Deceptive 527 ad touting John Edwards and Maytag closure attempts
to mislead Iowans
CONTACT: Jim Farrell
(Des Moines, IA)—Richardson for President’s Iowa State Director today
called foul on a highly misleading TV ad that is now running in Iowa, paid
for by a 527 group called “Working ‘4’ Working Americans”. The ad promotes
John Edwards for President, stating that he “knows the Maytag closing jeopardizes
a way of life. He says it’s time to end tax breaks for companies that move
good jobs offshore,” and urges viewers to call Edwards to tell him he is
right.
“Iowans who are now making up their minds about who to support in the
Democratic caucuses do not need these shadowy 527 groups coming in with
half-truths and distortions,” said Robert Becker, Iowa State Director for
Richardson for President. “This ad ignores the role played by a certain
hedge fund in the closing of the Maytag facilities in Newton, IA, which
cost 1,800 Iowans their jobs. John Edwards was paid nearly half a million
dollars by the same hedge fund at the time the Maytag plant was shuttered,
and he had $16 million of his own fortune invested there. Can John Edwards
be a champion for jobs in Newton, Iowa when he works for and invests in
a hedge fund that helped eliminate those same jobs? If anything, Edwards
probably owes those families an explanation.”
See the ad: http://www.w4wa.org/trade_ad.htm
Edwards took a job in October 2005 with the hedge fund management firm,
Fortress Investment Group, that paid him $479,500 for 14 months of part-time
work. Additionally, Edwards invested some $16 million in Fortress funds.
Fortress owned shares in Whirlpool when the Iowa Maytag factory was
closed. On 31 March 2006, while Edwards was a consultant for Fortress Investment
Group, the hedge fund owned 9,867 shares of Whirlpool stock. On that same
day in 2006, Whirlpool finalized its deal to acquire Maytag. Less than
two months later, Whirlpool announced that it would close the factory in
Newton, laying off the workers there.
SEC filings from 31 March 2007 show that Fortress had purchased more
than 74,000 additional Whirlpool shares after the deal to buy Maytag was
completed – a deal which led to the loss of 1,800 Iowa jobs. Fortress was
invested in Whirlpool while it was closing factories in America.
PRESS RELEASE from Edwards for President
December 22, 2007
CONTACT:
Dan Leistikow
EDWARDS: STOP THESE ADS
Edwards calls on 527 groups to stop running ads
Des Moines, Iowa – Today, after an event in Coralville, Iowa, Senator
John Edwards called on 527 groups to stop running ads:
“I do not support 527 groups. They are part of the law, but let me be
clear: I am asking this group and others not to run the ads. I would
encourage all the 527s to stay out of the political process.”
Earlier in the day Edwards said:
“I’m proud of the fact that, unlike Senator Obama, I have never taken
any money from a Washington lobbyist or PAC. From my perspective
that is not an academic or philosophical question. This is about
who has the toughness and fight to take on corporate greed and win.
And I have been doing it my entire life. And what we have is an epic fight
in front of us to stop this corporate greed and to protect the middle class
and jobs in this country. And that’s a fight I’m ready for.”
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