Clinton Operatives Behind Anti-Bush Ad Campaign

Newsmax.com ^ | July 10, 2002 | Carl Limbacher

[Paul Atreides]

Former Clinton political hitman James Carville, who recently touted New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for a 2008 presidential run, is reportedly behind an advertising campaign attacking President Bush for his 1990 sale of Harken Energy stock as well as his ties to the oil industry in general.

American Family Voices, a group described by the New York Times as "secretive," has paid to run a 30-second commercial on cable news programs in Washington, D.C., and in New York through Thursday.

The ad blasts President Bush as "sly like a fox" for talking down his dealings with Harken Energy, which Democrats claim amounted to insider trading.

Under questioning from the Times, Democratic Party spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri, who served as a senior aide to ex-President Clinton, confessed that Carville has significant ties to American Family Voices.

The secretive group is headed by another former Clinton aide, Michael Lux, who told the Times that the AFV commercial was timed to coincide with President Bush's speech on corporate responsibility.

Additional AFV ties to the Clinton administration include its advertising agency, the Glover Park Group. Former Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart is a partner at Glover, as are Carter Eskew and Michael Feldman, who were top advisers in former Vice President Al Gore's 2000 campaign.

American Family Voices also sponsors a Web site called "The Daily Enron," which argues that the Bush administration is responsible for various corporate scandals.

Yet another former top Clinton staffer, Stanley Greenberg, serves on the board of Democrats.com, which in July began touting an analysis claiming that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are "personally and directly responsible" for the deaths of the passengers and crew of 9-11 hijacked airliner Flight 93.

The involvement of Carville and other Clinton aides in the overt assault on the Bush White House belies the conventional wisdom that the Clintons have removed themselves as players in the realm of presidential politics.

Though the White House has basically ignored their attacks, both Mr. Clinton and his wife have hinted that President Bush is at least partially responsible for leaving the U.S. vulnerable to the 9-11 attacks.

On Monday, Mrs. Clinton began touting the theme of the AFV ads, telling an upstate New York audience that Bush "hadn't shown much leadership" during the wave of recent business scandals that have sent the stock market reeling.

[kcvl]

Corporate Tax Breaks Corporate lobbyists in Washington are lining up to feed at the taxpayers’ trough.

And the Republican Leadership wants to feed them well:

A retroactive $1.4 billion tax break to IBM
$1 billion to Ford
$671 million to General Electric
Over $100 billion in proposed special interest tax breaks…
and rising.
Hard to believe the greed?

Don’t take our word for it.

Check for yourself.(Don't bother because they DON'T know anything about building a website)

Click here to learn more.

[kcvl]

CheckForYourself.com

[magua]

Feel sorry for him, he has to look at that face in the mirror every day. He is a cotton mouth,yikes

[Lyford]

Why on earth would any trying to hurt Bush pay "to run a 30-second commercial on cable news programs in Washington, D.C., and in New York" ? It's not like he's ever going to win anything in either of those locales...

[kcvl]

American Family Voices

Updated January 2001

Description American Family Voices is an non-profit organization that declares its mission to be “advocacy for progressive public policies, especially economic issues” (www.checkforyourself.com). The organization was founded by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). According to The New York Times, AFSCME provided $800,000 to start the organization

(Source: The New York Times, August 11, 2000). However, neither the group’s ads nor its web-site (www.checkforyourself.com) disclose its relationship with the union. In addition, the website does not include a phone number or contact person, for the group.

Broadcast Issue Advocacy Activity The group announced that their public education effort for the 2000 election cycle includes grassroots and Internet organizing, TV and radio advertising, and direct voter contact programs. According to the group’s mission statement, their issue advocacy effort will cover a wide range of media markets, states, and congressional districts. It will focus on health care-related issues, especially HMO reforms that include a strong Patients' Bill of Rights; nursing home regulations, and guaranteed prescription drug coverage for senior citizens (Source: www.checkforyourself.com).

In August 2000, American Family Voices launched a television ad criticizing several health care decisions made by presidential candidate George W. Bush (R) as governor of Texas, and attributing them to large Republican Party donations from the insurance, nursing home and drug industries. The announcer of the 30-second spot says, "The convention's over. And look who won. The insurance industry; they've invested millions in George W. Bush, who vetoed a patients' bill of rights in Texas.

Nursing home operators; they've given over a hundred thousand to Bush, who weakened nursing home laws in Texas, while patient complaints doubled. The big drug companies; they've kicked in millions for Bush, who joined them in opposing guaranteed Medicare prescription coverage."

