Obama to DOJ: Block Terrorist Ad (Calls For Media Boycott To Fight Ayers Smear)

[KittyWampus]

Source: politico

Obama to DOJ: Block terrorist ad

By BEN SMITH | 8/25/08 5:19 PM EST

Barack Obama’s campaign has written the Department of Justice demanding a criminal investigation of the “American Issues Project."

Sen. Barack Obama has launched an all-out effort to block a Republican billionaire’s efforts to tie him to domestic and foreign terrorists in a wave of negative television ads.

Obama’s campaign has written the Department of Justice demanding a criminal investigation of the “American Issues Project,” the vehicle through which Dallas investor Harold Simmons is financing the advertisements. The Obama campaign — and tens of thousands of supporters — also is pressuring television networks and affiliates to reject the ads. The effort has met with some success: CNN and Fox News are not airing the attacks.

Obama has also launched his own response ad, directly addressing Simmons' attempt to link him to domestic terror.

The project is “a knowing and willful attempt to violate the strictures of federal election law,” Obama general counsel Bob Bauer wrote to Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Keeney last week in a letter provided to Politico. Bauer argued that by advocating Obama’s defeat, the ad should be subject to the contribution limits of federal campaign law, not the anything-goes regime of issue advocacy.

Bauer’s letter called on the Justice Department to open “an investigation of the American Issues Project; its officers and directors; and its anonymous donors, whoever they may be.”

snip

The Obama campaign plans to punish the stations that air the ad financially, an Obama aide said, organizing his supporters to target the stations that air it and their advertisers.

But the ad continues to air widely. Evan Tracey, who tracks campaign advertising at TNS Media Intelligence, said it has been broadcast 150 times in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Michigan. Federal Election Commission reports indicate that Simmons has spent more than $2.8 million buying ads.

Obama’s campaign has written a pair of letters to station managers carrying the ads.

The letter calls the ad’s attempt to link Obama to terrorism “an appalling lie, a disgraceful smear of the lowest kind on the senator’s patriotism and commitment to the rule of law.”

Airing the ad “is inconsistent with your station’s obligations under Federal Communications Commission regulations,” the letter continues, saying Simmons’ group lacks formal incorporation.

One large group of network affiliates, the Sinclair Broadcast Group – which aired an documentary attacking John Kerry in 2004 — has been running the ads, Obama aides said. The campaign has launched a special effort to pressure Sinclair.

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

---

Here is link to the story up on AP

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iByl1FPfB0D81BuAyW0Vp_9pIyRgD92PL7400

Obama seeks to silence ad tying him to 60s radical
By JIM KUHNHENN – 44 minutes ago

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."

[NewJeffCT]

1. Bush DOJ to Obama

[DesertFlower]

2. holy shit.

i hadn't heard about the ad.

[Lifetimedem]

3. They will make their decision

sometime in December

[C_U_L8R]

4. don't fcuk with us fellahs

this ain't our first time to the rodeo

[ramapo]

5. He's going to have to do much better then this

A letter to the DOJ just isn't going to cut it. This ad is just the beginning...I'm sorry to say. The rightwing will spend endless sums of money to vilify Obama.

[Stern21]

6. I just found the ad on YouTube

And they are right to take offense. It makes the Swiftboat lies look tame. I have never seen a lower scum sucking piece of propaganda in my life, and that's saying a lot considering the last three presidential elections.

I won't post a link because I don't want it to show any more hits than it has already.

On Edit: The video poster's avatar is a PUMA logo.

[jeff30997]

12. Welcome to DU Stern21!

:toast:

[bjobotts]

24. People know about swiftboat ads from last election and they aren't buying into it again

[bjobotts]

26. Only those already anti-Obama are affected by it.. The rest see it as desperate propaganda

"Their at it again" is the only response they'll get this time because people have had 4yrs to hear them brag about their deceitful swift boat lies and how Americans fell for it like sheep. This time they seee it for what it is and look at the makers as detrimental to the election process. Obama is right in showing outrage against such vicious deceit and pointing out that multimillionaires think they can get away with murder. They are shameless and disgraceful as are the people who give these videos any credence.

