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For
Immediate Release: Tuesday,
June 17, 2008 |
Contact:
Trevor
FitzGibbon/Doug Gordon |
*** View New TV Ad: http://www.moveon.org ***
Eli Pariser/MoveOn, Paul Booth/AFSCME & Pollster Anna Greenberg
to Hold 11:30am Telephone Press Conference on Ad
A new TV ad released today depicts a mother holding a baby boy, Alex, on her lap as she speaks to Senator John McCain directly about his willingness to keep American troops in Iraq for 100 years. In the final seconds of the ad, titled “Not Alex,” the woman says to John McCain, “When you said you would stay in Iraq for 100 years, were you counting on Alex? Because if you were, you can’t have him.”
The ad is being released jointly by MoveOn.org Political Action, who endorsed Obama in the primary and has a long history of opposing the war in Iraq, and PEOPLE, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Political action Committee, who endorsed Clinton in the primary. The move signifies that progressive groups are unifying to beat Senator McCain in November. MoveOn.org has 3.2 million members. AFSCME, the largest labor union in the AFL-CIO, has 1.6 million members. Both groups paid for the ad out of their Political Action Committees, fueled by small donors.
“We’ve spent 5 years trying to end this ill-fated war, and this election is a turning point. Our members are deeply concerned about the legacy John McCain’s reckless foreign policy would leave,” said Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn. “Not only would they inherit the mess in Iraq as they grow up, but every week that we spend billions in Iraq is another week that we can’t address the pressing needs of kids at home.”
“Our members are frustrated that we’re still in Iraq five years after Bush and McCain said it would be quick and easy; they see first-hand the war’s toll, both the veterans who aren’t getting the support they deserve and the neglected domestic issues, like gas and food prices and the recession,” said Paul Booth Executive Assistant to the President or AFSCME. “We know that if given a chance Senator McCain will keep this misguided war going. We want a president who will end the war and recession.”
The mother in the ad, played by an actress, is representative of many MoveOn mothers who have expressed similar concerns about a McCain presidency and a continuing war in Iraq.
Preliminary testing, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research shows “Not Alex” ranking among the most persuasive ads the pollsters have reviewed in the last four years. The groups will spend $540,000 to air the ad nationally on cable and in battleground states OH, MI and WI.
Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn, Paul Booth, Executive Assistant to the President of AFSCME, and pollster Anna Greenberg will host an 11:30 telephone press conference today to discuss the ad. The call-in number is: (800) 895-1549 code IRAQ.
Substantiation of “Not Alex” ad:
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Hi, John McCain, this is Alex, he's my first.
So far, his talents include trying any new food and chasing after our dog.
That, and making my heart pound every time I look at him.
So, John McCain, when you said you would stay in Iraq for 100 years, were you counting on Alex?
Because if you were, you can’t have him. |
FACT: McCain: "It Doesn't Matter...We Could Be There For A Hundred Years, For All I Know." During an interview with the editorial board of the Detroit News, McCain was asked, "When should the United States leave Iraq?" McCain responded, "It doesn't matter. We're still in Kuwait since the first Gulf War. If we can continue to show this progress, we could be there for 100 years, for all I know, as long as Americans are not dying. It's not a matter of American presence; it's a matter of success so we can beat back this adversary. If we'd done what they wanted us to do six months ago, al-Qaida would now be trumpeting to the world that it defeated the United States of America." [Detroit News, 1/3/08]
Other Examples of McCain’s willingness to stay in Iraq for up to 100 years and beyond:
● January 6, 2008: McCain: "I Don't Think Americans Are Concerned If We're There For 100 Years Or 1,000 Years Or 10,000 Years." In an interview on "Face the Nation," host Bob Schieffer asked McCain about staying in Iraq for 100 year. McCain responded, "We've got to get Americans off the front line, have the Iraqis as part of the strategy, take over more and more of the responsibilities. And then I don't think Americans are concerned if we're there for 100 years or 1,000 years or 10,000 years. What they care about is a sacrifice of our most precious treasure, and that's American blood. So what I'm saying is look, if Americans are there in a support role, but they're not taking casualties, that's fine. We're in Kuwait now. As you well recall, we had a war, we stayed in Kuwait. We didn't stay in Saudi Arabia. So it's going to be up to the relationship between the Iraqi government and the United States of America." [CBS, "Face the Nation," 1/06/08; emphasis added]
● January 26, 2008: McCain: "We're Going To Be In This Struggle For The Rest of The Century." While speaking at a town hall meeting in Sun City Center, Florida, McCain said, "I'd like to look you in the eye and tell you there's not gonna be any more wars. I'd like to look you in the eyes and tell you that this terrible evil called radical Islamic extremism is defeated. I can't do that. I've got to tell you that we're gonna be in this struggle for the rest of this century because it's a transcendent evil." [Town Hall Meeting; Sun City Center, FL 01/26/08; emphasis added]
● January 7, 2008: McCain: "We Are In A Greater Struggle That Is Going To Be With Us For The Rest of This Century." While giving a speech in Nashua, New Hampshire, McCain said, "We are in two wars. We are in a greater struggle that is going to be with us for the rest of this century... He added, "These young people that are in this crowd, my friends, I'm going to be asking you to serve. I'm gonna be asking you to step forward and serve this nation in difficult times." [Speech in Nashua, New Hampshire, 1/7/08; emphasis added]
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