This horrible advertisement is enough to make me love Scott Brown again, because it reminds me of the tactics we are up against in 2012:
The League of Women Voters, which is spending $1.2 million to run the ads against Brown, runs a toned-down version in an ad buy two-thirds smaller against Claire McCaskill, in which McCaskill’s name is not mentioned until the very end.
See, the League is non-partisan! Nice way to cover yor non-partisan rear ends, League.
Brown has taken to the airwaves to hit back.
What is up with the League of Women Voters running such sleazy ads? And make no mistake, these are sleazy. The votes at issue had to do with whether the EPA can regulate carbon dioxide emissions. To draw a connection to a little girl on an oxygen tank is pathetic.
How long before the League runs ads saying that Republicans want people to die quickly?
As a Boston Herald editorial put it:
Yes, by now you’ve seen one of the truly slimy ads sponsored by the “nonpartisan” League of Women Voters, targeting U.S. Sen. Scott Brown for his vote to block the (unelected) Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. We sure hope those little girls are feeling better knowing that Brown’s losing vote didn’t change their fate one iota.
Now the Massachusetts Republican Party has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, arguing that the League’s failure to file an independent expenditure report with the FEC for the seven-figure ad blitz — a $1.2 million ad buy in Massachusetts, according to USA Today, and a smaller campaign targeting Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri — is a violation of federal law
The Boston Globe reports that the League refuses to release the sources of its funding for the advertisements:
The League of Women Voters has offered strong support in the past for disclosing who pays for political advertising, but the voter education group this morning would not name the donors funding its TV ads attacking Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown—at least not this year.
“We comply with the spirit and the letter of the law and report all contributions in our annual reports,” said Elisabeth MacNamara, national president of the League of Women Voters, in a phone interview.
The League just happens to fall in line with Democratic talking points on global warming, and health care:
ACTION ALERT: Protect America’s Health Care
The Affordable Care Act, passed in the last Congress and signed into law by President Obama, was a major step forward in health care for all. It has already made a difference by improving health care access and coverage for millions of Americans. The House of Representatives took a step in the wrong direction by repealing the law that has already brought positive changes in the lives of Americans: children are no longer denied coverage for pre-exisiting conditions, insurers can no longer impose lifetime limits on coverage, adult children can stay on their parents’ health plans up until age 26 and Medicare recipients can have a number of preventive and well-care services without being charged a deductible, co-pay, or coinsurance.
Tell your Senators to oppose repeal of the Affordable Care Act by entering your zip code in the box on the right hand side of this page.
I’m sick and tired of supposedly non-partisan groups using their tax exempt status to push the Democratic Party line. The ads against Brown (and McCaskill as cover) step way over the line.
This is what we are up against. You need to take action at the grassroots to object whenever the League of Women Voters wants to get involved.
And cite the anti-Brown ad as proof of how the League of Women Voters has forfeited its non-partisan credentials.
You can contact the League here.
Update: Brown’s campaign has circulated the following e-mail:
A message to all members of BrownBrigade
Brigadiers,
Are you tired of the negative attack ads from the League of Women Voters? Tell them to take down their anti Scott Brown ads and stop polluting the airwaves.
Call The LWV Offices:
Boston: 617-523-2999
Washington DC: 202-429-1965
Tweet them @LWV
P.S. You can see our response video and donate today to help us defend Senator Brown: http://scottbrown.com/defend-our-senator
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