RNC: Obama's Special Interest Hypocrisy

WASHINGTON, May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released
by the Republican National Committee:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/RNCLOGO )

Liberal Group MoveOn.Org Has Launched An Old-Style Political Attack Against
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) And His Campaign Adviser:

MoveOn.Org Has Launched An Attack Ad On McCain And His Campaign Adviser's
Former Lobbying Ties. (MoveOn.Org Website, www.moveon.org, Accessed 5/20/08)

MoveOn.Org Supports Obama And Issued Its First Presidential Endorsement In
Favor Of Obama's Campaign:
"[B]arack Obama Earned The Endorsement Of MoveOn, One Of The Largest
Grassroots Membership Organizations In The United States, After Clobbering
Hillary Clinton By 40 Percent In Internet Balloting." (Ari Melber, "MoveOn
Endorses Obama," The Nation's "Campaign 08" Blog, www.thenation.com, 2/1/08)

Obama's Endorsement Is MoveOn.Org's First Endorsement Ever In A Presidential
Campaign. "MoveOn, which has never endorsed a presidential candidate before,
boasts that it has 1.7 million members in Super Tuesday states." (Ari Melber,
"MoveOn Endorses Obama," The Nation's "Campaign 08" Blog, www.thenation.com,
2/1/08)

In Accepting The Endorsement, Obama Praised MoveOn.Org's Members And Record.
Obama: "From their principled opposition to the Iraq war ... to their strong
support for a number of progressive causes, MoveOn shows what Americans can
achieve when we come together in a grassroots movement for change. I thank
them for their support and look forward to working with their members in the
weeks and months ahead." (MoveOn.Org Political Action, "MoveOn Endorsement
Throws Progressive Weight Behind Barack Obama," Press Release, 2/1/08)

Obama Also Won MoveOn.Org's Member Poll, Which Asked, Which Candidate Is "Best
Able To Lead The Country Out Of The War In Iraq?" ("Obama Wins MoveOn Poll,"
National Journal's "The Hotline On Call" Blog,
hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com, 4/12/07)

MoveOn.Org Has A History Of Radical Statements And Left-Wing Policy Positions:

MoveOn.Org Purchased A Full Page Ad In The New York Times, Calling General
David Petraeus "General Betray Us" And Accused Him Of "Cooking The Books."
"[Gen. Petraeus] has already come under fire from MoveOn.org which in a full
page ad in Monday's New York Times dubbed him 'General betray us' and alleged
he was 'cooking the books for the White House.'" (Peter Wuetherich, "Petraeus:
Battle-Hardened General On The Frontlines In Iraq," Agence France Presse,
9/10/07)

MoveOn.Org Opposed $87 Billion For Troops And Reconstruction In Iraq And
Afghanistan. "[MoveOn.Org] is criticizing President Bush's $87 billion request
for Iraq and Afghanistan in a television ad ... The commercial is part of
MoveOn.Org's effort to defeat the supplemental spending bill pending in
Congress." (Will Lester, "Political Notebook," The Associated Press, 10/15/03)

Two Ads Comparing President Bush To Hitler Appeared On MoveOn.Org's Voter Fund
Website. "One ad begins with Adolf Hitler making speeches, until a picture of
President Bush appears. Another also uses Nazi and Bush images, with the tag
line: 'What were war crimes in 1945 is foreign policy in 2003.' The videos
appeared on the Web site of MoveOn.Org's Voter Fund as part of a nationwide
contest for an anti-Bush television ad on which the liberal group plans to
spend a considerable sum." (Howard Kurtz, "Anti-Bush Ad Contest Includes
Hitler Images," The Washington Post, 1/6/04)

Click Here To View Ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIzOfcZuYLk

Abraham Foxman Of Anti-Defamation League Called Ads "Vile And Outrageous" And
Group's Comments Explaining Them "Hardly Comforting." (Anti-Defamation League,
"Hitler Ad Should Never Have Appeared On MoveOn.Org," Press Release, 1/5/04)

MoveOn.Org Pushed For Peaceful Response To 9/11 And Opposed Military Action.
"Joan Blades of Berkeley, a founder of MoveOn.Org ... said her group had
collected 30,000 signatures since the attacks Sept. 11 on a statement calling
for 'justice, not escalating violence that would only play into the
terrorists' hands.'" (Tony Pugh, "Against Tide, They Clamor For Peace," The
Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/21/01)

Sen. Clinton Recently Noted That MoveOn.Org Didn't Want Us To Go Into
Afghanistan. Sen. Clinton: "We have been less successful in caucuses because
it brings out the activist base of the Democratic Party. MoveOn.org didn't
want us to go into Afghanistan. ... I mean, that's what we're dealing with.
And, you know, they turn out in great numbers. And they are very driven by
their view of our positions, and it's primarily national security and foreign
policy that drives them. I don't agree with them." (Christina Bellantoni,
"Clinton's MoveO n Remarks Draw Fire," The Washington Times, 4/20/08)

"MoveOn.Org ... Is Responsible For The 'Fire Cheney' TV Ad That Shows The
Statue Of Liberty With A Hood Over Its Head." (Bill Holland, "Getting Out The
Vote," Billboard, 7/3/04)

FLASHBACK: Obama Has Pledged He's "Not Going To Go Around Doing Negative Ads"
And Has Decried "Slash And Burn" Politics:

Obama: "Now, one of the things I'm proud of at the beginning of this campaign
I said, this is a different time. This is an extraordinary time. We've got to
run a different kind of campaign. So we're not going to go around doing
negative ads. We're going to keep it positive. We're going to talk about the
issues." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Wilson, NC, 4/28/08)

Obama: "We've got to get beyond the small politics ... the slash and burn
politics that have become the custom in Washington." ("Obama Denounces 'Slash
And Burn' Politics," The Associated Press, 2/19/07)

Obama: "We don't want the small, timid, slash and burn, negative campaigning
of the past." (Josh Hafenbrack, "Obama Barack Obama Calls For New Political
Spirit During South Florida Campaign Swing," [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Sun
Sentinel, 3/26/07)

And Obama Has Former Federal Lobbyists Working For And Raising Money For His
Campaign:

Former Federal Lobbyists Are On Obama's Staff, Including Deputy Campaign
Manager Steve Hildebrand, Teal Baker And Emmett Beliveau. "The Obama campaign
restricts current lobbyists from joining the campaign. But a bunch of former
lobbyists have helped out--including deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand,
Teal Baker, and Emmett Beliveau--who could easily slip back onto K Street once
the campaign is over." (Christopher Beam, "Obama's Lobbying Ties," Slate's
"Trailhead" Blog, www.slate.com, 5/19/08)

Obama Does Not Ban Current Lobbyists From Providing Unpaid Advice To His
Campaign. "Obama does not ban even current lobbyists from lending advice to
the campaign--which could be considered an 'in kind' contribution. Moses
Mercado, a former adviser to Dick Gephardt and a lobbyist for Ogilvy
Government Relations, volunteers his advice and time for the campaign but
declined to be on payroll." (Christopher Beam, "Obama's Lobbying Ties,"
Slate's "Trailhead" Blog, www.slate.com, 5/19/08)

Obama Also Uses Bundlers Who Were Previously Federal Lobbyists. "Obama now has
14 bundlers who are also federally registered lobbyists, but they are
currently inactive, according to Public Citizen." (Christopher Beam, "Obama's
Lobbying Ties," Slate's "Trailhead" Blog, www.slate.com, 5/19/08)

Paid for by the Republican National Committee.

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee

SOURCE Republican National Committee

Republican National Committee, +1-202-863-8614