Activist says no rival behind anti-Dean ad
By Jim Drinkard, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Two political activists with ties to Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, are behind new political attack ads against Howard Dean airing this week in Iowa.
The two, former Gephardt fundraiser David Jones and former Harkin aide Timothy Raftis, raised $230,000 through a non-profit political group to buy a week's worth of ads on television in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.
Raftis said that he and Jones formed the group, Americans for Jobs & Healthcare, in mid-November because of "how passionately I feel about progressive issues ... and how critical I see the next election, and the selection of our party's nominee."
Gephardt and Dean are competing for Iowa's progressive-minded Democratic voters in the state's caucuses Jan. 19. The ads point out that Dean received top marks from the National Rifle Association on the issue of gun owners' rights. "If you thought Howard Dean had a progressive record, check the facts and please think again," the ad says.
A similar situation arose in the 2000 Republican primaries. At that time, two wealthy supporters of then-Texas governor George W. Bush, Texas brothers Sam and Charles Wyly, aired $2.5 million worth of ads attacking John McCain in the New York, Ohio and California primaries. They aired the ads through a group called Americans for Clean Air but later admitted that they had been the only ones funding the group.
Raftis denied that he was doing the bidding of any other candidate in trying to undermine Dean's support. "We are not connected to any candidate, period," said Raftis, who is now a consultant in Florida.
The new political group was set up under section 527 of the tax law. It can accept unlimited contributions but can't coordinate its activities with any campaign and must disclose its donors. Raftis declined to say who had given to the group, or even to talk about the number of contributors, until the deadline for disclosure at the end of January, after Iowa's caucuses
URL:http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/2003-1... |
