Move over, MoveOn.org. The liberal-leaning group that has raised millions of dollars to run negative ads attacking President Bush now has a competitor on the right with a somewhat similar name.
The conservative MoveOnForAmerica.org plans to blast battleground states with anti-John Kerry ads until Election Day.
One of the conservative group's ads criticizes Kerry's role as a private lawyer in representing George Reissfelder, who spent 15 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of a murder.
A second ad, to be rolled out later, will focus on the political connections between Kerry and former Democratic presidential contender Al Sharpton.
Link to story. Link to MOFA site, videos. Transcripts in More. Sorry if this has been posted before. EDIT: More comments after transcripts. Something smells... -- Updated again!
Ad 1 Highlights:
- The basis of the attack is Kerry's success in getting an innocent man out of prison. The rest of the ad shows that the man then went on a killing spree, and blames Kerry. Pretty weak.
- Connects Kerry to Willie Horton. Remember Willie?
Ad 2 Highlights:
- A photograph of Adolf Hitler!
- Footage of the 9/11 attacks!
- It's even more blatantly racist, attacking a Sharpton follower for burning a, quote, "white-owned store"
The ads are produced by the creatively named group
Move On For America. The man behind the ads, Stephen Marks, makes no attempt to hide his clear GOP and Bush connections. From the MOFA website: "Mr. Marks has consulted dozens of candidates at all levels from presidential to congressional, including consulting for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the Republican Governors Association. Mr. Marks has also been a press secretary in GOP campaigns [including Jeb Bush’s bid for governor in 1994]"
Transcripts:
AD 1: REISSFELDER
NARRATOR: Move On for America is responsible for this ad.
[GRAPHIC: Photograph of John Kerry, photograph of George Reissfelder]
NARRATOR: In 1982, John Kerry, then a private attorney, successfully overturned the murder conviction of his client, George Reissfelder.
[GRAPHIC: Photograph of Reissfelder, photograph of Willie Horton]
NARRATOR: However, five years earlier, Reissfelder escaped from prison in Massachusetts during a furlough... Just like Willie Horton.
[GRAPHIC: Photograph of Reissfelder, photograph of Jon Skykove]
NARRATOR: Escaping to Florida, Reissfelder shot to kill police officer Jon Skykove, but his gun shot missed. He pled guilty to attempted murder, but never served his fifteen year sentence...
[GRAPHIC: Photograph of Reissfelder with superimposed prisoner number, photograph of John Kerry]
NARRATOR: ...because John Kerry personally got him paroled. Once a free man, Reissfelder brazenly continued his life of crime in a Mafia ring...
[GRAPHIC: Photograph of Carmello Merlino, photograph of Carmen Tortora]
NARRATOR: ...led by Boston mobsters Carmello Merlino and Carmen Tortora. Now Reissfelder may have been innocent of the first murder, but bottom line:...
[GRAPHIC: Photograph of John Kerry, photograph of Reissfelder]
NARRATOR: ...John Kerry secured the freedom of a would be cop killer. Ironically, this wasn't John Kerry's only connection to Massachusetts' absurd policy of furloughs for murderers.
[GRAPHIC: Photograph of Michael Dukakis, photograph of Horton]
NARRATOR: After all, guess who was Michael Dukakis' lieutenant governor?
[GRAPHIC: Photograph of Kerry, photograph of Reissfelder]
NARRATOR: That's right. John Kerry.
-------------
AD 2: SHARPTON
NARRATOR: Move On for America is responsible for this ad.
[GRAPHIC: Assorted news footage of Sharpton]
NARRATOR: John Kerry appointed Al Sharpton as a key speaker at the Democratic convention.
[GRAPHIC: Cover of "Al On America"]
NARRATOR: Senator Kerry, you must have read Al Sharpton's new book, in which he blamed the nine eleven terrorist attacks...
[GRAPHIC: Footage of second plane hitting the World Trade Center]
NARRATOR: ...on America, writing, quote, why did we help create the evil that is now coming back to haunt us?
[GRAPHIC: Photograph of Adolf Hitler]
NARRATOR: Mr. Kerry, you must also know that Al Sharpton called Adolf Hitler a great man and urged college students in New Jersey to kill police officers, or, off the pigs, as he put it.
[GRAPHIC: Video of Al Sharpton speaking]
AL SHARPTON: ...they got pigs out here, you [unintelligible] off one of them ... what I believe in I do.
[GRAPHIC: Footage of burning building]
NARRATOR: Al Sharpton also led the boycott against a white-owned store in Harlem that was burned down by one of his followers...
AL SHARPTON(?): We will not allow some white interloper...
NARRATOR: ...killing seven people.
[GRAPHIC: Screen capture of Kerry website - statement on Sharpton endorsement]
NARRATOR: Senator Kerry, in your recent press release, you wrote, quote, I look forwared to working with Mr. Sharpton. Working with him how, Mr. Kerry?
[GRAPHIC: Photograph of Kerry hugging Sharpton]
NARRATOR: Working with him how, Mr. Kerry? If you're elected president, what role would Al Sharpton play in a Kerry administration?
EDIT: Something smells. Out of nowhere, this group, with a name that is pretty much identical to that of a left 527, appears. On the basis of what appears to be, so far, an amateurish webpage, low-budget videos, and no aired ads, they receive press coverage from the AP. The man behind the ads, Stephen Marks, has clear connections to both the Republican Party (consultant for NRSC, NRCC, GOP Govs Assc.) and the Bush's. In fact, special notice is given to the fact that Marks consulted Jeb Bush. In the AP article, Marks specifically mentions the Swift Vets and says he hopes to be as successful as them. He also compares his group to the real MoveOn, and does so in a way that implies the groups' tactics are the same.
So here's what we have: A long-time GOP operative with Bush connections opens a 527 with the same name as a left 527. He directly compares his slimeball tactics to MoveOn's. And he made no attempt to hide his clear GOP and Bush connections. In comments, The Wolf reports that over at Freeperville, some suspect this is a liberal front group trying to hurt Bush from the inside with over the top racist ads. WHAT IS THE REAL STORY HERE?
EDIT 2: Chris Bowers points out MOFA's poor showing on Google. "move on for america": one result, unrelated. "moveon for america": zero. moveonforamerica: zero. Where did this article come from?