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The following television ad is currently running on cable and broadcast television. It is part of a three-part series produced by A.D. French & Associates and paid for by the 21st Ward Regular Democratic Organization, which I am treasurer of and who has endorsed Lewis Reed for President of the Board of Aldermen.
Comment away.
UPDATE 3/3/07: A commenter has asked about the context in which Shrewsbury's comment was made. It was made at a recent candidate forum in north St. Louis in response to a direct question from the audience about why he does not have his business located in the city. Here is the complete unedited video of both candidates' responses:
And here's a little additional context for the use of negative (or contrast) advertising in local citywide campaigns. The following is a negative ad Comptroller Darlene Green ran against Shrewsbury when he unsuccessfully challenged her for that office in 1996.
Here is Aldermanic President Jim Shrewsbury's campaign commercial currently running on TV. It features cameos by State Sen. Pat Dougherty, Ald. Phyllis Young, former Ald. Irv Clay, Chief of Staff Pam Ross, and campaign staffers Harold Brown and April Harris.
Shrewsbury is in the last 11 days of a close campaign with 6th Ward Alderman Lewis Reed to be decided in the March 6 primary election. *Reed is a client of A.D. French & Associates
6th Ward Alderman candidate Kacie Starr Triplett has posted a new web commercial on her campaign website. The spot, produced by A.D. French & Associates, highlights Triplett's campaign pledge to be the most accessible and responsive alderman at city hall.
All three candidates have been invited to a debate tonight at 7:00 at the Central Library, 1301 Olive St., hosted by the League of Women Voters and the Downtown Residents Association.
Touting his endorsement by the city's Firefighters' Union, Local 73, Alderman Lewis Reed has come out early with the first television commercial in the campaign for President of the Board of Aldermen.
Reed is running against incumbent Pres. Jim Shrewsbury. The election is March 6th.
Because of Iraq we are less secure, says General and former Presidential candidate Wesley Clark in a new commercial by VoteVets.org, the same group behind earlier ads attacking Republican Senators Jim Talent, George Allen in Virginia, Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania, and Conrad Burns in Montana.
A new television ad attacking Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill features photos of Hispanic men and women carrying Mexican flags with a female voice delivering the following message:
Between 10 and 12 million illegal immigrants reside in America costing taxpayers more than $45 billion a year. How did so many illegal immigrants get here? They walked right in.
Claire McCaskill does not favor restrictive measures to protect our security, like a border fence.
If Claire McCaskill's view prevails, America won't be America anymore.
The ad is paid for by a group called Americans for Honesty on Issues. The group's Web site does not give an address or phone number, nor does it list any of the officers or sponsors. It says only, "Americans for Honesty on Issues is organized to engage in political issue communications in compliance with federal and state laws."
According to Wikipedia, the group is a Houston, Texas based "527" that has spent over one million dollars on television advertisements, critical of Democratic candidates.
"527" groups are tax-exempt organizations that participate in political activities, typically via soft money contributions, which have no legal limit. By federal law, they are not allowed to coordinate their efforts with political campaigns. According to the New York Times, if past trends hold, the total raised and spent by such groups on this election will surpass $300 million, eclipsing the $258 million spent by such groups in the last midterm election, in 2002.
Again according to Wikipedia, Bob J. Perry, a Houston construction firm owner, appears to be the sole funder of AHI. Perry was the major funder of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, who ran a campaign against John Kerry in the 2004 election.
Sue Walden, a Houston business owner, is the president of AHI. Walden was a lobbyist for Enron and is considered a close ally of the former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who was forced to resign from Congress amid ethics scandals. Walden has been a Minor League Pioneer fundraiser for George W. Bush, raising $43,000, and was an adviser to Kenneth L. Lay, the former chief executive of Enron.
We'll try to post the video as soon as we can find a version on the Web.
Opponents of Amendment 2 have put together a quick response to U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill's powerful television ad featuring actor Michael J. Fox in support of the Stem Cell Initiative.
The Anti-Stem Cell ad features a handful of celebrities including former Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan, and actors Patricia Heaton ("Everybody Loves Raymond") and Jim Caviezel ("The Passion of the Christ").
