Anti-Bush Ads Geared to Young Blacks Use 'Sharper Message'
Monday, September 13, 2004 at 03:48AM
TheSpook
A liberal group backing John F. Kerry is accusing President Bush of
opposing civil rights and trying to suppress black voter turnout in a
multimillion-dollar ad campaign targeted at young African Americans.
The Media Fund, a "527" independent group that has poured $43 million
into anti-Bush advertising, plans to air the new television and radio
spots in major urban markets in swing states. (The "527" reference is
to the section of the tax code that governs such organizations.) "It's
a sharper message, an edgier message," fund spokesman Jim Jordan said.
"We're looking for voters who haven't been particularly motivated by
our party's message previously." Fuse, a minority firm in St. Louis, is
handling the ads. The first spot makes an explicitly racial appeal.
"Bush said he would leave no child behind. But he wasn't talking about
your child," the narrator says. After the screen shows such statistics
as "Bush cut back $33 billion for schools" and "The high school
graduation rate gap between blacks and whites is 25 percent," the
narrator says: "Don't keep getting played." A radio ad charges: "The
Republicans want you to sit out this election and simply stay home. . .
. Who are they fooling? These are the same folks that are against
affirmative action, oppose civil rights. These are the same people
against raising minimum wage. And want to take away overtime pay. . . .
Under Bush, 1.1 million more black folks live in poverty than they did
before 2001." [more ]
DNC will run anti-Bush Black ads in Milwaukee [more ]
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