If someone can believe that kind of obvious propaganda then they are beyond sinister.

[bjobotts]

27. Obama's resonse ad was perfect, Truth has its own ring to it.It mocks McCain

[amandabeech]

44. Undecideds who remember the Weathermen may take notice.

That group set a lot of bombs and did not help the anti-war cause. They most likely are not fondly remembered by voters in the middle. Any connection between the Obamas and Ayres and Dohrn may raise questions--especially when combined with Rezko and Rev. Wright.

You can discredit Simmons, but it would be better if Obama could show that he had only tangential contact with these two, and was by no means close to either of them.

Boycotts and lawsuits won't work here because the info and the commercial is already out there and will go viral on the internet if it hasn't already.

I wish I could dismiss this like you can, but this will be a close race and every vote will count.

[caledesi]

45. Not this time! NT

[amandabeech]

46. I hope that you're right and I'm wrong! n/t

[L. Coyote]

35. Double-whamo. Make it look like a Clinton supporter posts it!

That's so 'a la Arkansas Project,' doing whatever it takes to steal the US Treasury!!

[fascisthunter]

7. Maybe We Should Circulate Info on This Billionaire????

[bjobotts]

29. No one is believing this shit. They've seen it before and only think they are at it again

[Better Believe It]

8. How About An Obama Investigation Report & Expose Of Harold Simmons?

What has the Obama campaigned uncovered about Harold Simmons? His financial connnections, his wealth, his personal background and history and probably a closet full of skeletons that need to be exposed.

Concentrate the fire on Simmons .... perhaps a hard hitting ad that will isolate and expose the sob.

What do we know about Simmons on DU and what can DU'ers find out about him?

Here's just a little info I dug up in a few minutes:

End Is Seen To Simmons Family Feud
By ALLEN R. MYERSON
Published: February 10, 1998

Harold C. Simmons, the Dallas businessman, has agreed in principle to settle a suit by two daughters over control of his billion-dollar fortune, according to people taking part in the talks.

Mr. Simmons, 66, would give each of them amounts in the range of $50 million; in return, Mr. Simmons would retain control of the rest of his wealth, including five public companies.

People involved in the talks said they hoped to complete an agreement in time for a hearing on Tuesday afternoon. But they cautioned that there were complications that still needed to be worked out.

The settlement would conclude a family feud that escalated into a bitterly fought court battle consuming millions of dollars in legal fees. After a trial lasting nearly eight weeks ended with a hung jury in December, a judge ordered Mr. Simmons and the daughters suing him to negotiate. Though the jury did not make an award to the daughters, it made the risks of another trial clear to Mr. Simmons by deciding that he had breached certain responsibilities to them.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E4DF163CF933A25751C0A96E958260

Number 43 on the Forbes 400 Richest
#43 Harold Simmons
Net Worth $7.4 billion Source Valhi (quote: VHI), Investments, Self made
Age 76
Marital Status Married, 6 children, 2 divorces
Hometown Dallas, TX, United States
Education University of Texas Austin, Bachelor of Arts / Science
University of Texas Austin, Master of Science


Simmons and his wife

[WCGreen]

9. They will do anything, anything to cling to power...

[CitizenPatriot]

10. I like your ideas

I've already posted the link to the sinclair people on a local website here and hope to get people to write in and object to it playing here.

this is a gross violation of election law.

DoJ sucks the big one -- muckasey (muck assy) won't do shi*. We must do what you have suggested. anyone have any ideas where to start and who can get the stories out there?

Maybe a new thread should be started about responding to this totally illegal act.

FYI for those who can take the time to write (copied from another post from dailykos and I added the links):

Corporate Headquarters

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, Maryland 21030
410-568-1500 (Main Telephone)
410-568-1533 (Main Fax)

Update 2: I'm hearing that the main culprit in the perpetuation of the Ayers swiftboating scheme is Sinclair. Here's a link to their comment form. Tell them how you feel about anti-American activities directed at United States Senators.