The ad urged the viewers to "tell Bush when special interests win, American families lose." The ad reportedly ran in Philadelphia, Detroit, St. Louis, and Washington, DC (Source: The Hotline, August 11, 2000).

CMAG tracked over $640,000 in spending on American Family Voice's television campaign.

Principals and Contact Information American Family Voices ADDRESS:1808 Swann Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009

WEB-SITE: www.checkforyourself.com

CONTACT: none available

[esopman]

Mary Matalin should be kept 100 miles upwind of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The dynamics of her bearing Carville's children, the marriage, (?pillow talk?)...must represent a compromise of the VPOTUS' office. It is absolutely inconceivable that the political arm of Bubba Rex has not made some political hay/mischief because of his link to her.

This is a powerful testimony to the incestuous power culture of the capitol. It trivializes the imagination to think that Bush/Cheney keep her on. Freepers, help me out here. What am I missing? Misunderstanding?

[kcvl]

Share This Article With Your Friends
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 9, 2002
11:22 AM
CONTACT: American Family Voices
Doug Curry, 202-628-7772



Consumer and Citizens Groups Demand Bush Remove Army Secretary White
Groups Call On White House to Restore Integrity to Army Post

WASHINGTON - May 9 - In light of mounting evidence calling into question former Enron Executive Thomas White's credibility and conduct as Army Secretary, a group of national consumer and citizens groups today call upon President George W. Bush to take responsibility for his appointment and remove him from office.
Led by American Family Voices (AFV), the groups cited numerous conflicts of interest, questionable divesting practices, deceptive responses to Congressional inquiries, and pending FBI and DOD investigations as ample cause for his removal. Joining AFV with their concerns were Campaign for America's Future, and USAction.

White, an 11-year Enron executive, had previously headed Enron Energy Services before being appointed Army Secretary by Bush last year. White's department has been accused of misrepresenting earnings and misleading investors, contributing directly to the company's downfall. As Secretary, White continued to hold Enron stock and collect an Enron pension, even after promising legislators that he would divest himself completely.

"Mr. White has displayed an egregious lack of ethics while holding a public office," said William McNary, President of US Action. "The honorable thing to do would be to return the profits he made back to the disenfranchised workers who were not privy to the same information Secretary White was."

"Secretary White ran a Ponzi scheme at Enron, and walked away with millions while misleading investors and his own employees," said Robert Borosage, co-director of Campaign for America's Future. "He is utterly incapable of representing the core military ethic of men and mission before self. It is time for the president to show that personal responsibility applies to members of his own administration."

Collectively, the groups represent millions of working families across the country. Each of the groups have been actively working following the collapse of Enron to make certain that the voice of the middle class is heard.

Campaign for America's Future is a center of progressive ideas and organizing, joining citizen activists and policy experts to challenge the conservative drift of American politics, and to discuss and debate a new vision of an economy and a future that works for working families.

USAction is a grassroots consumer organization dedicated to winning social and economic justice for all.

American Family Voices (AFV) is an issue advocacy organization designed to focus attention on the economic and family issues most important to the quality of middle class working families' lives. AFV members include advocates for consumer, healthcare, education, children, seniors, civil rights and labor issues.



###


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[kcvl]

Who we are

Douglas L. Curry

Doug Curry has many years of communications experience, having crafted media strategy in the public, private and non-profit sectors. His efforts have assisted a number of high-profile individuals and organizations, including former United States Senator Bob Kerrey, the United Way of America President and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[jumpstartme]

I see you all were already on top of this one. Well, here's what I collected and so I'll just put it here.

Secretive Group Re-emerges With Advertising Hostile to Bush

By DANIEL ALTMAN

WASHINGTON, July 9 — A small, secretive group that used television advertisements to attack George W. Bush during his campaign for president has re-emerged to point to links between oil companies with questionable accounting practices and the Bush administration.

The group, American Family Voices, paid for a 30-second commercial that will be shown until Thursday on cable news programs here and in New York. The commercial calls President Bush "sly like a fox" for talking down his dealings with Harken Energy, an oil company on whose board he once sat.

Twelve years ago, Mr. Bush sold stock in Harken just before it reported a $23.2 million loss, and he reported the sale to the Securities and Exchange Commission eight months late. The commercial also criticizes Vice President Dick Cheney for ties to Halliburton, an oil services company that the S.E.C. is investigating.

The commercial even suggests that the commission's chairman, Harvey L. Pitt, is unfit for the job because he was once a lawyer for several accounting firms, including Arthur Andersen.

