Pro Hillary 527 puts out first ad

As far as attack ads go this one is, well, pathetic.  I don't even know if you can call it an attack add, it's more of a continuation of the same tired talking points Hillary has been spewing for the last week.

Update 1:  Thanks for the technical tips all!  I figured it out.

Now this add just hits on the same, "Words don't matter," theme Hillary has been using.  I would find it remarkable only for its unremarkableness except for how closely it matches Hillary's rhetoric.  Is there a line 527s should not cross?

Per Opensecrets.org:

527 Group – A tax-exempt group organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code to raise money for political activities including voter mobilization efforts, issue advocacy and the like. Currently, the FEC only requires a 527 group to file regular disclosure reports if it is a political party or political action committee (PAC) that engages in either activities expressly advocating the election or defeat of a federal candidate, or in electioneering communications. Otherwise, it must file either with the government of the state in which it is located or the Internal Revenue Service. Many 527s run by special interest groups raise unlimited "soft money," which they use for voter mobilization and certain types of issue advocacy, but not for efforts that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a federal candidate or amount to electioneering communications.

I added the emphasis.

http://www.opensecrets.org/...

So, given the message discipline and the clear pro-Hillary anti-Obama theme, is this add over the line for a 527 group?

•  Tips and technical advice welcome

  by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:18:56 PM PDT

  •  Hi nisleib

    I can't view YouTube from work, but there should be code to the right of the player that says "Embed" and I think even has < EMBED > in the code.

    If you copy that entire code, and paste it into your diary (or a comment), the embedded player will be displayed.

    by sheddhead on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:22:58 PM PDT

    •  sounds kind of like...

      ...dont listen to an empty suit kumbaya i have done so much for everyone i deserve it kumbaya forget about my negatives kumbaya because i want it so badly kumbaya status quo kumbaya I, I, I kumbaya

      i hope it doesnt get worse...

      by TAPayne on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:38:30 PM PDT

  •  Non-Technical Advice...

    Your diary title should read "ad", not "add".

    by HairyTrueMan on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:28:30 PM PDT

    •  Done, didn't spell check the title, my bad.

      by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:49:20 PM PDT

  •  Seconded: Please change "add" to "ad"

    in the title...

    Otherwise, good diary...

    by highacidity on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:47:36 PM PDT

    •  Done, thanks.

      by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:49:02 PM PDT

•  is ti just me,

  or does the ad seem to imply bush is a good speaker? ha!

  by emilymv on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:21:18 PM PDT

  •  I thought that too!

    by Mother of Zeus on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:39:29 PM PDT

  •  It's about the only logical

    conclusion one can draw from the ad.

    by johnsonwax on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 01:15:07 PM PDT

•  Copy the html code from Youtube...

  ...then you can paste it in.

  And you're right. This is a silly ad.

  by haruki on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:21:52 PM PDT

  •  Thank you

    I figured it out!

    by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:34:38 PM PDT

•  Democrats attacking democrats

  This time with "soft money" donations. Ugly.

  by allmost liberal european on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:22:24 PM PDT

  •  That is essentially....

    .... what I wrote in my email to Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio.  Talkingpoints Memo listed him as one of the organizers.  I told him that they were treading on fairly thin ice and to be careful what they say and how.

    Already the blogosphere is talking about the "Swiftboating of a fellow Democrat"...

    This has the word "ick" written all over it....

    I guess Penn won the argument about whether or not to go nuclear... Grunwald didn't want to.  

    by Jen K in FLA on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:29:54 PM PDT

    •  As I understood the TPM post

      It wasn't Sherrod Brown who was involved, but one of the "engineers" of his winning campaign.

      I could be wrong, but that's how I read it.

      by costello7 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 01:20:14 PM PDT

      •  To be fair....

        .....  I did question the Senator's involvement in my email to him as it struck me as odd...  I didn't think he had endorsed anyone as yet...

        by Jen K in FLA on Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 07:18:23 AM PDT

•  Do these words matter Hillary?

  You are done.

  by bam bam on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:22:38 PM PDT

•  I don't know the rules...where's Adam B when you

  need him?!?!

