I just received a very disturbing update from Texans for Public Justice (TPJ) in regard to lead Swiftboat financial backer, Houston homebuilder, and number one Republican donor, Bob Perry (pictured below).
According to TPJ:
Defending his title as "King of Dirty Politics," Houston homebuilder Bob Perry just bankrolled a racist ad attacking Democratic candidate Joel Redmond, who is battling Republican Ken Legler for an open House seat representing the Pasadena area.
The mailed ad features a picture of Redmond, who is white, surrounded by photos of five minority lawmakers under the caption, "Bad company corrupts good character." The brown and black faces of Redmond's "bad company" are those of Sen. Barack Obama and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, as well as three state lawmakers: Sen. Mario Gallegos, and Reps. Harold Dutton and Garnett Coleman. All of these "bad" people are African American, except for Latino Sen. Gallegos.
See the ad below the fold:
The flip side of the mailer:
According to TPJ:
The mailer is sponsored by Empower Texans, which was founded by Midland oilman...Tim Dunn. Dunn recruited Michael Sullivan from James Leininger's Texas Public Policy Foundation to run Empower and its PAC. Empower PAC's most recent disclosure says that the PAC raised $56,000 since the end of June, with Bob Perry supplying $50,000 of that total.
TPJ adds that Perry is the number one donor in the state of Texas based on financial contributions, including more than $7 million to Republican committees and candidates during the 2006 election.
He is best known in political circles, however, for his backing of numerous 527s whose objective is to smear Democratic candidates. His most infamous 527 was the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which led to the ultimate defeat of 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Perry donated the most money to the Swift Boaters, nearly $4.5 million, that were used in the attacks on Vietnam war hero Kerry.
According to TPJ, Perry's other 527s contributions against Democrats involve:
·$5 million for the Economic Freedom Fund, a 527 that unleashed attack ads and illegal push polls against seven Democratic congressional candidates in 2006.
·$3 million to Americans for Honesty on Issues, a 527 that ran 2006 ads that falsely claimed that Colorado Senate candidate Ed Purlmutter "sponsored legislation giving taxpayer money to illegal immigrants."
·$1 million to the Free Enterprise Fund (which had no other donor) for its infamous 2006 ad that presented itself as a trailer to the gay cowboy film "Brokeback Mountain." Noting Montana Democratic Senate Candidate Jon Tester's opposition to banning gay marriages, the ad closed with a cowboy drawling, "I guess Tester doesn't know how to quit taxin.'"
TPJ closes out their notice with the following request:
"Bob Perry previously has disavowed responsibility for the trash he buys," said Texans for Public Justice Director Craig McDonald. "It's time Bob Perry took personal responsibility for the hate-mongering, gay-bashing, and race-bating he sponsors."
Is there any way we can Bachmannize Legler on behalf of Perry?