union and Obama. During the presidential primaries, AFT gave $400,000 to the American Leadership Project, which ran ads backing Hillary Clinton and attacking Obama. That 527 also switched to a new target: McCain.

The AFT ads are running until the election in Florida, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. They are tailored to each state by featuring the voices of local teachers and school staff saying -- sometimes showing off their regional accents -- why they think Obama is the best choice. In the New Mexico ad, someone shouts in Spanish, "Adelante Obama!"

The voices attest to "tough times" and people "struggling." The tagline delivers some variation of the message, "Barack Obama will make education a priority, jumpstart our economy and put middle class families first again." You can listen to one or all of them here.

The AFT represents 1.4 million people and is headed by Randi Weingarten, who is on the executive council of the AFL-CIO and on the Democratic National Committee. The union also helps fund American Rights At Work, which has run ads targeting Republicans in Senate races this year.

The other teachers' union, the National Education Association, stayed neutral in the primary contest between Obama and Clinton, but endorsed Obama for president as soon as the primaries ended.

-- Will Evans

10:16 PM ET | 10-22-2008 | permalink

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October Bombardment

Here it comes, folks. Outside groups are unleashing a giant barrage of advertising in the presidential and Senate races.

Let's tackle the presidential ads first. Featured below are Health Care for America Now, United Auto Workers, VoteVets, Sierra Club and the National Rifle Association. Whew!

Health Care for America Now
This coalition of unions and liberal groups is spending $1 million a TV ad warning that McCain's health care plan could cause people to lose their insurance. It features a cancer survivor who says of McCain, "He wants me to fight cancer and the insurance companies? Fine. I'll take you both on." The voiceover says, "Ask Senator McCain which side he's on."

It's running on national cable and in Ohio.

United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America
The union is spending $3 million on TV ads in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The slogan: "We can't afford John McCain." One ad features an auto worker who says, "My friends are losing their jobs. His friends are getting bigger tax breaks." Another shows an auto worker with her son, who has asthma. She says, "Sometimes he can't breathe. So health benefits are really important for us. But John McCain? He's going to tax our health benefits."

More ads after the jump...

Continue reading "October Bombardment" »

4:06 PM ET | 10- 9-2008 | permalink

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Political Pizza

Sometimes, even pizza can be partisan.

In its campaign against Rep. Steve Pearce, the Republican candidate for Senate in New Mexico, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund filed a new government disclosure this week:

Expenditure Description: pizza for canvassers
Date Expended = 09/18/2008
In OPPOSITION to Steve Pearce

The cost for the Pizza Party? $119.12.

So let's see...at Mario's Pizza and Ristorante, which is where the canvassers ate, that'll get you roughly three "giant" pizzas (16 slices each) and one large (8 slices). If each person ate three slices, our calculations show that could feed about 15 canvassers and three supervisors. Steve Pearce better watch out.

-- Will Evans

5:01 PM ET | 09-24-2008 | 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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New Group Tied To Oil Industry Runs Ads Promoting Drilling, Attacking Democrat

A new advocacy organization with strong ties to the oil industry is funding pro-drilling radio ads, including one criticizing the energy votes of Colorado Democratic Senate candidate Mark Udall.

The recently formed American Energy Alliance is run by Thomas Pyle, a former aide to Republican Tom DeLay who recently lobbied for the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association and Koch Industries.

The group supports free-market energy policies, including increased offshore oil drilling. Its ad says, "Gas prices are hurting Colorado families. But Congressman Mark Udall has voted 34 times against additional energy exploration and production." The ad cost nearly $200,000 according to the group's government filing.

The Alliance also has a new radio ad praising Mississippi's Republican senators, and previously ran ads against Udall and his cousin, Democratic New Mexico Senate candidate Tom Udall.

American Energy Alliance is an offshoot of the Institute for Energy Research, also run by Pyle, who served as a policy analyst for Delay when he was House majority whip. A 501(c)(3) organization, the Institute received $95,000 from ExxonMobil in 2007 and $65,000 the year before. ExxonMobil is no longer a funder, according to the organization. The Institute is also running radio ads promoting drilling.

The Institute has also received money from the Brown Foundation, which was started by the founders of the construction and energy company Brown & Root; the Searle Freedom Trust, funded by the late conservative philanthropist Daniel Searle; and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation, which is run by executives of Koch Industries, an oil industry giant.

Wayne Gable, who lobbied for Koch Industries along with Pyle, is on the board of both the Institute and the Alliance. Koch is also behind the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, which has run pro-drilling ads in Senate races.

Several staff members of the Insitute, including Pyle and American Energy Alliance board member Lisa Wallace, previously worked for former Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), who ran the House Committee on Resources and was an arch enemy of environmentalists.

-- Will Evans

6:21 PM ET | 09-22-2008 | permalink

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Anti-Abortion Group Targets Obama

A new Illinois-based 527 organization called Born Alive Truth has launched a TV ad attacking Obama on the issue of abortion.