  He seems to have a grasp of this stuff.

  by hollywood politcaljunkie on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:23:10 PM PDT

•  There is no

  "over-the-line" for a 527, unless they coordinate with the campaign.  This is another beautiful irony of campaign finance reform.  I for one am glad we have purged from politics the insidious influence of Money.

  by bugscuffle on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:23:11 PM PDT

  •  the message here

    seems very very close to the recent campaign language. Solutions. Plagiarism, anybody?

    by scotslass on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:29:45 PM PDT

    •  That was my thought as well

      The only way this ad could more closely follow the HRC campaign line is if it were narrated by Hillary.

      by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:36:06 PM PDT

    •  I agree

      I thought that 527s were supposed to be issue oriented, not candidate oriented....WTF? This has to be over the line...

      by hopeful on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:57:37 PM PDT

•  Hillary's World Is A Sad, Miserable Place

  What a sad and depressing ad.

  I'm not sure that "recess is over" is really the kind of campaign message that is going to resonate with voters.

  by bincbom on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:23:47 PM PDT

  •  "Recess is Over" doesn't work with

    me at all and I am closer to Clinton's age than Obama's. What hopeless drivel.

    As I said before can they spell desperation?

    by shigeru on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:36:19 PM PDT

•  "Tell Hillary

  to keep working on these issues..." in the Senate!

  by rf7777 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:25:48 PM PDT

  •  Damn

    You stole my line.

    by Zackpunk on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:31:10 PM PDT

    •  feel free to plagiarize... <g>

      by rf7777 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:33:23 PM PDT

      •  Thanks

        Chris Mathews is already slamming me on MSNBC as we speak.

        First he chided me for plagiarizing, then he demanded I name one administrative accomplishment of Martin van Buren.

        by Zackpunk on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:38:04 PM PDT

        •  And don't think they won't

          find out about that cappuccino machine you have hidden in your kitchen pantry!

          by rf7777 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:43:58 PM PDT

  •  Hillary's work in the Senate

    Senator Clinton, who has served only one full term (6yrs.), and another year campaigning, has managed to author and pass into law, (20) twenty pieces of legislation in her first six years:

    1. Establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site.

    2. Support the goals and ideals of Better Hearing and Speech Month.

    3. Recognize the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

    4. Name courthouse after Thurgood Marshall.

    5. Name courthouse after James L. Watson.

    6. Name post office after Jonn A. O'Shea.

    7. Designate Aug. 7, 2003, as National Purple Heart Recognition Day.

    8. Support the goals and ideals of National Purple Heart Recognition Day.

    9. Honor the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton on the bicentennial of his death.

    10. Congratulate the Syracuse Univ. Orange Men's Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.

    11. Congratulate the Le Moyne College Dolphins Men's Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.

    12. Establish the 225th Anniversary of the American Revolution Commemorative Program.

    13. Name post office after Sergeant Riayan A. Tejeda.

    14. Honor Shirley Chisholm for her service to the nation and express condolences on her death.

    15. Honor John J. Downing, Brian Fahey, and Harry Ford, firefighters who lost their lives on duty.

    16. Extend period of unemployment assistance to victims of 9/11.

    17. Pay for city projects in response to 9/11.

    18. Assist landmine victims in other countries.

    19. Assist family caregivers in accessing affordable respite care.

    20. Designate part of the National Forest System in Puerto Rico as protected in the wilderness preservation system.

    That's the remarkable achievement for 7+ years in office we're supposed to be impressed with? In just his first year in the U.S. Senate Obama can point to this:

    His first year in the U.S. Senate, Obama authored 152 bills and co-sponsored another 427. These included:
    **the Coburn-Obama Government Transparen cy Act of 2006 (became law),
    **The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act,(became law),
    **The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, passed the Senate,
    **The 2007 Government Ethics Bill,(became law),
    **The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill,(In committee)

    And don't even get me started on his unprecedented success as a State legislator before coming to DC...

    by Jim in Chicago on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:56:56 PM PDT

    •  Once again

      you don't understand:

      When Hillary and her pet 527 attack Obama's record they use words.  And words don't mean anything!

      by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 01:00:12 PM PDT

•  What bullshit.

