'527' Groups Still at Work Raising Millions for Ads (Swift Vets with $3 mm ad buy)

A group of anti-Kerry Vietnam veterans whose television commercials attacking the senator shook the presidential race filed a report Friday showing it raised about $9 million through the end of September, and the group says it has raised millions more since then.

The numbers came as the group announced its largest advertising buy ever - more than $3 million- this week. One commercial shows a series of veterans questioning issues like Mr. Kerry's service medals and his meeting with North Vietnamese in Paris at the time of the peace talks there. The last veteran states flatly, "John Kerry cannot be trusted."

Starting with little money just a few months ago, the group, Swift Vets and P.O.W.'s for Truth, formerly Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, made it clear this week that it planned to stay in the election campaign. Its members' resolve was summed up neatly in the title of an agenda at a three-day meeting held last weekend to plan their final push: "Plan of the Day: Not to Leave the Ship."

"We're going to give it everything we got," said Roy Hoffmann, a retired rear admiral who is a founder of the group and is in the advertisement.

This and other advertising campaigns show how advocacy groups, along with candidates and political parties, are pouring everything they have into the election in the next two weeks, spending tens of millions of dollars to televise commercials and mobilize voters.

Many groups, known as 527 committees, which are allowed to collect unlimited contributions, have raised millions of dollars for the final weeks leading up to the election. Even at this late hour, some continue to collect money from wealthy donors.

"This will be intense," said Stephen Moore, president of the conservative Club for Growth. "It's wall-to-wall ads now."

Republican groups have plans to release a blizzard of television commercials in coming days.

A new 527 group run by the Club for Growth, called Clubforgrowth.net, will run an advertisement next week created by the movie producer David Zucker, whose credits include "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun." The commercial paints Mr. Kerry as indecisive, depicting a wedding in which the groom kisses a bridesmaid instead of a bride and other examples of people changing their mind. "John Kerry has changed his mind time and time again," the announcer says. "If you thought you could trust John Kerry, you may want to change your mind, too."

Mr. Moore said the group's strategy was to use humor to "puncture through all the noise" as it runs the advertisement on national cable channels, as well as in Ohio and Michigan. Clubforgrowth.net raised about $1.5 million and spent about $1 million in the quarter, Mr. Moore said.

Chad Clanton, a Kerry spokesman, said, "President Bush's allies are kicking into high gear after he went 0 for 3 in the debates."

Of the Swift Vets group, he said: "This group has absolutely no credibility. They've been discredited by major news organizations and official U.S. Navy documents. They're doing the Bush campaign's dirty work, and they're willing to say anything to distract from this president's four years of failure.''

But whatever the motive, the commercials are apt to keep coming. The Progress for America Voter Fund, which has run advertisements flashing pictures of Osama bin Laden and other terrorists, is planning to begin a $14 million advertising campaign Tuesday, said Brian McCabe, the group's president. He would not discuss details, saying only that there is "an element of surprise." The group reported raising more than $28 million and spending almost $23 million in the third quarter, according to the Center for Public Integrity, which tracks the reports.

Democratic 527 groups, which had a head start raising money and have been operating months longer than their Republican rivals, also continued to collect seven-figure checks.

America Coming Together, which mobilizes voters in swing states, brought in about $24 million through its 527 committee in the third quarter and spent most of it, reports show. Six donors gave at least $1 million each, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks campaign finance. The Media Fund, which has run advertisements attacking Mr. Bush, brought in more than $18 million and spent about $17 million in the third quarter. The group is advertising in Ohio, Florida and Wisconsin, including commercials that try to tie Mr. Bush to the Saudi royal family. It is also trying to reach African-American voters in a large advertising campaign.

"We've learned over the course of the year what is effective and what is not effective,'' said Erik Smith, president of the Media Fund. "We are going to focus on what works.''

The reports filed by 527 committees Friday with the Internal Revenue Service are a snapshot of activity in the third quarter and do not cover October activities. In addition, many groups running advertisements must regularly file separate reports to the Federal Election Commission, making finance numbers a moving target in some cases.

The Swift Vets reported raising almost $9 million and spent more than $7 million in the third quarter, reports show. Members say they have raised closer to $15.5 million through this month.

The group said it would alternate two commercials on national cable television stations and in markets in Colorado, Ohio and New Mexico, with $2 million spent in Ohio alone.

The group has also sent mail to more than a million households and plans to buy newspaper advertisements in coming weeks, said William Franke, a founding member.

The planning meeting last weekend, in Arlington, Va., was billed in an e-mail message to group members as "our last chance to have a major impact on permanently derailing Senator Kerry's campaign.''

"Let's not be ambushed,'' said the e-mail message, which Admiral Hoffmann wrote. "Now is the time to deliver the final blow.''

Only the NYSlimes could write an article about 527s and not mention George Soros. Selective memory? Error by omission? Censorship?

"Chad Clanton, a Kerry spokesman, of the Swift Vets group, he said: "This group has absolutely no credibility. They've been discredited by major news organizations and official U.S. Navy documents. "

Of course the Media must always make the "discredited" claim whenever mentioning the swift boat vets. And of course NOTHING has ever been discredited to my knowledge.

And that little weazel Chad "wanna be" Clanton is a sleaze.

To read the latest on the Franchurian Candidate's bizzare exploits, click the picture, goto "last," and work backwards:

If you would like to help the Swift Boat Vets ( as I have, and I urge all to do-- even a few dollars will help ) kindly click on this logo:

Take a look at these short video clips, especially the last one. You will walk away with a heavy heart.

POW'S TELL ABOUT TORTURE

4 posted on 10/16/2004 2:37:44 AM PDT by backhoe (Just a Keyboard Cowboy, ridin' the Trackball into the Dawn of Information...)

Chad should be hanging somewhere for the little twerp's comment about seeking retribution, if Kerry is elected, against Sinclair Broadcasting for their upcoming program about "Stolen Honor," a thoroughly respectable documentary.

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