FactCheck.Org: Defense of Democracies Spreading "Fear and False Claims"

FactCheck.org has an extensive analysis of the "Defense of Democracies" ad that has been running on Connecticut television stations this week.

The group behind the ad, Defense of Democracies, was set up just last week. It was spun off from a nonprofit called Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which was formed after 9/11 and is headed by Clifford May, a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee. The three listed members of the foundation's board of directors are Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of the business magazine Forbes and a Republican candidate for president in 1996 and 2000; Jack Kemp, candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988 and GOP nominee Bob Dole's running mate in 1996; and Jeane Kirkpatrick, best known as Ronald Reagan's ambassador to the United Nations. Kirkpatrick died in 2006, however. A few Democrats were sprinkled in among the parent group's advisers (as well as Democrat-turned-Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman), but several of the most prominent, including Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and Donna Brazile, the former campaign manager for Al Gore's presidential bid, have resigned because of this ad. Brazile issued a statement calling the ad campaign "misleading and reckless" and saying it would "have the effect of emboldening terrorists."

Organized under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, the new group is not required to publicly disclose its donors, and it has no plans to do so, according to a spokesman. (Brazile’s statement claimed that "due to the influence of their funders" the parent group has "morphed into a radical right wing organization.") The group also declined to provide a list of lawmakers being targeted by the ad, but we’ve learned that they include Democratic Reps. Kirsten Gillibrand and Michael Arcuri of New York, Tim Mahoney of Florida, Joe Courtney and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Nancy Boyda of Kansas, and Tim Walz of Minnesota, all of them first-term lawmakers who may be vulnerable in their reelection bids.

You can read more at FactCheck.org's website.

Hartford Courant: Capitol Watch: Anti-Courtney, Murphy Ads Rebuted by FactCheck.org

Anti-Courtney, Murphy Ads Rebuted by FactCheck.org

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, and Chris Murphy, D-5th District, are two of 15 members of congress under attack by an independent group that is using what FactCheck.org today deemed to be a misleading television commercial.

An analysis of the ad is at FactCheck, a non-partisan group that analyzes political commercials.

The group behind the ad, Defense of Democracies, was set up just last week. It was spun off from a nonprofit called Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which was formed after 9/11 and is headed by Clifford May, a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee. The three listed members of the foundation's board of directors are Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of the business magazine Forbes and a Republican candidate for president in 1996 and 2000; Jack Kemp, candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988 and GOP nominee Bob Dole's running mate in 1996; and Jeane Kirkpatrick, best known as Ronald Reagan's ambassador to the United Nations. Kirkpatrick died in 2006, however. A few Democrats were sprinkled in among the parent group's advisers (as well as Democrat-turned-Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman), but several of the most prominent, including Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and Donna Brazile, the former campaign manager for Al Gore's presidential bid, have resigned because of this ad. Brazile issued a statement calling the ad campaign "misleading and reckless" and saying it would "have the effect of emboldening terrorists."

-- Mark Pazniokas

VIDEO: WFSB Channel 3: Defense of Democracies False Advertising

Channel 3 reports on the misleading attack ads targeting CT House members Congressman Joe Courtney (02) and Congressman Chris Murphy (05).

VIDEO: WTNH Channel 8: "Defense of Democracies" False Advertising

Channel 8 reports on the misleading attack ads targeting CT House members Congressman Joe Courtney (02) and Congressman Chris Murphy (05).

Washington Post: GOP Uses Surveillance Bill to Bash Democrats

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 28, 2008; A08

Republicans are convinced that highlighting their counterterrorism policies will be a political winner in this presidential election year, and they have focused this week on Democratic opposition to their version of a new surveillance bill as a way to paint Democrats as soft on national security, according to GOP lawmakers and their aides.

Democrats respond that they are unfazed by the attacks, arguing that most Americans doubt the credibility of President Bush and Republicans when it comes to warning about security threats.

Bush and GOP lawmakers have been releasing a blizzard of public statements and organizing multiple news conferences to pressure the House to adopt a Senate bill renewing and expanding a temporary surveillance law called the Protect America Act. The measure would grant legal immunity to telecommunications companies over their cooperation in warrantless wiretapping done after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

House Democratic leaders oppose the immunity provision and maneuvered to allow the temporary statute to expire on Feb. 16. The administration has repeatedly said that telecom firms need protection from lawsuits in order to cooperate with the government.