American Family Voices said the commercial was timed to coincide with Mr. Bush's speech on corporate responsibility. Michael Lux, president of the group, said it wanted to reach "opinion leaders" in New York and politicians in Washington.

Mr. Lux, a consultant who works for American Family Voices under contract, would not say who donated the money for the television time. But the group and its advertising agency, the Glover Park Group, have significant links to the Clinton administration. Mr. Lux was an aide to President Bill Clinton, and the partners at Glover Park include Joe Lockhart, who was once Mr. Clinton's press secretary, and Carter Eskew and Michael Feldman, two advisers to Al Gore's unsuccessful campaign for president in 2000.

Mr. Lux said 12 donors responded to a request for money, and he hinted that the contributors included a trial lawyer, an executive in high technology and a prominent person in Hollywood.

Mr. Lockhart would not say how much American Family Voices paid the agency to create the advertisement, but he said the broadcasting time cost about $100,000.

Jennifer Palmieri, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, said the committee had nothing to do with the commercial. But Ms. Palmieri said that James Carville, once a top campaigner for Mr. Clinton, was involved with American Family Voices.

The absence of direct involvement by the Democratic Party did not assuage the White House. "Given the source of the ads, given that they come from James Carville," said Anne Womack, a White House spokeswoman, "they represent the most partisan of partisan attacks."

In the last year, from a sea-green brick building in Washington, American Family Voices has criticized Mr. Bush's tax breaks for corporations and has sponsored a Web site called The Daily Enron, which chronicles corporate accounting scandals.

The group was formed in 2000 with money from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It has four employees, led by Mr. Lux. It has Section 501(c)4 tax status, which means it cannot run advertisements mentioning specific candidates within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary. The status also lets the group keep the identities of its backers a secret.

---

American Family Voices
1224 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20005

---

Mr. Lux said 12 donors responded to a request for money, and he hinted that the contributors included a trial lawyer, an executive in high technology and a prominent person in Hollywood.

My guess is Peter Angelos- top democratic donor, trial lawyer and owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Vinod Gupta and Barbara Streisand. Care to bet on this one?

---

The daily Enron's web site appears to be down. Tsk, tsk. But, here's a cached version. Under the "know thy enemy" heading, here is another site of this group: Check For Yourself.

---

Michael Lux's biography as a partisan hack for democrats.

---

Glover Park Group

The September 11 attacks mortally wounded network television ad sales. So it was no big surprise when NBC, a unit of General Electric, announced it was closing time for its 50-year-long ban on liquor ads at the end of last year. What is surprising, however, was which firm Diageo Plc, the United Kingdom-based spirits company that owns popular brands like Guinness, Smirnoff and Johnny Walker, went to in order to produce its prime-time commercial for NBC: Instead of going with a glitzy Madison Avenue agency, Diageo hired Washington insiders Joe Lockhart, Mike Feldman and Carter Eskew to get the drink-Smirnoff-but-drink-safely message across.

The three Democratic spinmeisters joined forces this summer and launched the DC-based Glover Park Group, a small communications-consulting firm that specializes in issue advertising. At the time, Lockhart, a Clinton White House press secretary; Feldman, who was a senior advisor to Vice President Al Gore; and Eskew, chief strategist for Gore's presidential campaign, were all taking some time off. "We all decided it was time to get serious," says Lockhart, who quit his job as press secretary to flack for Oracle's Larry Ellison - but returned to DC in May 2001 because he said he found bisexual life to be too grueling. (Couldn't possibly have had anything to do with Larry Ellison being too grueling, we're sure.)

The nascent firm has already created ads for Bob Dole and Bill Clinton's philanthropic collaboration; eBizJets, a Boston, MA-based airline; and various do-gooder groups. But Diageo's name is conspicuously absent on the "Who We've Worked With" section of the Glover Park Group's website.

Asked about the controversial prime-time liquor campaign, Lockhart says, "We are referring all calls about that to Guinness…. We are not discussing that campaign." Lockhart adds that there are at least three new deals that his firm is working on but is similarly unable to talk about them. "Clients are funny that way," he says.

FYI, some other names on Lockhart's client list include WorldCom & Andersen.

[MickMan51]

W needs to realize that he is not dealing with that moron, Ann Richards. These are sleazy gangsters who need to be blown out of the water.

Bears repeating:

W needs to realize that he is not dealing with that moron, Ann Richards. These are sleazy gangsters who need to be blown out of the water.

