Posted By:
Melanie Morgan
Permalink

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 4, 2005
CONTACT:  Siobhan Guiney - (916) 441-6197 or (916) 290-7223

(SACRAMENTO) – The organization strongly backing the nomination of John Bolton to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org), is targeting John Bolton’s critics and the UN itself in a new television ad campaign.

....
CLICK HERE to SEE THE AD

The newest ad, “Bolton-Feingold,” will air on major broadcast network television stations in the state of Wisconsin and encourages Wisconsin residents to contact Senator Russ Feingold and voice their support for Bolton.

Feingold initially said he was neutral on the Bolton nomination, and then changed his position, saying he was now inclined to vote against Bolton after the Senate Democrat leadership made a major effort to defeat Bolton by pressuring Senate Republicans to withdraw their support from Bolton’s nomination.

“Some of the most liberal Senators, including Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, have tried to turn Bolton’s confirmation into politics-as-usual by playing dirty,” said Melanie Morgan, Co-Chair of Move America Forward.

“We decided that if Bolton critics were going to put the heat on Senators like Lincoln Chafee and George Voinovich, then its time for Bolton supporters to make their voices heard to such wavering votes as Democrat Senator Russ Feingold,” Morgan explained.

The newest ad also refocuses attention from the supposed downfall of Bolton’s strong personality traits to the credibility issues surrounding Bolton’s critics.

The ad highlights two Bolton critics, Melody Townsel and Carl Ford.

“People in glass houses shouldn’t throw bricks and it’s time that those seeking to smear John Bolton’s reputation face the same scrutiny themselves,” said Morgan.

The Move America Forward commercial notes that Townsel is an activist liberal Democrat who founded the Dallas chapter of “MOB” – Mothers Opposing Bush. 

“It’s not surprising that an anti-Bush activist would testify against John Bolton.  All the Senators speaking out against John Bolton have been anti-Bush activists themselves.  I think it’s time that the American people be told the truth – those who oppose John Bolton simply wish to advance their anti-Bush agenda, even if it puts America in harms way,” Morgan said.

Perhaps most significantly, Townsel is an admitted plagiarist who was forced from her editorial job at the Abilene Christian University newspaper, The Optimist.

The Optimist says that Townsel was forced to resign after she confessed to plagiarizing columns “word-for-word from the Dallas Morning News” during the autumn of 1984. 

Townsel then moved on to the University of Texas, Arlington’s “The Shorthorn” newspaper where she was again forced out after accusations of plagiarism surfaced over a September 6, 1985 column on third-world hunger.  Some critics said the piece was plagiarized from a Newsweek piece written a year earlier.  Townsel, however, claims she was not guilty of plagiarism in this instance.

It was Townsel’s wild accusations against Bolton that were read by Senator Joe Biden at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that prompted Senator George Voinovich to at least temporarily withdraw his support from Bolton’s nomination.

“This woman is a cheater and liar who cannot be trusted.  It’s absurd that the nomination of John Bolton was blocked by the accusations of an anti-Bush activist who’s been busted for plagiarism,” said Melanie Morgan.

Also featured in the spot is Carl Ford.  Mr. Ford testified against Bolton’s nomination, describing himself as a “conservative Republican.” However, Federal Elections Commission records show that Ford has a long history of giving money to the campaigns of liberal Democrats including Senator John Kerry.

CARL FORD’S CONTRIBUTIONS INCLUDE:

$500 to Democrat Senator John Kerry [11/9/1999]
$1,000 to Democrat Congressman Charles Rangel [8/12/2004]
$250 to Democrat Congresswoman Jane Harman [3/7/2000]
$500 to Democrat Senator Daniel Inouye [2/18/2004]
$1,000 to Democrat Congresswoman Jane Harman [12/8/2003]

“I don’t know a single conservative Republican who gives campaign cash to liberal Democrats like Charles Rangel and John Kerry.  Giving money to these kind of far left politicians, but then proclaiming yourself to be a conservative Republican fan of George Bush and Dick Cheney suggests a penchant for political opportunism that raises questions about Ford’s motivations for smearing Bolton,” said Morgan.

The new television spot doesn’t just focus on the questions surrounding Bolton’s critics, but also refocuses attention on the problems facing the United Nation’s itself.

“Those who most strongly oppose John Bolton are the biggest apologists for the United Nations, and this should tell us what the Bolton confirmation battle is all about.  The people who told us we needed a ‘global test’ to determine America’s foreign policy can’t stand the idea that we’d have a strong pro-American voice at the United Nations,” said Move America Forward Co-Chair, Howard Kaloogian.

“We’ve got a message for those Senators who want to play political games and who might sacrifice John Bolton’s nomination in an effort to somehow embarrass President Bush – there’s a price to be paid for putting politics over America’s national security.

“If you weaken America’s stand at the United Nations we’ll make sure your constituents are kept fully aware and we won’t relent,” Kaloogian concluded.