1 Boring Old Man

Pro – Bush Group Airs New War Ads

A political group supporting President Bush’s Iraq war strategy with a multimillion-dollar ad campaign is airing a new TV ad denouncing a liberal group’s sharp criticism of Gen. David Petraeus

The campaign is the second rollout of ads by the group, Freedom’s Watch, and capitalizes on Democratic Party unease over a newspaper ad run this week by MoveOn.org, one of the leading anti-war voices among liberal activists.

The MoveOn ad appeared Monday in The New York Times on the morning of Petraeus’ first appearance before Congress to testify about conditions in Iraq. The ad accused Petraeus of "cooking the books" for the White House. "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" it asked, playing off his name.

The ad has become a rallying point for Republicans, who have demanded that Democrats disavow it.

Some Democrats have voiced concern. On Monday, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., called the ad "over the top."

The Freedom’s Watch ad states: "Name calling, charges of betrayal it’s despicable. It’s what MoveOn shamefully does — and it’s wrong. America and the forces of freedom are winning. MoveOn is losing. Call your Congressman and Senator. Tell them to condemn MoveOn."

"It’s not surprising that a White House front group like Freedom’s Watch would come after us," said Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action. Pariser defended the MoveOn ad, saying, "when you have the Bush administration spinning the facts about what is happening in Iraq, that’s a betrayal of trust."

Which is why I posted the screen shot of Rush Limbaugh’s everyday site below. But there is a point here. The Right’s strongest attack point is to link their opponents to the "dirty f**king hippies" of 30+ years ago – technically, the ""dirty f**king  h yippies." Looking at Rush’s site, there’s a photoshopped Hillary Hippie with an Hsu Hippie. Karl Rove never tired of trashing Move-On in the same vein. From a strategic point of view, we do best when we play it straight – even though Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and Michelle Malkin make their living with "yippie-oid antics."