TV Ads Say S.U.V. Owners Support Terrorists

New York Times ^ | 1/07/03 | KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

[kattracks]

ASHINGTON, Jan. 7 — Ratcheting up the debate over sport utility vehicles, new television commercials suggest that people who buy the vehicles are supporting terrorists. The commercials are so provocative that some television stations are refusing to run them.

Patterned after the commercials that try to discourage drug use by suggesting that profits from illegal drugs go to terrorists, the new commercials say that money for gas needed for S.U.V.'s goes to terrorists.

"This is George," a girl's voice says of an oblivious man at a gas station. "This is the gas that George bought for his S.U.V." The screen then shows a map of the Middle East. "These are the countries where the executives bought the oil that made the gas that George bought for his S.U.V." The picture switches to a scene of armed terrorists in a desert. "And these are the terrorists who get money from those countries every time George fills up his S.U.V."

A second commercial depicts a series of ordinary Americans saying things like: "I helped hijack an airplane"; "I gave money to a terrorist training camp in a foreign country"; "What if I need to go off-road?"

At the close, the screen is filled with the words: "What is your S.U.V. doing to our national security?"

The two 30-second commercials are the brainchild of the author and columnist Arianna Huffington. Her target audience, she said, is Detroit and Congress, especially the Republicans and Democrats who last year voted against a bill, sponsored by Senators John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, that would have raised fuel-efficiency standards.

Spokesmen for the automakers dismissed the commercials.

Eron Shosteck, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said of Ms. Huffington, "Her opinion is out-voted every year by Americans who buy S.U.V.'s for their safety, comfort and versatility." He said that S.U.V.'s now account for 21 percent of the market.

In an interview, Senator Kerry distanced himself from the commercials. He said that rather than oppose S.U.V.'s outright, he believed they should be more efficient.

"I haven't seen these commercials," he said, "but anybody can drive as large an S.U.V. as they want, though it can be more efficient than it is today."

Ms. Huffington's group, which calls itself the Detroit Project, has bought almost $200,000 of air time for the commercials, to run from Sunday to Thursday. While the group may lose some viewers if stations refuse to run the advertisements, the message is attracting attention through news coverage.

The advertisements are to be broadcast on "Meet The Press," "Face the Nation" and "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" in Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and Washington.

But some local affiliates say they will not run them. At the ABC affiliate in New York, Art Moore, director of programming, said, "There were a lot of statements being made that were not backed up, and they're talking about hot-button issues."

Ms. Huffington said she got the idea for the commercials while watching the antidrug commercials, sponsored by the Bush administration. In her syndicated column, she asked readers if they would be willing to pay for "a people's ad campaign to jolt our leaders into reality."

She said she received 5,000 e-mail messages and eventually raised $50,000 from the public. Bigger contributors included Steve Bing, the film producer; Larry David, the comedian and "Seinfeld" co-creator; and Norman Lear, the television producer.

[Protagoras]

I've got a 25-mile one way commute, and that's on some of the most forbidding freeway in the nation.

I guess ya just can't be a good American if ya live that far from work. Move a little closer or you are aiding a terrorist. :-)

[Brad’s Gramma]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/817985/posts

Check out THIS thread. Use it as your ammo, those of you who find yourselves arguing with anti-SUVer's!!!

[danelectro]

You think Arianna's kidding?

i don't think she intends for her argument re: suv's to be taken seriously in the context of this ad, no. i think she is making a political point about propaganda, and the use of truly specious arguments (drugs/oil) linked to public fear of terrorism to advance an agenda.

the oil/suv/conservation here is simply the foil, a side issue, not the meat of her point.

[dramagirl1341]

someone should send this link to arianna....

[Mark]

The bimbo was just on Sean Hannity's radio show. Didn't like being called a terrorist supporter while
she is flying in private jets-- avoids answering his questions, especially square footage of her house.
"None of your business!" What a liberal air-head! I hope he posts that interview on his site. Priceless!!

[newgeezer]

enviroidiots, like yourself, restrict access to domestic oil

You pegged me wrong (you effing a--wipe). I'm all for using it. Conserving it.

[dead]

Oooh touchy touchy.

Here's a clue, genius – if you’re going to have a little cyber-conniption fit every time somebody calls you a name, you might want to refrain from calling people “self-proclaimed conservatives” and accusing them of willingly aiding terrorists.

Overly sensitive enviro-dork.

[arm958]

Arianna's right. Our increasing dependence on Arab oil is a national security concern, and has been for some time. I don't know why most of you can't see that. She was wrong in picking solely on SUV's though. They are just one end use of all of that foreign oil.

[newgeezer]

Here's a clue, genius – if you’re going to have a little cyber-conniption fit every time somebody calls you a name, you might want to refrain from calling people “self-proclaimed conservatives” and accusing them of willingly aiding terrorists.

I know the difference is subtle to a moron such as yourself but, I didn't call you anything of the sort. Rather, the terms were narrowly defined such that the reader is left to decide whether the shoe fits. Apparently, you decided it does. (However, you claim to not "drive large" so, it remains a mystery why you chose to wear the shoes.)

Overly sensitive enviro-dork.

In your simple little world, moron, how many "enviro-dorks" favor drilling in the ANWR?

Oh, lemme guess... Your quick wit will produce something such as, "one"?

(I can't wait to tell people I was accused of being "overly-sensitive" AND an "enviro-dork." They'll just die laughing!)