The ad features Gianna Jessen, who was born after a failed abortion and who says, "If Barack Obama had his way, I wouldn't be here." It goes on to criticize Obama for votes he made in the Illinois legislature. Here's the FactCheck.org analysis of the issue.

The 527, formed this year, is led by an Illinois anti-abortion activist, Jill Stanek, who gave congressional testimony in favor of the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which President Bush signed in 2002. Also on the group's board is Dennis Cortes, a managing director at the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald. Cortes heads a small, family-run nonprofit called Current Links in Education, which develops educational materials on American government and the constitution. A third board member is Hadley Arkes, an Amherst College professor known for his work on the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act.

When Bush signed the Act, he thanked Arkes, Stanek and Jessen by name.

The group's public relations firm has worked for the Republican National Committee and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

The ad will run in Ohio and New Mexico. Read more information on the group, after the jump...

Continue reading "Anti-Abortion Group Targets Obama" »

9:50 AM ET | 09-16-2008 | permalink

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SEIU, Planned Parenthood Come To Obama's Aid

The McCain-Palin ticket advances. Obama-Biden starts slipping. Enter Obama's outside helpers...

Helper #1:

The Service Employees International Union, an incredibly politically connected and active union, announced a $2 million ad buy in swing states against McCain.

The ad hammers McCain on the economy, using a quote of him saying "I know a lot less about economics." Then it shows Obama touting his plan to cut taxes for middle class families.

The ad is clearly meant to counter the fact that, according to polls, many people who would get tax breaks under Obama's plan tend to believe he will raise their taxes. It will run in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Mexico, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Helper #2:

Planned Parenthood Action Fund took it upon itself to defend Obama against a recent McCain attack ad claiming that the Democrat's only education-related accomplishment was a bill to teach sex education to kindergardners. The McCain ad was debunked by FactCheck.org.

Planned Parenthood's response ad points out that the sex education bill aimed to help kids avoid molestation by teaching them about inappropriate touching. The ad then poses the question: Is McCain "just another politician who will say anything to get elected?" (It's rhetorical.)

A spokesperson for the group says the ad (below) is running in Pittsburgh and Denver -- and will keep running as long as the McCain ad is on the air.

-- Will Evans

4:38 PM ET | 09-15-2008 | permalink

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Pro-Obama Group Defends Unusual Names

PowerPac, the San Francisco advocacy organization that promoted Obama during the primaries, has a new ad boosting the presidential candidate. The ad, which also comes in a Spanish version, says, "Barack Obama believes it shouldn't matter if you look different, it shouldn't matter if your name is unsusual..."

Now that the campaigns themselves have gone negative, could PowerPac -- with its pro-Obama rather than anti-McCain ad -- actually improve the reputation of outside groups?

-- Will Evans

12:44 PM ET | 08-20-2008 | permalink

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Club Finds Multiple Problems With Senate Candidate

The Club for Growth hammers Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM) on a host of hot-button issues in a new ad launched today. The ad criticizes Udall, New Mexico's Democratic Senate candidate, for opposing offshore oil-drilling, while supporting eminent domain and the estate tax.

The ad weaves it all together this way: "For Tom Udall, if it's private property, take it; if it dies, tax it; but if it's American oil, leave it in the ground. Tell liberal Tom Udall that American freedom comes from American resources."

Meanwhile, in July the Club for Growth's 527 took in $250,000 from Rex Sinquefield of the Show-Me Institute and $95,000 from Robert Levy of the Cato Institute, among other donations.

-- Will Evans

7:19 PM ET | 08-15-2008 | permalink

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Liberal Group Ties NM Republican to Big Oil

Patriot Majority West airs an ad critcizing Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM), who is running for Senate, for siding with President Bush and "Big Oil" instead of creating incentives for renewable energy.

-- Will Evans

2:09 AM ET | 07-30-2008 | permalink

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Vets Group Says Surge Worked

Vets For Freedom airs an ad with veterans saying the troop surge in Iraq was successful, despite "some in Washington" who opposed it. The ad cites an Obama quote criticizing the surge policy. The ad ran in Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

-- Will Evans

12:41 AM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink

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Planned Parenthood Airs Anti-McCain Ad

Planned Parenthood Action Fund airs and ad that shows McCain trying to answer a question about whether health insurance companies should cover birth control. The ad ran in Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wisconsin.

9:46 AM ET | 07-16-2008 | permalink

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Ad Campaign Urges Better Schools

An advocacy campaign called Strong American Schools has a non-partisan ad urging improvement in the nation's education system. The ad ran in Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin.

-- Will Evans

12:04 AM ET | 07-14-2008 | permalink

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Vets For Freedom: "Finish the Job"

Vets For Freedom airs an ad featuring veterans calling for the next president to "finish the job" in Iraq. It ran in Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

-- Will Evans

12:33 AM ET | 07- 9-2008 | permalink

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Non-partisan Coalition Takes On Candidates

A coalition to end partisan gridlock, called Divided We Fail, airs an ad urging citizens to make sure the rhetoric from McCain and Obama turns into "real solutions." The ad, paid for by coalition partner AARP, ran in Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and on cable.

-- Will Evans

1:01 AM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink

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