Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean asked his rivals Tuesday to condemn a television ad that uses a picture of Osama bin Laden to criticize his foreign policy credentials, saying he was stunned that fellow Democrats would turn against him in such a vicious manner.
“I’m disappointed,” said Dean, speaking aboard his campaign plane as it traveled to New Mexico. “I’m still shocked that you would use a [special-interest group] to attack other Democrats. It never occurred to me that that would happen.”
An independent Democratic group, formed late last month to slow Dean’s surging candidacy, is airing a commercial in New Hampshire and South Carolina urging voters to take a second look at the former Vermont governor. In the 30-second ad, an announcer warns: “Dean just cannot compete with George Bush on foreign policy. It’s time for Democrats to think about that–and think about it now.”
The television spots, sponsored by a group called Americans for Jobs, Health Care & Progressive Values, have stirred controversy one month before the Democratic nominating season begins because the organization has refused to disclose the ad’s financiers. Late Tuesday, a labor union that has endorsed rival Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri acknowledged contributing $50,000 to the group but said the ads had gone too far.
“We were led to believe that it would be used for issue advocacy during the primary, specifically on our issues of jobs and health care,” said Rick Sloan, a spokesman for the International Association of Machinists. “This ad has nothing to do with jobs or health care.”
Several unions contributed $50,000 to the organization, which began running ads two weeks ago in Iowa. The first spot showed Dean, side-by-side with President Bush and compared their records of support for the National Rifle Association.
Joe Trippi, Dean’s campaign manager, on Tuesday asked rival campaigns in a letter to join him in denouncing the group’s latest ad, which uses a Time magazine cover of bin Laden to question Dean’s national security experience.
“Using the image of Osama bin Laden,” Trippi wrote, “it is the kind of fear-mongering attack we’ve come to expect from Republicans and panders to the worst in voters.”
Campaign finance laws prohibit federal candidates or their campaigns from coordinating with such outside groups, called “527s” after the section of the tax code that applies to them. Because the group was formed late last month, it is not required to disclose its contributors until February, after the nominating season begins.
The Gephardt campaign, which is locked in a tight race in Iowa with Dean, denied any knowledge of or involvement with the group.
“Congressman Gephardt wishes the donors would reveal themselves and wishes there was total transparency in campaign finance,” said Bill Burton, a campaign spokesman.
The organization’s two top officials–its president, Edward Feighan, a former Ohio congressman, and treasurer David Jones–have ties to Gephardt. Feighan donated $2,000 to Gephardt’s campaign, campaign finance records show. Jones is a former Gephardt fundraiser.
Late Tuesday, Sloan said his union agreed to contribute to the group, unaware that the ads would directly attack Dean.
