Swift Boat Watch: Winning Message Action Fund

Abby Callard — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:53:00 GMT

See all Swift Boat Watch entries here.

Who They Are: Winning Message Action Fund

Purpose: A 501(c)4 nonprofit affiliated with NARAL Pro-Choice New York. The group advocates for reproductive rights. In this election, it opposes John McCain.

President: Kelli Conlin

Funding: Individual donors. Although they share staff with NARAL Pro-Choice New York, their finances are separate.

Cost of the Ad: Less than $10,000.

Where It Ran: Ran 92 times through SaysMeTV on various networks and markets. Airtime was never purchased for this ad. Instead, Winning Message Action Fund uses a company called SaysMeTV that allows individuals to pay to air the ad on networks ranging from BET to Animal Planet. For example, one ad in the Indianapolis suburbs on CNN between 7 p.m. and 12 a.m. costs $45. Airtime for this ad was mostly purchased in Pennsylvania.

Related Groups: NARAL Pro-Choice New York and National Institute for Reproductive Health.

Claims: McCain opposes Roe v. Wade and thinks it should be overturned. If it were overturned, 21 states would immediately start to ban abortions, making them illegal. The ad asks the question, “How much time should she serve?”

Accuracy: McCain explicitly states on his Web site that Roe v. Wade was a “flawed decision that must be overturned.” The Center for Reproductive Rights released the “What if Roe Fell” report (PDF) in 2007. On Page 10 of this report, it states that 21 states are at high risk for banning abortion. But only four states—Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Dakota—have enacted bans-in-waiting that would outlaw abortion as soon as Roe v. Wade is overturned. Bans-in-waiting don’t violate federal law because they don’t go into effect unless Roe v. Wade is overturned and therefore wouldn’t require legal action to be enacted. The report lists jail time as the punishment for many of the states’ statutes. But in all four ban-in-waiting statutes, the punishments are for the person who performs the abortion, not the woman who receives it.

Background: The ad started as an Internet campaign in August, funded for TV by individuals. But the organization will start purchasing its own airtime this month. The organization is still unsure if it will use the “How Much Time" ad or create a second one.

Swift Boat Rating:

John McCain opposes Roe v. Wade, but the group’s 21-state estimate is a bit exaggerated. There is evidence that these 21 states could move to ban abortion, but nothing implies that action would be immediate. No statutes currently in existence would send a woman to prison for having an abortion—it’s an idea that’s commonly used as a scare tactic.

Swift Boat Watch: Does Obama Support Infanticide?

Abby Callard — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:59:00 GMT

Every campaign season, independent groups on both sides drop huge sums on attack ads targeting the presidential candidates. Sometimes, people even notice. (See: Boat Veterans for Truth, Swift.) But, for the most part, they sail under the radar.

So in case you’re not living in a swing neighborhood of a swing district of a swing state, where these ads air constantly, Trailhead will be tracking the latest ads from these 527s—so named for their tax-code status—and other independent groups, such as 501(c)4s, that are diving into the fray. We’ll tell you who’s behind them, what they want, and just how sneaky their claims are. Depending on this last part, we assign between one and four Swift Boats.

Who: BornAliveTruth

Founder: Jill Stanek, former nurse and anti-abortion activist.

Funding: Raymond Ruddy, pro-life philanthropist from Massachusetts, donated $350,000 for the ad after Stanek contacted him.

Cost of the Ad: $350,000

Where it ran: Ohio and New Mexico

Claims: Barack Obama voted “no” on the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act in Illinois, which would have provided legal protection to infants born alive during abortions and unlikely to survive.

Accuracy: Obama opposed the bill in 2001 and 2002 as a backdoor attack on abortion. He said, though, that he would vote for it if it included a “neutrality clause” that would prevent it from affecting Roe v. Wade. But when a version with a neutrality clause came to the floor in 2003, Obama again voted “no.” The ad is correct about Obama’s voting record, but the group takes some liberties with the reasoning behind his votes. (Check out Factcheck.org’s analysis here.)

Background: Gianna Jessen, an abortion survivor, narrates the short spot. Her story is corroborated with her birth certificate, which says she was born during an unsuccessful third-trimester saline abortion. Jill Stanek, the group’s founder, worked as a registered nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill. After discovering that the hospital performed “partial birth abortions,” she began publicly advertising the fact. Stanek and Jessen both testified before Congress in 2000 and lobbied heavily to get the 2002 federal Born-Alive Infants Protection Act passed.

The group originally listed its purpose on IRS forms “informing the public of Barack Obama's support of infanticide,” but after talking to lawyers this summer, Stanek says, they changed their description to "inform the public about issues related to laws concerning infants who are born alive after unsuccessful abortions." Stanek says the group’s core goal is still the same. (See the group’s original filing here and the amended filing here.)

Swift Boat Rating:

While in the Illinois State Senate, Obama did vote “no” four times to the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, even when the bill contained the neutrality clause. The ad’s claims are accurate even if the logic is a bit off.

Trailhead : Abortion

Swift Boat Watch: Winning Message Action Fund

Swift Boat Watch: Does Obama Support Infanticide?