The ad was paid for by the Life Communications Fund. It appears to have been put together quickly, at times seemingly shot with a consumer camcorder. It is not clear if it is being considered for television at this time or if another version will be shot.
UPDATE: According to the Drudge Report, this ad will air tomorrow during Game 4 of the World Series.
UPDATE 2:This video from a Chicago TV station and this story in USA Today outlines some of the controversy stemming (no pun intended) from Michael J. Fox's ad and comments made in response by conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has started a new Internet ad this week again hitting Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill on her personal finances.
Estimating McCaskill's net worth at between $13 million and $30 million, the GOP sites sources claiming she and her husband, entrepreneur Joseph Shepard, have gone to great lengths to pay little to no federal taxes.
"Claire McCaskill needs help," says a female voice in the commercial. "She's misplaced some of her income."
The ad claims McCaskill owns a $3 million airplane registered in Delaware, a state with no sales or personal property taxes. "She's misplaced some of her income in 150 limited partnerships," says the voiceover.
McCaskill has defended her husband's decision not to release his current tax returns to the media, saying they have released more than enough information on their personal finances and that her husband's "complicated" tax returns would just be used to further distract from the important issues of the campaign.
Folks watching Game 2 of the World Series tonight might have seen this new ad from U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill attacking incumbent Sen. Jim Talent for his record of voting with Pres. George W. Bush.
The 30-second ad highlights Talent's record of voting 94% of the time in support of the President's agenda, according to Congressional Quarterly.
Earlier this month, during their "Meet the Press" debate, host Tim Russert asked Talent, "Why shouldn’t voters in Missouri say 'Jim Talent is a rubber stamp for George W. Bush. If I disagree with George W. Bush, goodbye, Talent'?"
"Why don't they ever say in those surveys that the president agreed with me a certain percentage of the time?," joked Talent. "I mean, I’ve been in public life a lot longer when he has. When I went into Congress, I think he was still running the Texas Rangers."
A new ad featuring actor Michael J. Fox will soon be hitting televisions across the state. The ad, paid for by U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill, again links the upcoming Stem Cell initiative to the heated campaign for U.S. Senate.
"Unfortunately Sen. Jim Talent opposes expanding Stem Cell research," says Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease. "Sen. Talent even wanted to criminalize the science that gives us a chance for hope."
In February, Talent withdrew his support for a bill he co-sponsored to ban all forms of human cloning (including embryonic therapeutic cloning techniques that are seen as crucial to stem cell research), angering many of his pro-life supporters.
Talent has said he personally opposes the current embryonic stem cell ballot initiative, instead favoring research involving adult stem cells.
UPDATE:This video from a Chicago TV station and this story in USA Today outlines some of the controversy stemming (no pun intended) from Michael J. Fox's ad and comments made in response by conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.
THE POST NEEDS ADS -- For the second day in a row, the Post-Dispatch ran a full-page ad pleading with political campaigns to advertise in its pages. "Attention Candidates: We can help you win the vote," read Tuesday's ad on page A7.
TAX RETURNS RETURN -- The GOP continues to try to make Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill's husband an issue in her campaign.
The Missouri Republican Party issued a press release this morning blasting McCaskill and her husband, Joseph Shepard, for refusing to release his tax returns to the media.
"With a family fortune of between $13 million and $30 million amassed through taxpayer-financed tax credits, hundreds of government subsidized real estate partnerships and an offshore tax shelter in Bermuda, McCaskill and Shepard for months have arrogantly refused to release their tax returns even though Sen. Jim Talent and his wife Brenda released theirs long ago," Republicans said in the press release.
On KWMU's "St. Louis on the Air" this morning, McCaskill said they have released more than enough information on their personal finances and that her husband's "complicated" tax returns would just be used to further distract from the important issues of the campaign.
CRACKING OPEN THE PIGGEE BANK -- A telling sign of the trouble Missouri Republicans find themselves in is this little bit from Steve Kraske of the Kansas City Star:
"Sen. Kit Bond, a Missouri Republican who has stashed $2.8 million in his political action committee, is spending it. The biggest recipient: Jim Talent, with $450,000."