The House Republican Conference has created an Internet advertisement, available on the committee's Web site and on YouTube, warning that "America is at risk" because of the standoff. An outside nonprofit group headed by a former Republican National Committee official has also launched a national television advertising campaign targeting more than a dozen House Democrats around the country.

The activity reflects the Republicans' view that they are on the winning side of a politically important issue, GOP lawmakers and aides say. During a speech at the RNC in January, former presidential adviser Karl Rove cited the fight over the surveillance bill as one of four key issues that GOP candidates should highlight during the campaign season, according to a transcript of his remarks.

"The House Democrat leaders are on the wrong side of the American people on this," said Brian Schubert, spokesman for the House Republican Conference.

But Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, accused Republicans of engaging in "fear-mongering." He said the dispute hinges on whether to protect "big phone companies."

"We're willing to stand up to this and bring some balance to this debate," Emanuel said in an interview yesterday.

Bush, who has spoken about the surveillance issue almost daily since the temporary law expired, said yesterday that the House's failure to pass new legislation is "inexcusable" and "indefensible."

One of the most visible attacks in the debate has come from a newly created advocacy group, Defense of Democracies, which has produced a series of television advertisements that began airing last Friday in 15 congressional districts represented by freshman Democrats.

A national version of the ad also aired Tuesday night during the Democratic presidential debate on MSNBC. The spot, which includes footage of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, alleges that the dispute has "crippled" the nation's surveillance capabilities and urges viewers to "tell the House of Representatives to do its job and pass the terrorist surveillance bill to keep us all safe."

The group is headed by Clifford D. May, a former RNC communications director who also heads the similarly named Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Spokesman Brian Wise said the nonprofit group that sponsored the ad was formed last week because tax rules prohibit the foundation from issuing advocacy ads.

The ads have angered some of the Democrats who are listed as advisers to the foundation, which was formed as a nonpartisan policy group after the Sept. 11 attacks. At least four, including Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and prominent strategist Donna Brazile, have quit the foundation because of the ad campaign. Brazile said in a statement that the group "has morphed into a radical right wing organization that is doing the dirty work for the Bush Administration and Congressional Republicans."

Wise disputed the criticism. He said the ad campaign is "not partisan" because it focuses on supporting a surveillance bill that was passed by the Senate with the backing of many Democrats.

Staff writer Michael Abramowitz contributed to this report.

The Day: Courtney Urges Greener Schools to Save Millions

By Erin Kutz , Special To The Day
Published on 2/27/2008

Washington — U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, is trying to bring federal help to Connecticut's failing schools. They're not failing academically, but environmentally.

Connecticut school buildings scored an average of 26 out of 100 in energy efficiency based on the Energy Star rating developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a 2006 study conducted by the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University. Schools were scoring so low that institute officials thought something was wrong with the rating system, said William Leahy, the group's director of operations.

Courtney said the study spurred his decision to help found the Congressional Green Schools Caucus, a group of lawmakers from across the country that advocates for enhanced school energy efficiency. Two weeks ago, Courtney announced he was co-sponsoring legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., that calls for the secretary of U.S. Department of Education to authorize competitive grants for school construction projects that enhance energy efficiency.

“It is eye-popping, in terms of the waste that is occurring in Connecticut public schools,” Courtney said. The savings that could be realized by improving energy efficiency in schools would bolster the quality of education and make it easier for towns to pass their annual budgets, he added.

The Eastern study analyzed 119 schools that were statistically representative of the 1,026 Connecticut public school buildings at the time. It also incorporated data that 237 schools voluntarily submitted.

The study found that 90 percent of state public school buildings were constructed before 1978—when energy shortages prompted greater conservation measures — and 68 percent were built between 1950 and 1978, when expanding populations forced the rapid construction of school buildings.

The study also showed that grading Connecticut school buildings as merely average, as measured by the Energy Star program, would save $46 million in energy costs. That estimate, however, was based on 2006 energy figures, when oil cost around $60 a barrel. Savings would escalate with oil prices now close to $100 per barrel, Courtney said.

Leahy said that while energy efficient construction elements could be more expensive up-front, school systems need to consider the long-term savings.

Enhancing school energy efficiency could save 25 percent of the $8 billion schools spend on energy nationally, according to a press release Courtney issued. The savings could translate into 30,000 new teachers or 40 million additional textbooks each year, the release says.