Captain's Quarters Blog


« I'll Call Your Bluff And Raise You | Main | Fact-Checking The Gray Lady »

August 23, 2004
What Kerry And Edwards Refuse To Denounce

John Kerry and John Edwards refused to take up George Bush's challenge to denounce all outside political advertising by 527s, continuing to complain bitterly about a $250,000 ad buy from one group in three states. However, as Howard Kurtz notes, that reluctance may spring from the upcoming ad blitz about to be launched by its own 527, MoveOn, which has lined up celebrities for its campaign against George Bush:

Hip-hop impresario Benny Boom, who has directed videos for P. Diddy, Lil' Kim and LL Cool J, didn't need to have his arm twisted to join an anti-Bush advertising campaign.

"I felt like Bush stole the last election and the whole country kind of got robbed and bamboozled, and I wanted to make sure I did my part besides voting," he says. When he was approached by the liberal MoveOn PAC, "I was like, yo, I want to do an ad myself."

Yo, Benny, join the crowd -- MoveOn has a number of ads planned, starring such luminaries as Kevin Bacon, Boom, liberal radio hosts Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo, Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, Woody Harrelson, Martin Sheen, Rob Reiner, Ileana Douglas, Ione Skye, Scarlett Johanssen, Ed Asner, and Moby. Benny's motivation?

"I'm more passionate about being opposed to Bush," says Boom. "George Bush is probably the first real gangsta we have had in office."

George Bush is a gangster? Excuse me -- to use the Post's multi-culti sensitivity, a 'gangsta'? This aptly demonstrates the shrill character assassination that the Left has used during the entire presidential campaign. Kerry and Edwards apparently don't mind that kind of campaign advertising, until someone launches it against them and spends a fraction of the money that Lewis and Soros raises for celebrity-studded national advertising.

How hard is it to denounce this? Wouldn't any political advisor with a modicum of sense point out the low-hanging fruit to Kerry on this one?

Kurtz also notes that MoveOn won't talk about the content of the advertising until they release them to the Internet on Tuesday:

The MoveOn spots are edgier, angrier and in some cases funnier -- not to mention riskier -- than anything Bush and Kerry have thrown on the air. The group is not releasing details of the ads until their official unveiling today.

"This is a way of breaking out of the Washington consultant ad frame and doing something more entertaining, creative and original," said Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn PAC. "Our hope is that it will better connect with voters because it's not the same old stuff."

Asked about the heavy recruitment of celebs, he says: "If we could get attention for these issues without a Rebecca Romijn, we'd do it."

Boom's ad is a voter-registration pitch aimed at minorities. "A lot of common people in the inner cities just don't see the importance of it because nothing changes," he says. MoveOn describes the ad as an attempt "to counter Republican voter suppression efforts."

Republican voter suppression efforts? What would those be, exactly? Do we have bands of Republicans traveling through the country, pointing rifles at people and telling them not to vote? More importantly, why does Kurtz let Boom off the hook from answering that question while his media colleagues insist on screaming epithets at the top of their lungs at the Swiftvets, who actually have documentary evidence and a multitude of witnesses to back up their claims?

We seem to have a double standard of treatment for those who speak out on politics. When those who speak out are Hollywood entertainers or other spoiled celebrities whose entourages fawn over their every utterance, the media joins in and treats them with the utmost deference, regardless of the hyperbole they use. When 250 combat veterans speak out from their own experiences as eyewitnesses armed with actual evidence, their every word is parsed for the slightest flaw and they encounter the worst treatment possible from the James Carvilles, Paul Begalas, and Chris Matthewses of the mainstream news media.

They should be ashamed of themselves, and if John Kerry can't bring himself to denounce his multimillion-dollar benefactors after whining all weekend about attack ads, he should be man enough to denounce this. I won't hold my breath.

Sphere It Digg! View blog reactions
Posted by Ed Morrissey at August 23, 2004 10:16 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry is

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference What Kerry And Edwards Refuse To Denounce:

» Stupid George Strikes Again from infidel cowboy
update: Glenn provides some more background in what is sure to have a lot of ear plugging moonbats sing songing "I can't hear you." Jay Caruso has them doing the 3 monkeys routine. Captain Ed piles on. update: NZ Bear... [Read More]

Tracked on August 23, 2004 11:06 PM

» MoveOn.org Prepares for Ad Blitz from InTheBullpen.com
One has to wonder if the real reason why Kerry will not denounce all ads from 527s after Bush issued the challenge today is that he knows that MoveOn.org is about to unveil a massive advertising campaign armed with celebrities (via Captain’s Quarters). [Read More]

Tracked on August 23, 2004 11:14 PM

» 527 Reasons To Hate McCain - Feingold from Knight Of The Mind
He stopped just short of calling on John F. Kerry to purge the MoveOn.Org staffers that currently work for his campaign. This is a shame, John Kerry had no problem with accusing Karl Rove of serving as The SwiftVet Admiral. [Read More]

Tracked on August 24, 2004 12:04 AM

» Well, I’m not going to hold my breath…either.. from Kilabe's Hive
Captain Ed over at the Captains Quarters asks, after the President denounced softmoney ads and 527’s, how come the 2 Johns haven’t stepped up to do the same? Inquiring minds want to know! [Read More]

Tracked on August 24, 2004 1:41 AM



Design & Skinning by:
m2 web studios





blog advertising



button1.jpg

Proud Ex-Pat Member of the Bear Flag League!