NYT: Advocacy Groups Step Up Costly Political Ad Battle (Repubs catch up)

[DeepModem Mom]

ADVERTISING
Advocacy Groups Step Up Costly Battle of Political Ads
By GLEN JUSTICE and JIM RUTENBERG

Published: September 25, 2004


WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 - The Progress for America Voter Fund is spending almost $12 million on television commercials during the last two weeks before the election in one of the largest advertising onslaughts yet by a Republican advocacy group.

The group, which is emerging as the wealthiest of the so-called 527 committees run by Republicans, has been running advertisements for weeks with provocative images, including the smoldering World Trade Center, designed to promote President Bush and undermine Senator John Kerry on the issues of terrorism and national security.

The group's latest advertisement, scheduled to go on the air Saturday, flashes images of Osama bin Laden, Mohamed Atta and terrorist bombings in Spain, Russia, New York and Washington before an announcer asks, "Would you trust Kerry up against these fanatic killers?" The kicker: "President Bush didn't start this war but he will finish it."

The advertisements are one example of how Republican groups have used incendiary commercials, often financed by major Republican donors, to propel themselves to the forefront of the presidential race in recent weeks, though they started months later and with far less money than their Democratic rivals....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/25/politics/campaign/25ads.html