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 June 22, 2004  | |
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As the campaign season heats up, independent conservative and liberal groups are running numerous television ads that invoke powerful images, including of the late President Reagan, Halliburton, and the war on terror. Brooks Jackson, director of FactCheck.org of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, analyzes these ads from political advocacy organizations. The NewsHour Media Unit is funded by grants from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
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| TERENCE SMITH: The presidential campaigns are not alone in running political television ads this election year. Independent advocacy groups are joining the fray. Those groups have raised some $183 million so far this cycle, much of it spent on ads.
Brooks, welcome. These independent ads that we're about to screen are from groups that are not formally affiliated with either campaign, and yet they don't leave a great deal of doubt as to who they're supporting.
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| How advocacy groups distort the facts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TERENCE SMITH: Okay. Well, let's take a look at some of these ads. The first one is called Corporate Headquarters, and it's sponsored by the Media Fund, which is a high-profile Democratic group. Let's take a look.
TERENCE SMITH: All right, now that is -- that's laying it directly at George Bush's doormat.
This ad is -- really, it's hard to cram this much distortion into a 30-second ad, but they do it. Just a couple of points: They say Bush didn't do anything about pensions. In fact, he signed a pension reform bill addressing some of the abuses that came up during the Enron scandal. It said he didn't do anything about corporate corruption. There's never been such a wave of corporate prosecutions -- 250 individuals convicted so far, 20 Enron executives alone charged already, on and on. But it's an effective ad, though. TERENCE SMITH: All right. A second one. It's called Man of the People. It's sponsored by Citizens United, a conservative group, and it pokes fun at Senator Kerry's wealth. So, let's take a look at it.
TERENCE SMITH: All right, also clever. Is it a fair description of John Kerry's status? BROOKS JACKSON: Well, yes and no. For one thing, John Kerry -- I've never heard him claim to be a man of the people, and I don't think he ever would. And some of his ads, in fact, he makes a point of his privileged upbringing, says it gives him special responsibilities. Of course, the wealth that's portrayed here, all pretty much accurate. Most of those houses are in his wife's name, of course. The yacht, yes, he's got a big Hinckley, and that's all true. The thing that strikes me as amusing about this is usually it's Republicans you hear complaining about class warfare when Democrats attack the rich for being rich or for getting tax breaks. Now the shoe's on the other foot. TERENCE SMITH: Apparently, it works both ways. BROOKS JACKSON: They're attacking Kerry for being wealthy. |
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| An attack on Halliburton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TERENCE SMITH: Here's another one. This is called Halliburton, which gives you some idea. It's funded by MoveOn.org, which is a liberal, Web-based Political Action Committee. So let's take a look at it.
TERENCE SMITH: Fair or unfair?
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| Use of 9/11 images | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TERENCE SMITH: Here's another one. It's called Michael. It's funded again by the conservative Citizens United and it's aired in several battleground states. Let's take a look.
TERENCE SMITH: So those are some painful and sensitive images. BROOKS JACKSON: Absolutely. And George Bush, of course, in his initial ad was criticized by the Democrats when he showed about three seconds of imagery from Ground Zero. What this illustrates is that an independent group can do things that the candidate himself can't do. TERENCE SMITH: Precisely.
TERENCE SMITH: Here's another one. This is called Position. It's paid for by the League of Conservation Voters, which is a well-established environmental group. Let's take a look at it. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: As you can see there is no ambiguity in my position on drilling off the coast of Florida. AD VOICEOVER: There sure isn't. President Bush opened up Florida's coast to offshore drilling and he supported an energy bill that could lead to even more. Well, what would you expect from a Texas oilman? Just one accident can destroy a coastline. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I put programs in place that help Mother Nature. AD VOICEOVER: Mr. President, your oil drilling off Florida's coast isn't one of them. TERENCE SMITH: Accurate? BROOKS JACKSON: Well, off Florida's coast? The truth is, the Bush administration allowed drilling 100 miles off Florida's coast. I think anybody watching this ad would probably get the wrong idea.
AD VOICEOVER: The World Trade Center Towers were more than just buildings. They were symbols of hard working people, economic freedom and opportunity, the American way of life. That's why the terrorists attacked them. Our enemies want to destroy America's freedoms. President Bush is fighting terrorism to save lives and protect liberty. George W. Bush, the vision to promote freedom and the courage to defend it. TERENCE SMITH: Again, Brooks, the direct use of 9/11 images.