Pompous, pea-brained, self-righteous blowhard. (Bet precious few of your acquaintances find those labels hard to believe.)

[dead]

At your next conservative tree sit-in, you can tell them I called you a hippie too!

Peace, dude.

[DCPatriot]

"Lifetime pardons for future liberalism are available to all who opposed Clinton.

Plus, she's somewhat of a fox....depending on the haircut.

[Dan Day]

"I guess this could be so if the owners were Libertarians doing their illegal stash in the name of the Constitution of course! LOL"

That didn't take long. What point are you trying to make?

The same point that all the non-sequitur libertarian-bashers have: "Libertarians are poo-poo heads".

[newgeezer]

At your next conservative tree sit-in

If you see me sitting in a tree, don't be wearing antlers. ;-)

[Nuke'm Glowing]

" I do bike. What freedom are you losing by sticking it to the middle east by using less of their blood oil?"

Let me guess; you fell off your bike one time and the tin foil bicycle helmet failed to protect you. I guess now I'll have to read all the posts and find the standard "CFR and Saudi control of the oil and economies of the world" conspiracy posting. Sheesh. We could be self-sufficient if the ecocommies would go away and we would quit exporting our own oil overseas.

[Dan Day]

Our increasing dependence on Arab oil is a national security concern, and has been for some time. I don't know why most of you can't see that.

We *can* see that. But that's a different issue than what's under discussion here.

She was wrong in picking solely on SUV's though.

BINGO! That was the brain-dead, on-the-level-of-a-liberal absurdity that we've been giving the beating it richly deserves.

That, and the equally stupid statement that it "doesn't matter" whether we buy/consume mideast oil versus some other oil (including our own).

[Nuke'm Glowing]

" Regardless of what you think about the idiocy of the ads, I don’t think that TV stations should have the right to refuse to run them."

So what you are saying is the Ministry of Truth and the Ministry of Propaganda should dictate that all ads must be seen and private businesses have no right to dictate what they broadcast. Comrade, I'm glad you're not in charge.

"I think that for all cases except clearly slanderous ads, anyone willing to fork over the dough should have access to the public airwaves."

Based on that logic, if a drunk drives up to your bar and he's already ripped you have to sell him alcohol. Bzzzttt...doesn't work that way, you have to allow private industries some freedoms for capitalism to work.

"To do otherwise is clearly a severe restriction on free speech, much more so than McCain-Feingold."

It is? So what you are stating, and you must either agree with this to back your statements up is that NAMBLA should be allowed to put advertisements on television, no matter how vile and disgusting they are.

I can't wait to see your response.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

" Very amusing. But since we can't suffocate all the bad guys over there (without suffocating many of our own) we need to do our best to stop buying the product that funds their terrorism."

We can't? You'd best talk to my friends in the 2nd Marine Division. They will disagree with you strongly. It's a matter of national will, not the "oh my God the sky is falling, we can't piss of the terrorists" bs we've seen floating on this board lately. WE as a nation can and must kill every terrorist and supporter. If that means we waste 5-10 million radical Muslims and their supporters, oh well. Sucks to be them.

"And an easy way to do that is to drive less and to drive efficiently."

No an easier way is to let the market do it's job and shut up.

"That's really not too much of a sacrifice."
Ah, the liberal mantra...."sacrifice"....
Screw that, I prefer the mantra of build it, pump it, and pave over all those that oppose it.

" American soldiers should not have to die overseas in a military action when there is such an easy economic solution."

Having taken the tour in 91, I can assure you fewer American soliders would die than enemy soldiers. Putting your head up your tuckus is not going to end this war nor lower oil prices. We must kill all of the supporters, rebuild the nations in our favor, and then dictate how we want things to be. It's called the "Roman" principle; you're either with us or your dead.

" And a side benefit is better health for all Americans. (I put that in to annoy you)"

You've succeeded in a annoying all of us. Now scoot on back to DU.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

Wow, I just drove my SUV 200 miles round trip today and look at all the rantings those idiots put up while I was gone. Good work in rebuking these fools Mr. Jefferson.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

" C-SPAM reported today that the presidential candidate Howard Dean from the pinko state of Vermont was taking off in his Explorer."

But,but,but, he's killing the trees and animals by driving one of those evil vehicles...</barfalertpukingsarcasm off

[Nuke'm Glowing]

" My problem is that allowing the free market to dictate the size and composition is foolish."

I agree. We should do the same thing by introducing censorship so liberal bedwetters in disguise can't post their foolishness on FR.

"People around here seem to so honor the free market that they are willing to allow even that."

You've missed the key word:

"free"

By allowing people to have economic freedom our nation has become the greatest in history. Introducing your nonsense into the equation is what's crippled us in the last 30 years from having a straight line up instead of the stop and go economy the government attempts to manipulate at every level.

" Oil and steel are nuclear weapons are militarily startegic items and should not be dictated entirely by the market."

Oil and steel are nuclear weapons????? Hmmmm, I've got to try something with my big SUV full of gas tonight...

" I think we have allowed our enemies too much liberty in controlling us through our appetite for luxury under the guize of "safety and utility".

Just because you're a loser and can't afford what we drive is no reason to impose your economic jealousy on the rest of us. We'll pay for the gas and would be happier if we quit exporting our resources and would just drill for more. If oil is so economically important to the war effort, why have your ecocommie friends implemented lawsuits for the last 20 years to prevent new refineries from being constructed? Oh, that's right, that just makes more finished product for our "luxur" and "safety and utility" at a price which is reasonable.