IN THE 4TH - More mysterious automated calls are being placed around the district. After calls were made telling voters to vote for anyone but Jeff Smith, the finger was quickly pointed at Derio Gambaro's campaign, mostly due to the exchange of negative mailers he and Smith engaged in recent days.
But now calls are going north attacking Amber Boykins' legislative record and closing with "so vote for Jeff Smith." Both Smith and Gambaro have denied having anything to do with these calls. And considering who they attack and who they may effectively help, fingers are now pointing at the campaign of Yaphett El-Amin. She has also denied involvement.
We also have unconfirmed reports of pro-El-Amin robo calls being made with personal messages from former Mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr. (which makes sense seeing as he is a vocal supporter of El-Amin) and another one with the voice of former U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan (which is harder to believe, but then again maybe she saw Jeff Smith's movie in which her son is basically characterized as a lazy mama's boy).
[UPDATE: Congressman Russ Carnahan has issued a statement on his website which says that neither he nor any member of his family is supporting any candidate in this race. Click here to read the full statement.]
IN THE 60TH - Things are getting downright nasty in this state rep race. Sharon Tyus has dropped two attack pieces on Jamilah Nasheed contrasting, among other things, her Christian background with Nasheed's Islamic faith.
Nasheed is also drawing criticism from some for yard signs asking voters in the district to punch #38 Tuesday if they support livable wages. That is of course her punch number, but -- except for a tiny "paid for by" disclaimer -- her name is not visible on the sign.
Meanwhile, Shaun Simms dropped a piece listing U.S. Senate Candidate Claire McCaskill among his supporters. It even has a picture of Simms with McCaskill along with Sen. Barack Obama and Simms' wife, the current 60th Rep, Amber Boykins. The photo appears to have been taken when Obama was in town in support of McCaskill.
A quick call to McCaskill's headquarters confirms what most would expect, the State Auditor is staying as far out of these Democratic primary fights as possible. She has endorsed no one.
UPDATE 2:IN THE 72ND - The state rep rematch between incumbent Maria Chappelle Nadal and Sandra Colquitt is among the nastiest in the region. Count this one among the races mostly likely to get physical Tuesday. A mysterious and unaccredited website (www.colquittunfit.com) has popped up attacking Colquitt using clips from The Lizz Brown Show, The Arch City Chronicle and The Post-Dispatch.
Some voters in south St. Louis received an anonymous automated phone call today telling them to vote for anyone but Jeff Smith in Tuesday's state senate election. Many Smith supporters immediately pointed the finger at Derio Gambaro, Smith's chief competitor for the important southside vote.
"Jeff Smith is a part-time professor of African-American Studies," says a male voice that sounds kind of like Gambaro's -- but even if he was behind the calls, he probably wouldn't use his own voice.
"He is also the only candidate running that lacks any legislative or government experience. Jeff Smith is a carpetbagger," the voice continues. "We need a senator with experience and commitment to our community, not Jeff Smith."
There is no doubt that even many less partisan voters are thinking Gambaro is to blame, primarily because he and Smith have been going back and forth with negative campaign mailers directed at these same voters. In one memorable piece, Gambaro jokes that Smith's Confluence Charter School is "even worser then [sic] St. Louis Public Schools."
Gambaro told PUB DEF this evening that he was aware of the calls and deeply upset about it. "This is why people get turned off to politics," he said. He flatly denied having anything to do with the calls.
UPDATE: State Rep. Yaphett El-Amin, another candidate for the 4th District State Senate seat, also denied knowing anything about the call when contacted by phone.
Her campaign has also started attacking Smith, who many see as the frontrunner in this race, on local black radio stations. An El-Amin commercial running on 95.5 FM asks voters if Smith thinks they are stupid for listing a vacant lot as his district address on early campaign documents.
UPDATE 2: Smith is trying to turn the phantom calls into a fundraising tool. In an email to supporters, he calls the calls "a combination of misrepresentations and outright lies" and asks them to contribute to his campaign via his website "then add $1 to show that you are giving in response to this email."
"I don't care about the amount," said Smith. "I just want to show that the community will not tolerate this kind of campaigning."
The battle for the southside vote is heating up as attacks between the two white State Senate candidates, Jeff Smith and Derio Gambaro, go back and forth in the mailboxes of 5th District voters south of Delmar.