Email Sinclair

http://www.sbgi.net/contact/contact.shtml

Update 3:

Everything you need to know about Sinclair including links to sponsors and local TV stations in your area
http://www.sbgi.net/

[DLnyc]

18. Interesting stuff on SBGI

Major holders of SBGI:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=SBGI

Largest holders seem to be institutions, led by "FMR LLC"

Individuals smaller percent, but a David D. Smith comes up, who's connected to a minor sex scandal involving a prostitute here: http://www.eschatonblog.com/2004/10/sinclair.html

Going to FMR (First Mercury Financial Corporation) here: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=FMR
I find a "Richard H. Smith" (may or may not be connected to David D.)

Still looking . . .

[bjobotts]

32. www rove cybergate .com. Won't matter if we don't stop them from stealing the election

[momrois]

14. Here's more on Mr. Simmons

According to this article, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howie-klein/how-do-republicans-win-el_b_120964.html

"It's well known that the twice-divorced ne'er-do-well money bags behind the swiftboat liars was sued by his two daughters. What I didn't know is that what came out in the process is that he'd been funneling vast amounts of money to Republican candidates by forging documents making it look like the donations were coming from other people (like the two daughters). Under questioning, and threatened with perjury charges, he admitted in court that he forged his two daughters' signatures to make political contributions from family trusts to various Republican candidates. Simmons has said that from 1991 to 1995 he made $110,000 in contributions to political action committees (PACs) in his daughters' names without their knowledge or permission. He later settled a lawsuit with them for $50 million and paid some fines to the FEC."

I don't understand why he's not in jail! Well, actually, I do. I'm not THAT naive.

[CitizenPatriot]

19. this is all great!

I guess we need to put these things together and make a narrative about how scum begets scum. as in, of course, you could expect people who break election laws to be criminals themselves -- and mr. Simmons has a long history of breaking the law, indeed violating his own family's trust to further his self-interested agenda to further the interests of the Republican party...

etc....

[bjobotts]

30. Already a convicted fraud. Now funding more lies.Who would believe his ad...no one.

[L. Coyote]

38. Welcome to DU & thanks for adding some useful investigative material.

[George II]

23. A couple of questions....

1. What are the names of the five companies he owns? We can organize a boycott of them and support their competitors.
2. With all his billions, could he at least spend a few bucks on his teeth and send his wife to Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, or Curves?

[aasleka]

11. By the time the lawsuit hits a courtroom the DOJ will be Obama's

and simmons is going to be grabbing his ankles. Would be nice if we saw Ayers sue for defamation or libel also.

I am all for an eye for an eye, start investigating Simmons life in detail and then post it. The best ownage I have ever seen was the video gamer who stole other players accounts and then bragged on online forums. It was about an hour later when his parent's phone number was listed as well as evertyhing from school records to the doctor he gets his pimple meds from.
The mother ended up posting a plea for people to stop calling the house. They had no clue about their teenage spawn until he brought a shitstorm to their door.

I pften wonder if the kid ever learned to play nice with others or simply left the digital world altogether.

[bjobotts]

31. Does that mean he won't get an Ambassadorship?

The least of our problems if we don't stop them from stealing the election.

[jeff30997]

13. K&R

Boycott.What a wonderful word.

[MasonJar]

15. We need a list of the Sinclair Stations and their advertisers. They only understand

money!

[Better Believe It]

16. Censorship? I Think Going After Simmons Is A Better Tactic

The right-wing will claim that all "those liberal free speech ACLU types" only believe in free speech for themselves while they try to silence those they disagree with.

This plays into their hands.

I think the Obama campaign has to go after the billionnaire Simmons in hard hitting TV ads that expose all of the skeletons and financial dealings of the sob that working Americans can learn to hate.

Which do you think Simmons would prefer seeing?

A campaign urging censorship of his hit pieces or attack ads exposing him?

[CitizenPatriot]

20. the attack approach works for sure

I am all for it. Very effective.

Of course, I can't help but address the RW free speech argument -- this ad breaks federal election law. Is their support of this ad indicative of their feeling that they are above the law?

