The Massachusetts air war continues with Scott Brown facing Super PAC fire... Dems propose amendments to fix Citizens United... Huntsman has daddy issues.. And ads from Rethink PAC and Scott Walker.
SCOTT BROWN IS FROM DC, WALL STREET -- A super PAC backed by unions and Democrats in Massachusetts launched its first salvo against Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) in what is gearing up to be one of the hardest fought and most expensive Senate races of 2012. Rethink PAC launched the Rethink Scott Brown project with two online videos, titled "DC" and "Wall Street," hinting that Brown's allegiance is not necessarily to his home state. HuffPost reported, "Rethink PAC's $150,000 online ad buy will run for a few weeks. The ads will be featured on top news sites in Massachusetts, including the website of the Boston Globe. ... Massachusetts has seen a flurry of political advertising activity in the past few weeks. The League of Conservation Voters launched an ad campaign against Brown in the last week of October. On November 10, Crossroads GPS, a nonprofit linked to Karl Rove, launched the first attack ad against Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren. On Monday Warren filed her first ad in the cycle, the only positive ad airing at the moment." [HuffPost]
CAMPAIGN VIDEOS
Committee: Rethink PAC
Candidate opposed: Scott Brown
Spot: "DC" -- The ad juxtaposes statements by Sen. Scott Brown with text explaining votes Brown made against extending unemployment benefits, cutting Pell Grants, and to water down financial reform.
Link: [http://youtu.be/auD8b968D4A]
Market: Online (Massachusetts)
Buy: Part of a $156,000 online ad buy
Committee: Rethink PAC
Candidate opposed: Scott Brown
Spot: "Wall Street" -- The ad targets Sen. Brown for his close ties to Wall Street including receiving $1.1 million in campaign contributions from the financial sector.
Link: [http://youtu.be/ZHq_tXF_r5o]
Market: Online (Massachusetts)
Buy: Part of a $156,000 online ad buy
Committee: Scott Walker for Governor
Candidate supported: Scott Walker
Spot: "Working Together" -- Featuring a woman labeled a "school board member," the ad seeks to show Walker's public union curbing policies as pro-education. This is part of an effort to blunt a recall effort ahead of time.
Link: [http://youtu.be/m0EfMhiE9E0]
Market: Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison and Wausau
Buy: ~$300,000
Help us populate our list of campaign videos. Send any notable TV, radio or web ads that you see to Fundrace. We also have a thing for terrible historical campaign ads so please send along your favorites. Send your submissions to paulblumenthal@huffingtonpost.com.
HOUSE DEMS PROPOSE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT -- House Democrats are following their Senate brethren by introducing a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. The amendment was introduced by Reps. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). Heinrich explained to HuffPost's Hayley Miller how the amendment ties into complaints of corporate power emanating from Occupy Wall Street, "Their complaint about the fact that things are so out of balance in this country -- that there's just too much paying attention to what corporations need right now and not paying attention to what the average, hardworking play-by-the-rules family needs -- is absolutely valid." [HuffPost]
HUNTSMAN'S DADDY ISSUES -- The super PAC backing former Utah governor Jon Huntsman's presidential bid is still trying to get Huntsman's father to contribute money. Jon Huntsman, Sr. remains reluctant and his son doesn't really want to ask his father to help bankroll his campaign. NYT's Nick Confessore and Jim Rutenberg write, "While the Our Destiny PAC now has enough cash to kick off a substantial initial advertising campaign, Mr. Huntsman's father has not yet committed the much larger amount that strategists believe is necessary to make the governor a truly viable contender in the Republican contest, according to several people privy to the thinking of both the campaign and the group but who would speak only on condition of anonymity. ... Mr. Huntsman has been loath to ask his father to up his commitment to the outside group, several people familiar with the situation said. His father, on the other hand, they said, has been unwilling to do so without being asked, especially given the uncertainty of whether the investment would make a huge difference." For critics of super PACs, this looks like one of the most obvious examples of overlap between a campaign and a super PAC. [NYT]
The Huntsman super PAC, Our Destiny, ad buy is reported to total $583,000, according to a tweet by Politico's Ben Smith.
CONGRESS IS REALLY, REALLY RICH -- To Congress, being a part of the 99 percent is the same as being a part of the one percent. According to personal financial disclosure reports analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics, forty-seven percent of lawmakers--249 in total--are millionaires. The Senate, in particular, is a one-percenter club. Seventy-six senators are worth more than $1 million. [CRP]
FORMER OBAMA BUNDLER COMMENTS ON SWITCH TO ROMNEY -- Hedge funder Kenneth Griffin has flipped back-and-forth between party support over the past few years. In 2007 he bundled contributions for Obama, then in 2008 he bundled contributions for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Now, he's backing Mitt Romney in his bid for the GOP nomination. Griffin told Bloomberg's Jonathan Salant, "Mitt Romney understands that the private sector is the source of economic growth and job creation ... His ideas can help get America's economy moving again and start putting people back to work." [Bloomberg]
DEWHURST AD CHERRY-PICKS QUOTES -- Politifact fact-checked the first television ad from Texas Senate candidate David Dewhurst and found some very cherry-picked quotes from journalists. The ad includes a clip of CBS News' Chip Reid saying to President Barack Obama, "But under your budget, the debt will increase $7 trillion over the next 10 years, the most irresponsible budget in American history, passing on our problems to the next generation." That quote was pieced together from a much longer quote from Reid asking Obama a question at a press conference, "At both of your town hall meetings in California last week you said, quote, 'I didn't run for president to pass on our problems to the next generation.' But under your budget, the debt will increase $7 trillion over the next 10 years; the Congressional Budget Office says $9.3 trillion. And today on Capitol Hill some Republicans called your budget, with all the spending on health care, education and environment, the most irresponsible budget in American history. Isn't that kind of debt exactly what you were talking about when you said 'passing on our problems to the next generation'?" [Politifact]
RECENT POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE REGISTRATIONS
ACU Super PAC: Independent Expenditure-Only Committee (Super PAC); Alexandria, VA; Treasurer: Melissa Bowman.
Building Effective Responsible Government (BERG) PAC: Leadership PAC (Rep. Rick Berg); Fargo, ND; Treasurer: Kelly Zander.
RECENT INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES
Rethink PAC, $156,000 to oppose Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.).
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