TERENCE SMITH: And as you said, they have greater latitude than the candidates themselves. BROOKS JACKSON: Absolutely. They can do that and hopefully from their standpoint it's not going to back-splatter on the candidate. TERENCE SMITH: Brooks Jackson, thanks very much. BROOKS JACKSON: My pleasure, Terry. |
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Here
with me to discuss some of these independent ads is Brooks Jackson, director of
FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University
of Pennsylvania.
BROOKS
JACKSON: Well, that's true, and legally they can't be affiliated or even coordinate
their efforts without running afoul of the law. That's nothing new. We've seen
independent groups spending big time in campaigns before, but nothing on this
scale. What's happening is lots of money, tens of millions of dollars that used
to go to political parties as soft money for these kinds of ads, is now going
to these independent groups because of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.
AD
VOICEOVER: Instead of protecting pensions, George Bush supported a bill giving
Enron huge new tax breaks. Instead of giving seniors more prescription drug benefits,
Bush gave drug companies billions in his Medicare bill. Instead of fighting corporate
corruption, George Bush gave no-bid contracts to Halliburton, a company caught
overcharging for fuel and food for our soldiers in Iraq. George Bush: He's turned
the White House into corporate headquarters. 
BROOKS
JACKSON: Oh, boy, one of my favorites, and the images are great. Now, that, of
course, is run by a group headed by Harold Ickes, who ought to know about the
White House and corporate influence. He was the guy in charge of the White House
sleepovers during the Clinton administration when he was deputy chief of staff.
AD
VOICEOVER: Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. Hairstyle by Christophe's: $75. Designer
shirts: $250. 42-foot luxury yacht: $1 million. Four lavish mansions and beach-front
estate: Over $30 million. Another rich liberal elitist from Massachusetts who
claims he's a "man of the people": Priceless. 
AD
VOICEOVER: The Bush administration gave Dick Cheney's old company no-bid contracts
for Iraq on a silver platter. Then, the Pentagon caught Halliburton overcharging
$61 million for gasoline. Worse, they billed over $100 million for meals for our
troops that they never delivered. And George Bush is still doing business with
them. George Bush, a failure of leadership. MoveOn PAC is responsible for the
content of this advertisement. 
BROOKS
JACKSON: Well, unfair in some ways. This -- if all you knew about Halliburton
is what you saw in ads like this one, you would think they had been officially
charged with wrongdoing, and they haven't. Their auditors are questioning expenditures
for gasoline, it's true, and for meals served to troops, it's true. Nothing's
been finally settled. These billing disputes arise all the time. The idea that
the contracts were given on a silver platter with all these wads of cash, independent
congressional General Accounting Office ruled that the contracts were legal and
while there were some discrepancies in some of the add-ons, they probably could
have been justified if they filled in the right blanks in the paperwork. 
MAN
IN AD: On Sept. 11, terrorists murdered nearly 3,000 Americans, including 346
firefighter -- one of which was my son, Michael. I lost my son. I spoke to him
that day. He went to work that morning and he died for a reason, because somebody
hates America. And that day, George Bush became a leader, a war president. I feel
very comfortable with him as president. We want a guy that's going to lead us
to victory in this war. 
BROOKS
JACKSON: Another remarkable thing about this is how few people saw it. Only about
$100,000 spent behind that ad. Liberals really have the advantage in this independent
spending war so far. 
TERENCE
SMITH: All right. And finally, Freedom, which is funded by the Conservative Club
for Growth, which describes itself as a free market political advocacy organization.
Let's take a look at it. 
BROOKS
JACKSON: Absolutely, in a way, again, that the candidate himself probably doesn't
want to do right now, and doesn't have to do if groups like these supporting him.
Now, you have to note here that so far liberal groups have been overwhelmingly
on the attack with these ads. There's been very few conservative ads of the kind
we've been showing here. They've had very little money behind them comparatively
so far. That may even up as we proceed because conservative groups are trying
the raise more money. But, so far, it's kind of a one-two punch. John Kerry is
running mostly positive ads while liberal groups are busy attacking Bush with
tens of millions of ads like the ones we just saw. 