David Perdue's (R. GA) been pulling a play out of Saxby Chambliss' (R. GA) 2002 attack book and he's starting to get blowback:
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/...
One day after Republican David Perdue pocketed the endorsement of George H.W. Bush in the race for U.S. Senate, a son of the 90-year-old former president denounced as “shameful” and “disrespectful” Perdue-endorsed claims that a Bush-established foundation once headed by Democratic rival Michelle Nunn “gave money to organizations linked to terrorists.”
The charge is contained in a 30-second TV spot paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and approved by Perdue, now airing on television stations across the state.
“That’s ridiculous,” said Neil Bush, the 59-year-old chairman of the Points of Light Foundation, in an exclusive phone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It really makes my blood boil to think that someone would make that kind of an allegation, whether it’s an independent political group or a candidate for office.” Here’s the video in question:
The younger Bush called on the candidate endorsed by his father to renounce charge contained in the TV ad:
“Neither Points of Light nor Michelle Nunn have had anything to do with funneling money from our organization to terrorists organizations. Anyone who makes that claim needs to understand the facts and then they need to denounce those claims. To attack an organization founded by my father, whose integrity is unimpeachable, to smear our organization for political gain, is in my opinion shameful.
“It’s just wrong to suggest that Points of Light, or in the context of Points of Light, Michelle Nunn, had anything to do with funneling money to terrorists. If those allegations are being made, it’s symptomatic of what I consider to be one of our country’s growing problems. It really does upset me, honestly. Which is why I’m talking to you.
“To have a blemish on the great work that’s being done by Points of Light, to blow wind into the sails of a national service movement – it’s hurtful to our cause, and it’s disrespectful to our founder.”
“That’s ridiculous,” said Neil Bush, the 59-year-old chairman of the Points of Light Foundation, in an exclusive phone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It really makes my blood boil to think that someone would make that kind of an allegation, whether it’s an independent political group or a candidate for office.” - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/17/14
Neil Bush then went on to praise Nunn's work as CEO of Points of Light:
“I’m chairman of Points of Light. Michelle was CEO of Points of Light. We had a good relationship. I admired Michelle’s leadership of Points of Light. We merged Points of Light and the Hands On Network, which she founded, a number of years ago.
“There were obviously challenges with merging two entities as large as these two and kind of blending cultures. She did a fabulous job of handling issues related to the merger, moving from Washington D.C. to Atlanta. There are all sorts of challenges. Our boards debated whether this was really worthwhile, and at the end of the day, because of her Michelle’s leadership and talent she surrounded herself with, things worked really smoothly.
“We have a very complex organization, and she dealt with issues very wisely and well. She showed the right kind of visionary leadership – a non-partisan or bipartisan approach to our service world. It’s evidence by the fact that Neil Bush, a member of a prominent Republican family, kind of teamed up with a Nunn, a member of a prominent Democratic family.
“It just showed that, though our nation is divided in politics, we can come together as Americans to solve some of our more intractable problems. Michelle worked the nonpartisan part of the job really well. I have lots of admiration for her as a leader of our organization, and a lot of respect for her willingness to jump in and try to find ways to serve in other capacities.”
By the way, here's some more background info:
http://www.politifact.com/...
Within days of the leaked memo, the conservative Ending Spending Action Fund, had a TV ad playing off some worries that Nunn's strategists said they anticipated.
The portion we fact checked dealt with the claim that the non-profit Points of Light, which Nunn ran from 2007 until she took a leave to campaign, directed money to an Islamic group with ties to terrorists.
We found the claim centered on MissionFish, a business entity that Points of Light owned until 2012 and collected donations from eBay buyers and sellers for any of 20,000 charities. One of those charities, Islamic Relief USA, received about $13,500 through this process.
Islamic Relief USA is part of a global network of charities that is under the umbrella of Islamic Relief Worldwide. That organization has been accused by one top Israeli official of having links to the terrorist group Hamas. Islamic Relief has denied any such connections. And the way MissionFish worked, there's no indication that Points of Light directed money to Islamic Relief USA or any specific charity.
We rated the claim Mostly False. - PolitiFact Georgia, 8/12/14
Now you would think that someone like Perdue would stop using this line of attack but you're wrong. Instead, he's doubling down:
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/...
But this morning, Perdue doubled down on the “terrorist” charge, with this new ad now airing on WSB-TV:
From the script:
Narrator: Michelle Nunn’s own plan says she funded organizations linked to terrorists. She’s for amnesty, while terrorism experts say our border breakdown could provide an entry for groups like Isis.
Perdue: If a county can’t protect its borders, what can it protect? To me, the answer is crystal clear. Actually secure our borders. Enforce our existing law. And once and for all, forget amnesty. - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/17/14
The Republicans know they have a serious chance at losing this seat so they're resorting to the same fear tactics they always use. We can't let Perdue do the same thing Chambliss did to Max Cleland (D. GA) in 2002. Click here to donate and get involved with Nunn's campaign so she can fight back and win in November:
http://www.michellenunn.com/