Obama Seeks To Silence Ad Tying Him To 60s Radical (Calls For Media Boycott)

[KittyWampus]

Obama seeks to silence ad tying him to 60s radical
By JIM KUHNHENN – 44 minutes ago
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iByl1FPfB0D81BuAyW0Vp_9pIyRgD92PL7400


DENVER (AP) — Barack Obama is striking back fiercely and swiftly to stamp out an ad that links him to a 1960s radical, eager to demonstrate a far more aggressive response to attacks than John Kerry did when faced with the 2004 "Swift Boat" campaign. Obama not only aired a response ad to the spot linking him to William Ayers, but he sought to block stations the commercial by warning station managers and asking the Justice Department to intervene. The campaign also planned to compel advertisers to pressure stations that continue to air the anti-Obama commercial. It's the type of going-for-the-jugular approach to politics many Democrats complain that Kerry lacked and that Republicans exploit.

Obama's target is an ad by the conservative American Issues Project, a nonprofit group that questions Obama's ties to Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground organization that took credit for a series of bombings, including nonfatal explosions at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol four decades ago.

The lone financier of the anti-Obama ad, Texas billionaire Harold Simmons, was also one of the main funders of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth who targeted Kerry. Simmons, a McCain fundraiser, contributed nearly $2.9 million to the American Issues Project, according to documents filed by the group with the Federal Election Commission.
Fox News and CNN have declined to air the anti-Obama ad. But by Monday afternoon, the ad had run about 150 times in local markets in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and Michigan, according to Evan Tracey, head of TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group, an ad tracking firm.

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said Obama supporters have inundated stations that are airing the ad, many of them owned by Sinclair Communications, with 93,000 e-mails. He called the ad false, despicable and outrageous. "Other stations that follow Sinclair's lead should expect a similar response from people who don't want the political discourse cheapened with these false, negative attacks," Vietor said. Sinclair offices were closed late Monday and officials there could not be immediately contacted.

Bauer also wrote to Deputy Assistant Attorney General John C. Keeney, noting that the ad is a "knowing and willful attempt to evade the strictures of federal election law."

The American Issues Project is a 501(c)4 nonprofit corporation. It is permitted by law to air a political ad provided that the majority of its spending is nonpolitical. It cannot accept money from corporations and it must identify the donors that finance its ads in reports to the Federal Election Commission. Pinkston said the group has set aside money to carry out non-election related work to meet the legal requirements. It filed a report identifying Simmons as its sole donor for the ad last week.

In the Obama campaign's own response ad, an announcer states: "With all our problems, why is John McCain talking about the 60s, trying to link Barack Obama to radical Bill Ayers. McCain knows Obama denounced Ayers' crimes, committed when Obama was just 8 years old."

[FLAprogressive]

1. Not this crap again....

....I bet the MSM will eat this up like cheap cake. As if Obama knows the complete life history of everyone he's said "Hi!" to.

[1Hippiechick]

4. Will someone puhLEEZE drag out the VietnamVetsAGainstMcCain tapes about Songbird McCain????

I posted earlier tonight on another thread that McCain is not a Maverick, he's damn Machiavelli. The Dems have GOT to start fighting dirty. Else, we will come off looking weak!

[w4rma]

2. It "links him" does it, AP? I've never seen the AP write so directly about Republicans. (nt)

[Eric J in MN]

3. Stations shouldn't run any soft-money ads which mention candidates.

It goes against the concept of the campaign finance laws.

[kitkat65]

5. The ad uses text quotes from Politico

Isn't that a right wing site? They have their own story about this.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12816.html

[whistler162]

6. Run a counter ad showing pictures of

Senator Obama during the 60's and early 70's!

[MadHound]

7. First of all, why is he enlisting the Justice Dept.?

Second, does he honestly think that he'll get any help out of the Bushco Justice Dept.

Of course these ads are false, that's what politicians in political races do, lie. That's why a campaign puts out counter ads. But I find it strange, and a bit disturbing that the call to the Justice Dept. and the heavy handedness a bit disturbing, a whiff of censorship.

[NutmegYankee]

8. Slander and Libel are crimes. n/t

[MadHound]

10. Slander and libel are indeed crimes,

However the standard for proving those charges in a court of law in this country are quite high. Granted, I haven't seen the ad, but having seen years of dirty political ads, pretty much anything goes, that's the way the game is played. Calling in the Justice Dept. is heavy handed. Issue a blistering counter ad and move on:shrug:

[NutmegYankee]

11. I don't mind heavy handed responses to criminals.

I realize it is damn near impossible to convict when a celeb/public figure/Famous Person is slandered, but that doesn't stop making it a crime.

Sue and let those shitbags blow their money on defense.

[MadHound]

14. I do, it sets legal precedent,

Legal precedent that can come back and bite all of us. Hell, what do you think helped get us into this hell hole we're in now? Being the most litigious country on the face of the planet:crazy:

[jberryhill]

16. They aren't crimes in the first place... /nt

[jberryhill]

15. No they are not.

How many people get arrested for defamation (slander or libel) in your country?

It's a civil cause of action.

[RB TexLa]

9. Oh, but we shouldn't create such an ad because of our precious fucking ethics

:banghead:

[RamboLiberal]

12. Damn KDKA TV (CBS Affiliate) is airing the ad regulary

Just saw it again at 11:26PM. That's the third time I've seen it run on KDKA.

[seabeyond]

13. does anyone actually think. and if kerry hadnt experienced it, you think obama would be addressing

this in this manner. it was from kerry's experience and kerry the first to stand up for any democrat under this kind of attack, that NO democrat did for him adn probably kerry right there with obama now that has allowed obama the insight to have to do what he is

but people play stupid

so they can attack

and they sound as stupid as they play

[Gabi Hayes]

17. they could go after McCain HARD with this: huge fundraiser Carl Lindner is a SPONSOR of terrorists!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6732347&mesg_id=6732347

Carl Lindner Funds Terrorist Group and John McCain
By Michael Lang on Jul 3, 2008 in Featured

Carl H. Lindner Jr., the co-host of a recent top-dollar fundraiser for Sen. john mccain oversaw the payment of roughly $1.7 million to a Colombian paramilitary group that is today designated a terrorist organization by the United States.

Late last week, Lindner co-hosted a $25,000-per-person fundraiser for McCain and the Republican Party in the wealthy Indian Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. The event raised about $2 million; Lindner also serves on McCain’s Ohio Victory Team.



The Cincinnati billionaire businessman, was CEO of Chiquita Brands International from 1984 to 2001, and remained on the company’s board of directors until May 2002. Beginning under his tenure, Chiquita executives paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (known by the Spanish acronym AUC), which is described by George Washington University’s National Security Archive as an "illegal right-wing anti-guerrilla group tied to many of the country’s most notorious civilian massacres."

Following a Justice Department indictment last year, Chiquita admitted to illegally funding the paramilitaries and agreed to pay a $25 million fine. Chiquita’s payments to the AUC began in 1997 and lasted seven years; roughly half of the funds came after the group was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in 2001.

According to the Justice Department, the payments "were reviewed and approved by senior executives" of Chiquita, who knew by no later than September 2000 "that the AUC was a violent, paramilitary organization."


they REALLY need hit hard with this one. Lindner is a real bad apple, to say the least, and just raised TWO MILLION bucks for McCain.

if dems don't use this in the face of the Ayres BS, they DESERVE to lose. this is just too easy.....

[eridani]

18. Good move. Let's go after those media bastards

Not this time!