[nimc]

Why on earth would any trying to hurt Bush pay "to run a 30-second commercial on cable news programs in Washington, D.C., and in New York" ? It's not like he's ever going to win anything in either of those locales...

No, but the "Biased" media is very happy to report about it. Start a dialog on unfounded allegations from a secret tax-exempt organization. That in effect, makes it a national advertising campaign.

[kcvl]

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[kcvl]

Who we are

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Jamie Shor has put a long involvement in public policy and journalism to work as a communications strategist for a variety of non-profit associations, public affairs organizations and corporations. Working both in crisis-mode and with an eye for long-term strategic management, Jamie specializes in designing comprehensive communication plans that give clients access to vital broadcast television, radio and print news across the country. A former television news writer and producer in Washington, DC, Jamie uses her in-depth knowledge of the media to advance her clients' agenda.

After leaving television, Jamie served as press secretary to U.S. Representative Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut during his historic 21-vote victory in 1994. During her tenure on Capitol Hill, she was charged with promoting an agenda that included campaign finance reform, health care reform and environmental and trade issues.

Jamie then spent two years as Communications Director for Handgun Control, Inc. and the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. There, she was a spokesperson for Jim and Sarah Brady as well as a lead strategist for a series of gun control and education initiatives.

A specialist in putting together top-notch teams of writers, designers and event organizers, Jamie has helped create campaigns and events for a wide array of clients. Her work has garnered press coverage in the nation's top publications as well as the television networks.

Jamie is a 1989 graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park with a degree in Journalism.


Venture Communications, LLC | 1224 M Street, NW Suite 301 | Washington, DC 20005 | 202 628.7772

[kcvl]

Who we are

Douglas L. Curry

Doug Curry has many years of communications experience, having crafted media strategy in the public, private and non-profit sectors. His efforts have assisted a number of high-profile individuals and organizations, including former United States Senator Bob Kerrey, the United Way of America President and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Doug most recently represented the U.S. recorded music industry, serving as Director of Communications for the RIAA. As an on-the-record spokesperson for the trade group representing the five largest record labels in the United States, he worked closely with major television, radio and print news outlets during events surrounding the digital music debate, including the internationally covered Napster case.

In that capacity, Doug worked with the RIAA president, industry executives and recording artists to develop media strategy and message. He regularly conducted print and radio interviews with national and international media organizations and was the primary writer for the department, producing speeches, op-eds, Congressional testimony and press releases.

Prior to joining the RIAA, Doug worked for the public relations firm of Burson-Marsteller in Washington, D.C. He provided public relations and public policy counsel to multinational, electronic publishing and other corporate clients.

Doug began his career serving as an aide to United States Senator Bob Kerrey from Nebraska. Spanning a period of nearly six years with the Senator, he worked in both his policy and political offices.

Doug received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1992.

[kcvl]

Who we are

Amy Gergely

Amy Gergely comes to Venture Communications with more than 10 years of experience in public relations, print journalism and philanthropic leadership.

Before joining Venture she ran Wordsmithz Communications, a freelance writing, public relations and photography company, she founded in 1999. As a freelancer, Gergely created and implemented PR campaigns for hi-tech companies, non-profits and charities.

She also served as an associate editor and consumer writer and has photographed numerous events, including press conferences, weddings, charity events and celebrity appearances. In 2000, she participated in the White House News Photographers Association FOCUS on Photojournalism symposium.

Prior to that, Gergely served more than three years as a Director of Consumer Communications for the Independent Insurance Agents of America (IIAA), where she became the organization's primary spokesperson and consumer advocate. She developed many successful consumer education initiatives, including an award-winning natural disaster preparation guide, a groundbreaking research and awareness campaign for home-based entrepreneurs and an exposé on identity theft.

Before joining IIAA, Gergely served as Press Secretary to U.S. Representative Paul McHale and Manager of Financial Relations at the financial public relations firm of Morrison/Carlisle, Inc.

She has placed stories in and been interviewed by some of the nation's top consumer publications and broadcast news organizations, including CNN, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Money and USA Today. She has conducted media training workshops for more than six years.

For the past four years, Gergely has served on the Executive Board of Friends United for Need - a Washington, D.C.-based charity that provides support and funding to a variety of community initiatives - including a term as Executive Chair in 2000-2001. She is intensely involved in other community initiatives, including Horton's Kids, a tutoring and mentoring program benefiting children in public housing, and LionLink, a career-mentoring program for alumni of Penn State University.

Gergely received a BA in political science from the Pennsylvania State University and has done graduate level work in print journalism and photography.