Gambaro attacked Smith on his involvement with the Confluence Academy Charter Schools:
Smith attacked Gambaro on his support of Social Security reform:
Gambaro attacked Smith again on his charter schools:
Then Smith called Gambaro a "Republican in Democrat's clothing":
Then Gambaro said Smith would say anything to get elected:
You know, if white people just stopped fighting one another, they might be able to get something done for their communities.
It's hot all over, but it might be getting even hotter in the 60th State Rep District. Jamilah Nasheed's campaign today mailed out a piece that asks voters if they want to go "backwards" or move "forward." The mailer slams Nasheed's opponent, Sharon Tyus, on her record as the former alderman of the 20th Ward.
"Improved her home and block while the rest of the ward decayed," Nasheed's piece charges. "Refused to join the Aldermanic Black Caucus," "Fought against the city's first black mayor," and "Arrogant to the core," it says.
As you may have heard, or even seen, Jim Talent is using his considerable financial advantage over his Democratic challenger, Claire McCaskill, to start running television commercials rather early, with well over three months before the November general election.
You can view those commercials on Talent's website, along with little intros by the senator himself. "It's kind of like the director's commentary on a DVD," Talent says about the Internet broadcast. Click here to view Talent's director cuts.
State Senate candidate Jeff Smith released a statement today responding to a press release from the campaign of Yaphett El-Amin which referred to his race, calling him a "known Caucasian."
Smith said, "While we have offered a hopeful, progressive vision to unify this district, Representative El-Amin has chosen to mire her campaign in the divisive politics of the past."
"Our city is moving forward. Yet just as we begin to move past race and revitalize our city, the El-Amin campaign had to resort to the politics of fear and hatred in a disgraceful attempt to teach racial hostility to a whole new generation of voters," said Smith.
John Cross, of The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (A.C.O.R.N.), has been acting as a psuedo Director of Communications for the El-Amin for State Senate campaign, writing and faxing press releases and getting the word out to "the community" about various campaign events. Today, Team El-Amin's need for a real D.O.C. was once again blast-faxed across the 4th District.
Dave Drebes of the Arch City Chronicle, a longtime supporter of Jeff Smith, one of El-Amin's four opponents in the August 8 election, published a press release written by Cross that refers to Smith, who is white, as "the known Caucasian candidate."
The release then states that polled voters in the mostly black district changed their support from Smith to El-Amin, who is black, after they "learned more about the candidates," suggesting that the poll may have been a push poll, a technique in which a campaign attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a real poll. According to Wikipedia, the mildest forms of push polling are designed merely to remind voters of a particular issue -- such as race.
Cross' communications skills have been called into question before. After Team El-Amin was hit by a double dose of "baby mama drama" and a politically tainted Channel 5 reporter, Cross was put in charge of notifying the media of the campaign's press conference which came four days after the KSDK report. PUB DEF and representatives from The St. Louis Argus, co-owned by El-Amin's father, were the only media that covered at the event.
With 27 days left in this close campaign, there's still time for a change in message -- and messenger.
Starting this week, backers of the Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative will start running a 30-minute infomercial on television stations around the state. The program, which backers call a documentary, will feature interviews with Missouri medical experts and patient advocates, including Dr. William Danforth.
"We developed the documentary to provide all Missouri voters with convenient and easy access to in-depth information on stem cells and the Initiative," said Donn Rubin, Chairman of the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, which has raised more than $10 million in support of the initiative.
St. Louis TV viewers can see the spots at the following times:
On Channel 2 on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and again on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
On Channel 4 on Sunday at 11:05 p.m.
On Channel 5 on Saturday and Sunday at 5:00 a.m. and again on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
On Channel 11 on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 8:00 a.m.
Supporters of Gov. Matt Blunt have started running a new ad on Missouri radio stations to help save the governor's dismal approval rating; at 35% as of last month.
The ad describes a gloomy situation for Missouri before Blunt became governor. "What a difference a year and a half makes," the ad says. An announcer says Blunt "got it right" with his spending cuts and education formula change.
On their webpage, where you can also listen to the ad and give money to help keep it on the air, Missourians for Matt Blunt, Inc. says "liberal media bias" is responsible for the public's negative view of Blunt.
