|
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday, April 14th, 2005
GOP ad portrays Lieberman as an ally GOP ad portrays Lieberman as an ally Thursday, April 14, 2005
By Joan Vollero
WASHINGTON—The latest controversial political commercial in the nation involves Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the state’s junior senator. The minute-long ad is designed to boost the Republican cause on the nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations and point the finger at any balking Democrats. Lieberman has been included in a lineup of steadfast conservative political personalities in the new spots appearing on CNN’s Headline News, Fox News and MSNBC. They were produced and paid for by a California-based conservative group called Move America Forward. “We need leaders who will stand up for American values, like John Bolton,” the commercial announcer’s voice-over intoned over photos of the quartet. The commercial loses sight of the Bolton issue during the ad by targeting high-profile Democrats not even involved in the debate. “Are you sick and tired of politicians who blame their own country for all the world’s problems?” asked the announcer. Featured are pictures of former President Jimmy Carter and Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry, both Democrats from Massachusetts. Carter and Kennedy are not directly involved in the Bolton nomination hearings this week. Kerry, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, harshly criticized Bolton’s prior statements attacking the U.N. “Your public statements, your speeches, your interviews about the United Nations have been disdainful of it,” Kerry said. The Move America Forward commercial employed pictures of Kerry, Kennedy and Carter to show just the type of Democrat that the conservative right does not condone. But a picture of Lieberman is used as an ally: the face of a Democrat who the members of Move America Forward can sympathize with on some issues. Move America Forward did not contact Lieberman in advance for permission to use his image in its ad, said group co-founder Howard Kaloogian. He said the group included Lieberman in the commercial based on his high visibility, especially after being on the 2000 Democratic presidential ticket. “We didn’t want a back bencher,” he said. Lieberman is remaining relatively mum on the issue, opting not to get into a legal fray over the ads. “Sen. Lieberman had nothing to do with the ad and has no affiliation with the group who produced it,” said Casey Adens-Wansbury, a spokesman for the senator. Staffers for both Lieberman and Kennedy said the senators intend to watch the confirmation hearings and review Bolton’s record before making a decision whether to support Bolton. But many Senate Democrats have already taken a hard line against the controversial nominee. Lieberman’s silence on this and other issues is beginning to irk state Democrats.For example, the founder of one Connecticut grassroots political organization, Dumpjoe.com, said the blurring line between “Democrat” and “Republican” is precisely Lieberman’s problem.
“The Republicans feel like he’s one of them. The right wing thinks he’s one of them. I don’t think he’s given them any reason to not believe he’s one of them,” said Dumpjoe.com founder Keith Crane.
|