[DLnyc]

21. I agree. And Simmons looks like an outright felon, as well as a slimy

disgusting character. Maybe someone should put up an ad pointing out the connections between this criminal and McCant.

[CitizenPatriot]

25. brilliant! nt

[truedelphi]

22. Only thing is that us liberal ACLU types don't get to have our ads put on

MoveOn went to the networks with their money in hand and was turned down several different times by the networks.

And vince Bugliosi occupies the tenth place on the NYT bestseller list even though he has been banned from advertising on the networks.

[alcibiades_mystery]

33. The group is violating Federal Election Laws eight ways through Sunday

It has nothing to do with censorship. They are in clear violation of the FECA statutes and rules, as are any stations that air these ads.

[amandabeech]

43. Do you have a bill of particulars?

I'm not up on the details of election law, although I understand that the issue ads cannot say "Vote for McCain."

[KamaAina]

41. Station list here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcasting#Sinclair-owned_stations

13. St. Petersburg - Tampa WTTA 3 38 / 57 1999(?) MyNetworkTV
15. Minneapolis - St Paul WUCW 23 / 22 1998 CW
21. St. Louis KDNL-TV 30 / 31 1996 ABC
22. Pittsburgh WPGH-TV 53 / 43 1991 Fox
WPMY ** 22 / 42 2000
(previously owned by
Sinclair from 1978-91) MyNetworkTV
24. Baltimore WBFF ** 45 / 46 1971 Fox
WNUV-TV 1 54 / 40 1994 CW
28. Raleigh - Durham - Fayetteville WLFL-TV 22 / 57 1994 CW
WRDC 28 / 27 1995 MyNetworkTV
30. Nashville WZTV 17 / 15 1994 Fox
WUXP 30 / 21 2000 MyNetworkTV
WNAB 2 58 / 23 2 CW
32. Columbus, Ohio WSYX 6 / 13 1996 ABC
WTTE ** 1 28 / 36 1984 Fox
33. Cincinnati WSTR-TV 64 / 33 1995 MyNetworkTV
34. Milwaukee WVTV 18 / 61 2000 CW
WCGV 24 / 25 1995 MyNetworkTV
36. Asheville - Greenville - Spartanburg WLOS 13 / 56 1996 ABC
WMYA-TV 1 40 / 14 1996 MyNetworkTV
37. San Antonio KABB 29 / 30 1996 Fox
KMYS 35 / 32 2001 MyNetworkTV
40. Birmingham - Tuscaloosa, AL WTTO 21 / 28 1995 CW
WABM-TV 68 / 36 2001 MyNetworkTV
WDBB
(satellite of WTTO) 17 / 18 1995 CW
42. Norfolk - Portsmouth - Newport News WTVZ 33 / 38 1996 MyNetworkTV
43. Las Vegas KVMY 21 / 22 1997 MyNetworkTV
KVCW 33 / 29 2000 CW
45. Oklahoma City KOKH-TV 25 / 24 1996 Fox
KOCB 34 / 33 2001 CW
46. Winston-Salem - Greensboro - High Point WXLV-TV 45 / 29 1996 ABC
WMYV 48 / 33 2001 MyNetworkTV
50. Buffalo, New York WUTV 29 / 14 1996 Fox
WNYO-TV 49 / 34 2001 MyNetworkTV
59. Richmond, Virginia WRLH-TV 6 35 / 26 1998 Fox
61. Pensacola, FL - Mobile, AL WEAR-TV 3 / 17 1997 ABC
WFGX 3 35 / 50 2001 MyNetworkTV
62. Dayton, Ohio WKEF 22 / 51 1998 ABC
WRGT-TV 1 45 / 30 2001 Fox
64. Danville - Lexington, KY WDKY-TV 56 / 4 2001 Fox
65. Charleston - Huntington, WV WCHS-TV 8 / 41 1997 ABC
WVAH-TV 1 11 / 19 1994 Fox
66. Flint - Saginaw - Bay City, MI WSMH-TV 66 / 16 1996 Fox
71. Des Moines KDSM 17 / 16 1996 Fox
76. Portland, Maine WGME-TV 13 / 38 1998 CBS
78. Rochester, New York WUHF 4 31 / 28 1995 Fox
79. Paducah, KY - Cape Girardeau, MO -
Harrisburg, IL KBSI 23 / 22 1998 Fox
WDKA-TV 3 49 / 50 MyNetworkTV
80. Syracuse, New York WNYS-TV 3 43 / 44 MyNetworkTV
WSYT 68 / 19 1998 Fox
84. Champaign - Urbana -
Decatur - Springfield, IL WICS 20 / 42 1998 ABC
WICD
(semi-satellite of WICS) 15 / 41 1998 ABC
85. Madison, Wisconsin WMSN-TV 47 / 11 2002 Fox
87. Cedar Rapids - Waterloo -
Dubuque - Iowa City, IA KGAN-TV 2 / 51 1998 CBS
KFXA 5 28 / 27 2008 5 Fox
100. Charleston, South Carolina WTAT-TV 1 24 / 40 1995 Fox
WMMP 36 / 35 1998 MyNetworkTV
108. Tallahassee, FL - Thomasville, GA WTWC-TV 40 / 2 1998 NBC
117. Bloomington - Peoria, IL WYZZ-TV 4 43 / 28 1985 Fox

