Multimillionaires funding expensive pro-Bush 527 ads -The Hill

[Rose Siding]

A billionaire, a professional sports magnate, a Texas oilman and the founders of Amway are funding the most expensive ad buy of the presidential campaign.

The $14 million ad, which began airing in key markets this month, shows President Bush hugging a teenage girl whose mother died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The ad was paid for by the Progress for America Voter Fund, a 527 group that has run TV ads for Bush and against Sen. John Kerry.

In the latest ad, teenager Ashley Faulkner says of Bush, “All he wants to do is make sure I’m safe,” while her father, Lynn Faulkner, says he saw in Bush “what I want to see in the heart and soul” of a president.
.........
Republicans have skewered Democrats for allowing billionaire George Soros to bankroll outside efforts to boost Kerry’s campaign. Soros gave millions this cycle to help fund 527s America Coming Together, MoveOn.org and the Center for American Progress

http://www.hillnews.com/news/102704/multimillionaires.aspx

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Spiffarino]

2. Yow!

I share your sentiments exactly. However, could we ix-nay on the unt-cay?

;)

[Raster]

21. man, it must have been good to have to ixnay the untcay...

[Spiffarino]

22. It was a doozy.

Looks like he pissed off some of our female friends...I tried to warn him!

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. They are pissing up a rope with this campaign

Chimp hugged me and that makes Iraq, economy, education, energy, health care, world opinion better. They had better start praying because thats all the fuckers have left.

[jdj]

12. They didn't like it so much when Clinton hugged Monica.

And Clinton had an even bigger "heart and soul" than Bush, he actually stopped the terrorist attacks before they happened, rather than going on ahead and letting them attack and then using them for his re-election campaign.

[whistle]

4. Every time we believe a lie, our mental health and the health of our...

...nation is diminished. We as a people must stand against the lies. They must be exposed for what they are.

<snip>

How to Detect Evil
By Katherine Yurica

M. Scott Peck, M.D. wrote a most important book for our times, People of the Lie, The Hope For Healing Human Evil, published in 1983 by Simon & Schuster. It’s a study of human evil. Peck said he chose the title “because lying is both a cause and a manifestation of evil. It is partly by their lying that we recognize the evil.”

Peck’s analysis of the Mylai massacre, its massive cover-up and the deceptions made by our government in the Viet Nam war should not be missed for its lessons for us today.

Peck wrote, “The cover-up was a gigantic group lie.” The troops of C Company of Task Force Barker killed between five and six hundred unarmed villagers. Significantly, a young officer by the name of Colin Powell participated in the cover-up.

<link> http://www.yuricareport.com/RevisitedBks/How%20to%20Detect%20Evil.htm

[starroute]

5. Progress for America is an important name to watch

I've been trying to put together information about the backers of the Swift Boat Veterans and of "Stolen Honor." I started a thread about this that didn't get a lot of response.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1162991#1166422

However, evilqueen did respond with a post saying that both groups -- and Progress for America, as well -- were represented by the same public relations firm, Creative Response Concepts. And she posted a link to a list of Progress for America's major contributors. (http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail.asp?ein=201170395&cycle=2004&at=Print&tname=Progress+for+America)

In the same thread, Bozos for Bush posted a list of contributors to the Swift Boat Veterans -- and there's considerable overlap. Contran Corporation (Harold Simmons) is high on both lists. So are Perry Homes (Robert J. Perry), Crow Holdings (Harlan Crow), Yancey Brothers (James E. Stephenson), and Chesapeake Energy (Aubrey McClendon and Tom Ward.)

All of these people have a history of supporting right-wing causes, and at least some of them -- like Robert Perry and Richard DeVos -- are members of the secretive Council for National Policy.

I'm still trying to assimilate all these complicated cross-connections and figure out what they mean. But at the very least, they seem to show that both the Swift Boat ads and "Stolen Honor" were backed by the same group of people as many of these other pro-Bush and anti-Kerry ads.

Beyond, that Progress for America has also donated money to a group called United Seniors Association, which is actually a front for the drug companies. Craig Shirley, who did public relations for the 1988 Willie Horton ad and now for "Stolen Honor," is on their board of directors. (See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1146495) So there seems to be an aspect of fronting for corporations that goes beyond the skulduggery of the current campaign.

[UpInArms]

13. great information

thanks!

:kick:

[AP]

6. An ad showing Bush giving his love to a teenage girl? Yuck!

[truthisfreedom]

9. he's going for the 14-year-old vote. right? he didn't protect her mommy.

he knew, and he didn't protect her. this is a very strange commercial. is he supposed to be apologizing to this girl by hugging her?

[UpInArms]

15. is he some kind of pervert?

