A while later, the ad refreshed and was replaced by this one:
This is a flash ad which costs almost $11,000 for a week and they are actually running two, one on top of the other, on the front page. I guess I should be happy to see this odious group running useless ads to a group of viewers that is largely NOT going to be in any way persuaded by their message much less click through. I suppose it's good that they are wasting their money in this way rather than spending somewhere where they might have some sort of impact.
But, I gotta tell ya, I just don't understand it.
Americans for Prosperity represents nearly everything that Kossacks despise about the right. They are an astroturfing organization that, as Rachel has exposed time and again, is heavily funded by the über-wealthy owner of Koch Industries, a chemical and oil & gas company.
They are anti-health care reform.
They are anti-environmental and clean energy legislation, fighting what they refer to as "global warming alarmism" with their "Hot Air Tour".
They cheered wildly when the announcement that Chicago had lost its bid for the 2016 Olympics.
They have compared health care reform efforts to "the murderous regimes of Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot."
They are against nearly everything that Kossacks are FOR. Here's Rachel from her October 5th show:
...David Koch-it's K-O-C-H, is the way you spell his last name-he's the ninth richest person in America, thanks to an oil and chemical empire called Koch Industries that he inherited from his dad. David Koch also happens to be the chairman of the nation's premier grassroots organization, Americans for Prosperity. He funded the group starting up. He continues to be one of their major funders.
[...]
Americans for Prosperity sort of looks grassroots. It takes great pains to try to look grassroots. And it uses that grassroots look to fight for economic freedoms, as he said. Economic freedoms for businesses like David Koch's Koch Industries.
Koch Industries happens to be the largest privately-owned energy company in the country. Their Web site boasts all about all of its companies that "engage in petroleum refining, chemicals and base oil production, crude oil supply, and wholesale marketing of fuels, base oil, petrochemicals, asphalt and other products."
Give that connection, it may not surprise you to learn that in addition to opposing President Obama's efforts to bring the Olympics to the United States, and opposing President Obama's efforts on health reform, Americans for Prosperity chaired and funded in part by energy titan David Koch is also against President Obama's climate change legislation. You can see their hot air tour which is a giant hot air balloon which travels around the country-you guessed it-educating people, about the fallacy of global warming and the big dangers posed by the climate change bill.
In addition to President Obama-weirdly, I feel like I have to mention this because it's weird if I don't-it turns out they're also not fans of me either. According to David Weigel at the "Washington Independent" who reported from the Americans for Prosperity conference this weekend, he said, quote, "They booed loudly when MSNBC's Rachel Maddow appeared on screen in a clip where she promised Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips to be, quote, 'as fair as I can be.'"
So what the hell are they doing advertising here? Are they really that dumb? Give me your opinions in the comments.
I'm just sayin'...
UPDATE: It's clear that most of the people reading this are mistaking my diary for a complaint that I have to see these ads. It's not. It's a diary asking the question, "Why would this otherwise fairly well-run PR campaign think it's a good use of their online advertising budget to advertise on the most liberal website on the web?"
Personally I love the irony that they are wasting their money by helping support a site that slams them daily and from which they will receive little-to-no support. Ever. As bwintx puts it: it's a case of feeding the hand that bites you!
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