http://www.prweekus.com/Groups-attacking-McCain-could-misfire/article/108332/With Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) still battling for the Democratic nomination, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is free to begin his general election campaign without an opponent. However, he won't be unchallenged, as some Democratic-supporting nonprofit organizations have begun attacking the Republican nominee's positions.
Yet, communications experts warn these groups might not succeed in the effort to bloody McCain's campaign.
For instance, the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the US, has dedicated a section of its Web site to detailing McCain's policies and how they may negatively affect union members, launching a campaign aimed at 13 million voters in 23 states. Additionally, the Sierra Club and Campaign to Defend America have gone on the McCain offensive.
The goal behind the AFL-CIO's effort is to force the Arizona senator to talk about issues that he would otherwise avoid, says Steve Smith, AFL-CIO spokesman.
"I think we're seeing what a lot of people are seeing right now, that there's a tremendous void in terms of pressing McCain on issues while the Democrats are doing battle for the nomination," he says. "We don't want McCain to have a free pass for a month, or two or three months, and not have to talk about the issues, and that's why we've come out in the campaign."
Smith says the campaign will be effective by having millions of American citizens learn the union's opinions on where McCain stands on certain issues.
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