  Talk to the people of Western New York about the jobs she "created" as senator. She did no such thing. Buffalo has not seen "new" jobs in any of the sectors where jobs were lost. What she did do, if anything, is further the divide between the lower and upper classes. She might have imported finance companies (HSBC moved their HQ there) but she sure as hell shouldn't be bragging about that. The workers that get laid off from New Era Cap don't pick up jobs pushing loans through to escrow. I'm astounded at all the bullshittery that is pouring out from her campaign and now from this 527. Just pathetic.

  by psilocynic on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:26:04 PM PDT

  •  You don't understand

    When Hillary, and her 527, are talking about her many accomplishments they are using words, and we all know words don't matter!

    by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:50:48 PM PDT

•  Ed Schultz Was Saying They're Going to Blitz

  him with attack ads across Ohio & probably more.

  Schultz is calling for Clinton to withdraw from the race now, &/or at least for a conference call with campaign and Party leadership to keep the campaign from being too destructive.

  Fat and fatter chance, sez I.

  Wake up call for Mr. Obama, here it comes.

  by Gooserock on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:27:19 PM PDT

  •  Nah

    He's the golden boy who doesn't strike first. Americans do have a general tendency to protecting the innocent. The more they attack the guy trying to run a clean campaign and offering an end to politics as usual, the more strongly they will turn on Hillary. And let the wingnuts attack now as well. Moderate Republicans will get pissed off too. We're already seeing it happening.

    I know there are lots of examples of politicians running the same kind of campaign that Obama is, but this time people believe it.

    by johnsonwax on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 01:11:47 PM PDT

•  Tell Hillary to keep working, indeed

  With Obama as president, she should be able to accomplish a lot as senator of New York.

  by Zackpunk on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:30:28 PM PDT

•  Scary!

  That "speeches won't get you a job at Kinko's" stuff has traction. Traction!

  Hold me.

  by insects8mybrain on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:30:53 PM PDT

•  Being out of money, she is stuck in a bad place

  If the 527s go negative on Obama the blowback against her shall be substantial.

  If the 527s release sleep inducing pablum those big money donors will be pissing away money for nothing.

  Without the 527s, Obama would outspend Hillary by a rather substantial margin.

  Hopefully, these stay at the level of political pablum. In which case this allows her the fig leaf of  staying in until March 5th AND hoping against hope for some really stupid gaffe from Obama.

  After watching the ad, I am reminded of a coach who calls time out in a football game with 45 seconds go, while losing 42-10.

  by Bill White on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:33:30 PM PDT

•  Hillary should go back to her theme

  that it takes a village. Yes, it may seem too 90ish, but its thematics that she is short on. She should say: It takes parents, teachers, policemen, doctors, dentists, mechanics... to raise a child. Yes, it does take a village. That's why I'm running for president. I want to make sure the health of all people, because that's what it takes to raise a child.

  by BlueTide on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:33:48 PM PDT

  •  A little hard for her to do that now

    After informing us all that Lyndon Johnson did more for the civil rights movement with one stroke of his pen than Martin Luther King, Jr. did with years of organizing, suffering, and, yes, SPEECHES.

    by Jim in Chicago on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:51:22 PM PDT

•  Sometime tonight or tomorrow, Obama gets to say

  The anything-to-win campaign has shady 527s, I have 527 thousand different donors in 2008 alone.

  He's over 516,000 and counting.

  by PocketNines on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:38:26 PM PDT

  •  I guess the question

    is what matters more:  How many donors you have or how much money your donors have.

    I know where I stand on that question and I'm 100% confident my position is not Hillary's position.

    by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:40:17 PM PDT

  •  3000 new donors in the last 50 minutes.

    This is insane.

    The new goal is One Million unique donors.  They are over 900k already.

    by PocketNines on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 01:27:39 PM PDT

•  Wow! It's great!

  It talks (in incredibly vague terms) about her work in Congress, and then says "Tell Hillary to keep working."  I couldn't have said it better myself.

  by Mother of Zeus on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:38:57 PM PDT

  •  LOL

    Keep working - in Congress.

    If I were the rich folk funding this ad I'd be a little upset with the 527.  They have all that money and this is the best they can do?  