"There's only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I've got an additional responsibility to hug and that's me and I know what it's like."
~ George W. Bush
Source: ABC News Transcripts, President Bush and First Lady Bush '20/20' Year-End Interview, 2002-12-13

[drmom]

7. I just don't get it...

It seems to me that the easiest time to be President would be during the aftermath of a tragedy. I mean, all you have to do is look sad, comfort people, make a few speeches about how God is looking after our country, and give lots of hugs. (Oh, and it doesn't hurt if you can tear-up on command.) It's not like you have to decide whether or not to be nice.

[saigon68]

8. The Bush Criminals will do anything to remain in Power

Their Clients the "rich and the have mores" will do everything to maintain their place at the table feeding like pigs in the trough.

[Democat]

10. Campaign finance reform is a joke, John McCain failed completely

How much more obvious can it be than this election?

Campaign finance reform is a complete failure.

[LynneSin]

11. I saw that ad - IT'S SCARY!!!!!

Bush's face looks distorted and almost creepy as he's hugging that girl.

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. Yes, I saw it too

I think if anyone thinks this image helps the pResident they are as nuts as he is. The ad is so over the top, he will probably lose votes instead of gain them.

[President Jesus]

16. detailed campaign contributions of these guys

Roland Arnall
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=CA&last=Arnall&first=Roland

Dawn Arnall
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=CA&last=Arnall&first=Dawn

Alexander Gus Spanos
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=CA&last=Spanos&first=Alexander

T. Boone Pickens
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=TX&first=Boone&last=Pickens

Jay Van Andel
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=MI&last=Andel&first=Jay

Richard DeVos
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?last=DeVos&first=Richard

[Sara Beverley]

17. Just think about it. These wealthy jerks would rather spend millions on

dumping money down the campaign sewer to elect Bush than pay 1/10th that amount of money in a tax to help needy people who are fellow citizens. No wonder a camel will make it through the eye of a needle before a rich man get into heaven.

[nolabels]

18. The charity orgs are just another scam for these money gangsters

My guess is you have been drinking their feel good kool-aid.
To a more easily understandable part of it though try this.

The one top is just for Wisconsin and the one below is just for the CEO'S and not corporations

Special Interests Average 33,000% Gain
On Campaign Contributions


Madison – A $10,000 investment a year ago in one of the most profitable stocks on the market – Genstar Therapeutics – would be worth $162,500 today, a 1,525% gain. That’s a lucrative return, but it’s not nearly the bang for the buck that special interests received from investing in state policymaking.

A Wisconsin Democracy Campaign report titled "Playing the Policy Market" shows that more than a dozen special interests with a stake in items considered during the 1999-2000 legislative session realized an economic benefit that amounted to an average 33,043% gain from the campaign contributions they invested during the session.

Individual gains by the special interests that benefited from the policies driven by their contributions ranged from 396% to 103,221% (Table 1). The biggest industry winners and the policy return on their contributions included payday lenders who fought a cap on interest rates, 103,221%; the road builders who sought more money for highway construction, 92,582%; the vending machine industry which got a sales tax break, 20,605%; and waste disposal, paper and business interests which fought higher garbage disposal fees, 19,751%.

Individual companies also got lucrative returns on their investments in the system (Table 2), particularly if they were generous, long-term contributors or from industries whose collective campaign contributions have made them influential. Some of these companies and their returns were Maximus, 99,900%, and C.D. Smith Construction Co., 69,722%.
(snip)
http://www.wisdc.org/prerelpolmkt.html

Contributors & Paybacks
Corporate Cronies

The Bush administration, on behalf of some of its biggest financial backers, has worked to delay and debilitate a reform measure that would hold CEOs and corporate boards more accountable to their shareholders.

On October 14, 2003, after a series of corporate scandals, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formally introduced the so-called shareholder access rule, a modest reform measure that would make it easier for concerned investors to place their own nominees on a company’s board of directors. More than a year later, the rule still hasn’t been approved by the SEC.

Fifty-three senior executives from corporations opposed to the rule qualified as “Rangers,” “Pioneers” or “Super Rangers” – the honorary titles given to big-money bundlers who have collected at least $200,000 or $100,000, respectively, for the Bush campaigns or $300,000 for the Republican National Committee (RNC). These rainmakers personally rounded up at least $8.3 million – probably much more – for Bush campaign efforts in 2000 and 2004.
(snip)
http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/contributorsandpaybacks/

[AlCzervik]

19. In that ad i find the look on Jr.s face disturbing

he looks like he's saying..."did you get the picture?" Not exactly an unguarded or genuine moment imho and i think that shows.

[young_at_heart]

20. Keeping her safe is not ALL he wants to do!

He wants to change our country into a theocracy. With four new Supremes he'll be able to do it.

[camero]

23. Easily refuted

Just play Andy Card's comments about Bush saying Americans are 10 year olds that need to be led in a crisis. The perfect counterattack to the "Bush wants us safe" canard.

[robbedvoter]

24. Did he hug her on September 4? (he said today he was at Ground Zero

on September 4!)