[provis99]

17. I'm willing to bet there will be a 60 Minutes segment exposing this bastard

They love the degenerate billionaire angle, like they did with Richard Mellon Scaife.

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

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

[Dollface]

34. I saw this ad for the first time tonight. A 501(c)(4) is defined as follows:

Civic leagues or organizations not organized for profit but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, or local associations of employees, the membership of which is limited to the employees of a designated person or persons in a particular municipality, and the net earnings of which are devoted exclusively to charitable, educational, or recreational purposes.

Their website alone makes them a 527 organization. Social welfare my ass!

[L. Coyote]

36. One way top fight this is by boycotting. Ask everyone else to pull their ads from these stations!

[RamboLiberal]

37. Anyone have a good email address for CBS Affiliate Relations?

KDKA CBS Channel 2 in Pittsburgh is running these ads. I've seen them 3 separate times and I hardly watch the station. From their station information page. Wonder how parent CBS would feel about this?

KDKA-TV History
KDKA-TV is the CBS owned & operated television station for Pittsburgh.

KDKA-TV signed on the air on January 11, 1949 as WDTV, Channel 3. WDTV was a DuMont television station. In 1952, WDTV switched to Channel 2.

A few years later, the station became owned by Westinghouse and changed to the call letters KDKA-TV. It was also then that KDKA-TV became a CBS affiliate.

In 1995, KDKA-TV became a CBS owned and operated station. Viacom merged with CBS in the year 2000, which made KDKA a sister station with UPN affiliate WNPA-TV.

http://kdka.com/info

I've already emailed KDKA 3 times. I think Tuesday I'm going to call as well. Contact info. http://kdka.com/contact

[AmyCamus]

39. Bad move by Obama.

Something no one was paying any attention to, is now big news.
No potential Obama voter was going to be lost over the content of that ad.

[Uncle Joe]

47. How can anyone not pay attention to continuous slander being aired on television?

To not have responded would only have encouraged this cancer to grow.

While Obama voters wouldn't have been lost over these lies, a good percent of people in the middle, undecideds not following politics closely until after the conventions would most likely be brainwashed.

[Bulletin Justin]

40. Thanks---I have e-mailed Sinclair, too

I told them that they are endangering the life of a sitting U. S. Senator by promoting these lies. In this political climate a mentally unbalanced person might be motivated to attempt to harm the Senator. I also told them that they need not represent themselves as patriots or Christians, because they are neither.

Thank you for the post!!!!

[The Stranger]

42. Too late to recommend so kick this motherfucker!

Sue and indict those fucking Rightist Fascist criminals! We must fight fight fight fight fight!

[underpants]

48. That ad airs every morning on the top rated show in Richmond

I don't expect all the Regent University grads at DOJ to drop whatever it is that they might be doing to act on this.