    I don't see this hurting Obama.  If anything Obama can say, "Look, my oponent is skirting campaign finance laws and having her rich friends fund an ad campaign.  I'm not just campaigning against Hillary, I'm campaigning against the status quo."  Or something like that.  Then Obama can ask for donations, which he'll get, and he comes out ahead.

    by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:47:42 PM PDT

    •  I like that line about skirting

      campaign finance laws!  Pass it on!

      by oscarsmom on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 02:04:12 PM PDT

•  Come on!

  That's not so bad folks. I expected much, much worse based on what I heard concerning Mark Penn's "go negative" comments.

  That's a standard political ad. I can hardly troll rate the Clinton team for that one. If they keep it on that level, it's no harm, and no foul to the Democratic nominee come the general.

  by Dont Just Stand There on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:39:48 PM PDT

  •  Yeah. I mean, I think we all still are not

    fond of 527s on principle, but this kind of ad doesn't bother me in the least.  Let's hope they keep it all above the belt.

    by Mother of Zeus on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:41:08 PM PDT

  •  I thought the same thing

    but it is a little troubling that she is circumventing campaign finance laws to fund an ad almost identical to her rhetoric of the last week.

    Then again, she has never been for campaign finance laws.  She defends lobbyist, need we say more?

    by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:42:10 PM PDT

    •  circumventing campaign finance laws

      Does this mean we're supposed to reject any anti-McCain ads from 527 groups during the general election?  
      I've got no problem with 527 groups, unless what they're saying is untrue (swiftboat veterans).  

      by Bill W on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:50:44 PM PDT

      •  For issue

        advocacy I agree.  But to push one candidate or punish another...

        by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:52:56 PM PDT

•  Nothing wrong with this ad, except...

  ...it won't work.

  Look, folks, lets not get our collective panties in a wad every time she does something. If this is the "dirty"... great!

  by JeffLieber on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:40:31 PM PDT

•  Um...so I guess Obama is to blame for...

  ...the recession?  This ad is Exhibit A as to why you do NOT want outside groups running ads for you.  

  Yes, I realize she doesn't have the money right now, but outside groups have an amazing ability to wreck your message.  Her Ohio message to voters is now going to be more muddled than it already was.

  by stevedubya on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:50:04 PM PDT

•  Hillary has to denounce these ads.

  Other wise the obvious conclusion is she endorses them.

  by Mikecan1978 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:52:04 PM PDT

  •  Why would she

    condemn the ads?  They are damn near quoting her stump speach.

    by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:53:35 PM PDT

•  Who are the fools funding these ads?

  They must like wasting their money.

  by Oothoon on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:56:26 PM PDT

  •  I know

    I expect ads morphing Obama into Osama bin Hussein or some such thing.

    This ad is pathetic.  Really?  This is the best they can do?

    Of late Hillary's campaign has proven itself incompetent.  Now her pet 527 is doing the same.

    by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 01:02:34 PM PDT

    •  527s aren't necessarily "attack" groups

      I think Hillary and her supporters are rightfully wary of going too negative on Obama.

      This is simply a run-around of campaign finance rules.

      She's out of money. Her donors are maxed out!

      This is clearly tied to her campaign.

      by Oothoon on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 01:06:23 PM PDT

      •  Agreed

        But can it be proven?

        by nisleib on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 01:15:19 PM PDT

•  What does she care?

  She has nothing to lose at this point. Running illegal ads probably doesn't hurt her and it might help. If winning is your only criteria, I think you have to roll the dice and take your chances.

  by johnsonwax on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 01:08:13 PM PDT

•  At least it's not negative

  This is a fine ad.

  Hillary cannot raise money so she's doing it through a 527 where donors can give unlimited amounts.  Fine.  Find people who are willing to write 6-figure checks to Hillary Clinton at this point.  I believe Obama can match HRC's fundraising plus her 527 fundraising.  And I'm totally ok with this type of ad being on the air.  

  What would piss me off is if they start dragging Obama through the mud to drive up his negatives.  Typically the 527's do the attack pieces and the candidate does the positive pieces.

  -Fred

  by FredFred on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 02:40:16 PM PDT