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sponsorship
See all Swift Boat Watch entries here.
Who They Are: Republican
Jewish Coalition PAC
Purpose: To
advocate for issues relevant to Jewish Republicans. In this election, they
oppose Barack Obama.
Executive Director:
Matthew Brooks, who also directs the Jewish Policy Center.
Funding: Individual
donations.
Cost of the Ad: More
than $1 million.
Where It Ran: Florida, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania
through Election Day.
Claims: Obama
would meet with leaders of unfriendly countries during the first year of his
administration. Hillary Clinton said she would not. She also said Obama's stance
was irresponsible and naïve.
Accuracy: Obama
and Clinton's responses are taken from the July 2007 CNN/Youtube Democratic
Primary debate in South Carolina.
(Watch their complete responses here.) As some have pointed
out, Obama never explicitly said he would meet with Ahmadinejad-only that
he would consider sitting down with unnamed leaders. (The questioner did not
specifically name the leaders, but a picture of Ahmadinejad was shown.) Clinton, in an interview
with the Quad City Times, called
Obama's comments "naïve and frankly irresponsible."
Background: Formerly
the National Jewish Coalition, the RJC lobbies on behalf of Jewish interests. The
PAC has contributed
heavily to state candidates in the past. They were responsible
for some pretty nasty attacks on Howard Dean in 2005. Last month, the group received
sharp criticism for a poll that asked Jewish voters to respond to negative
statements about Obama. One polled voter happened to be a writer for the New Republic
and blogged
about his experience.
Swift Boat Rating:
Obama has reiterated his intention to meet with leaders of
anti-American countries. The ad leaves interpretation up to the viewer.
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