[SunStar]

Though the White House has basically ignored their attacks, both Mr. Clinton and his wife have hinted that President Bush is at least partially responsible for leaving the U.S. vulnerable to the 9-11 attacks.

What a laughable notion. Wouldn't "Mrs." Clinton and her husband be more responsible for the vulnerabilities, given their 8-year run as Thieves-In-Chief?

[jumpstartme]

Here's another on Michael Lux:

Democrats, facing the ban they supported on unregulated "soft" campaign money, have formed a fledgling "donor network" to take advantage of a loophole in the new law.

The Progressive Donor Network held its inaugural strategy meeting in Washington two weeks ago. Its president and co-founder is political consultant Michael Lux, who was a top fund-raising official for the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign and served as an aide in the Clinton White House.

[Elkiejg]

Sent the NYTimes article to FOXNEWS for exposure. Suggest we all FLOOD the media with this slimmy story.

[kcvl]

MICHAEL LUX

Michael Lux is the co-founder and President of Progressive Strategies, L.L.C., a political consulting firm focused on strategic consulting for non-profits, pacs, and progressive donors.

Prior to founding Progressive Strategies, Lux was Senior Vice President for Political Action at People For the American Way (PFAW) PFAW Foundation, and the PFAW Voters Alliance, he oversaw lobbying and legal advocacy, field operations, state and regional offices, voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts, and educational activities. He also was responsible for coalition building with other organizations and interest groups. He was also treasurer and CEO of PFAW Voters Alliance, a state and federal PAC launched earlier this year.

While at PFAW, Lux was a leader in the effort to found a progressive response to rightwing domination of the ballot initiative process. Started as a PFAW project, the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center has become an important coalition, providing progressives a forum to strategize, research, train, and target on major ballot initiative fights. Lux is the chair of its board.

Before coming to People For the American Way, Lux served at the White House as a Special Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, where his role on health care and budget issues involved working closely with a wide range of constituency groups including labor, seniors, health care providers, trial lawyers, consumer groups and agricultural interests.

Since leaving the White House in April 1995, Lux has become a significant fundraiser for progressive causes and candidates. He was a 1996 Clinton-Gore Finance Committee Vice Chair, and served in the 1996 cycle as a Democratic National Business Council Vice Chair. He has raised money for numerous charitable causes and political candidates over the last three years. Prior to his service at the White House, Lux was Constituency Director on both the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign and the Presidential transition. Lux was also a senior staffer for the Biden and Simon campaigns in the 1988 cycle.

Lux has a diverse background in the consulting, labor and consumer advocacy world. He was a partner and co-founder, with former DNC Chair David Wilhelm, of the Chicago-based political consulting firm, Strategy Group. He was Executive Vice President, PAC director and chief lobbyist for the Iowa AFL-CIO in the early 1990s. During his tenure as Executive Director of the Iowa Citizen Action Network, Lux doubled the organization's annual budget from $500,000 in 1984 to almost $1 million in 1987 while raising the organization's membership from 30,000 to 75,000. His first organizing job was as a VISTA volunteer working with moderate income family farmers in southeast Nebraska.

Lux contributed an essay to the book, 250 Ways to Make America Better, which was compiled and published by the editors of George magazine. (excerpt here)

Lux has appeared on Fox News, ABC News, and has also been a frequent guest on a wide variety of radio shows all across the country.

Lux is a native of Lincoln, Nebraska.

---

Thomas F. Sheridan

Tom brings more than fifteen years experience in national politics to The Sheridan Group. Serving on the staff of Vice President Walter Mondale’s 1984 presidential campaign, Tom Sheridan campaigned in nine states on behalf of the Vice President.

Mr. Sheridan is recognized as an expert and leader on domestic policy issues through his work for the National Association of Social Workers, the Child Welfare League of America, and the AIDS Action Council. He was the leading national HIV/AIDS lobbyist during the period in which AIDS groups realized their greatest political and policy successes. Mr. Sheridan established a coalition of more than 100 national organizations to lobby Congress on AIDS issues, and served as the principal lobbyist for the Ryan White CARE Act of 1990 (now providing more than $1 billion in services to people with HIV and AIDS).

Mr. Sheridan chaired the lobbying efforts that successfully passed the historic Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. His firm continues to represent many of the nation’s most compelling domestic issues including tobacco control, housing and women’s health.

He has a B.A. from Dominican College and has a Master’s degree in Social Work from The Catholic University of America.

[kcvl]

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