Late last Friday, Karl Rove’s attack group, Crossroads GPS, announced a $20 million attack ad campaign going after President Obama. Crossroads says the ads, initially showing on cable and in 10 states, are meant to “frame the national debate” on jobs and the economy. What they really want to do, of course, is re-frame the national debate away from the GOP’s disastrous and spectacularly unpopular plan to end Medicare in order to give more tax breaks to millionaires, billionaires, and Big Oil (three groups that just so happened to fund a related Rove attack group last year).Of course they do. The R’s, unlike the D’s, walk in lockstep on every issue confronting America. Elected Democrats agreeing on any issue, is like herding cats..it ain’t gonna friggin happen.
Here’s a reminder of what’s in the GOP plan and where the 2012 candidates stand on it. (Hint: they all support it.)
What’s Included in the GOP Plan:
All the 2012 Candidates Support the GOP Plan.
- the end of Medicare as we know it
- a massive new tax cut for Big Oil and other huge corporations
- a massive, hidden tax increase on the middle class
- a massive tax cut for millionaires and billionaires
- huge cuts to government programs and services that millions of Americans rely on each day, including student loans, food safety, and unemployment benefits
Since the R’s took possession of the House of Rep’s in January of this year, they have been planning Obama’s demise. Rove will support their agenda with his heavy-hitting PAC’s, by swiftboating the fuck out of any and all Democrats running for office this election cycle..especially Obama.
Rove’s PAC, American Crossroads, and it’s affiliate, Crossroads GPS (Grassroots Policy Strategies) (link goes to FactCheck.org writeup on both groups) has a financial goal of..wait for it… $52 million dollars in donations by November of this year. Crossroads GPS does not have to disclose their donors because they registered as a 501(c)(4) a nonprofit, whereas American Crossroads does.
The Crossroads GPS PAC is for those billionaires that want to keep a low profile, but still want to swiftboat the shit out of Democratic candidates. Billionaires like Harold Simmons,who according to the FactCheck.org article is board chairman of Southwest Louisiana Land. Simmons was a major donor to two controversial groups: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which accused Democrat John Kerry of lying about his record in Vietnam during the 2004 presidential campaign, and American Issues Project, which ran attack ads tying Democrat Barack Obama to former 1960s radical William Ayers during the 2008 campaign.
Now, the Kerry campaign worked..but the Obama one did not. I am sure the rich rightwing nutters and Rove have learned a thing or two about swiftboating since their failed Obama campaign.
Salon.com has an excellent writeup about the billionaires funding Rover’s latest dirty tricks campaign’s. The amount of money they have already contributed is friggin mind-boggling. From the Salon writeup:
New FEC filings show that American Crossroads, the Karl Rove-backed group that is pouring money into attack ads targeting Democrats around the country, continues to be funded virtually entirely by billionaires.The article continues on, listing the new billionaire contributors and where their money was made. Now, bear in mind that the information above is what could be gleaned from the FEC filings of American Crossroads, as required by law. We will never know how much these same rightwing billionaires have given to Crossroads GPS because of their non-profit 501c4 status.
In August, American Crossroads raised $2,639,052. Fully $2.4 million of that – or 91 percent – came in the form of gifts from just three billionaires.(emphasis mine)
We’ve previously reported that the group is getting a staggering amount of support from billionaires, several of whom made their fortune in the energy industry and live in Texas. Last month Trevor Rees-Jones, president of Dallas-based Chief Oil and Gas, contributed another $1 million to American Crossroads, on top of the $1 million he gave earlier this year. Fellow billionaire Robert Rowling, CEO of the company TRT Holdings, also gave Crossroads his second $1 million donation in August.
My whole point is this: Rover is once again in the game. He is BACK! This is the man that single-handidly got The Shrub elected not once..but twice. We should be worried..oh hell yes we should.
Since the D’s have managed to piss-off the liberal wing of their base, raising funds to combat these fuckwits won’t be easy for them. I hope their dumbasses realize that. People like me won’t be digging deep and contributing to Obama this time around. I live on a very small, fixed income because I am disabled, and yet I managed to give money and shoe leather to Obama in the 08 campaign.
I wonder what exactly I got for my money. I know the Lilly Ledbetter Act made me proud but there are so few other things he has done since becoming President that I am proud of. Sure, he created several watchdog agencies and strengthened existing ones but are they funded? With the R’s controlling the House of Reps..that is the important question for me.
I can tick off more things he has done that pissed me off than made me proud. His AG, Eric Holder, has continued to support most of the BushCo Policies that were under attack in the court systems..like warrantless wiretapping as an example. He promised to close Gitmo on his first day in office, but has evidently changed his mind on that one. He also hasn’t provided one iota of support for the unions currently under attack in numerous states..even though he promised them he would support them on the campaign trail..so much for his promises to the biggest group that funded his election in 2008.
My point being I will vote for Obama, I am just not going to give my blood, sweat, tears and cash to him this time around. Sadly, it’s once again a case of worse and worser for me in the voting booth next year. When I get pissed, I swear I will vote for a third party candidate..but when all is said and done I know in my heart I will vote for Obama. It will leave a very shitty taste in my mouth but I will vote for him.
But that said..I can’t promise all liberals will do as I do. Some are way more pissed off than I and will take it out on the D’s in the voting booth come Sept 2012, and in opening their wallets, which is what happened last year I think. Too many folks said fuck it and stayed home..giving the R’s a huge boost in their elected numbers.
And Karl Rove is counting on the liberals being pissed off. He is betting on it. He is ‘all in’ on that front m’dear reader. Get your helmets on people, as the ‘war’ has begun.
