Democratic Spending is Team Effort – Groups' ads level field for Kerry

[kskiska]

Wednesday, March 24, 2004; Page A01

For the past week, television viewers in Lansing, Mich., have been seeing twice as many ads for President Bush's reelection campaign than for Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.). But that does not mean Democrats have been falling behind. While Bush and Kerry slug it out, two liberal organizations, MoveOn.org and the Media Fund, have joined the fray with TV spots of their own, knocking the president's record on jobs and the Iraq war.

The result: When Kerry's ad spending is combined with that of the two independent groups, Democrats have been able to go toe to toe with the president. "The share of voice seems relatively equal here," said Michael J. King, general manager of WILX-TV, one of four Lansing stations running campaign ads. "The Democratic side is coming at it from two or three sources."

The ad wars in Lansing may be a microcosm of what is to come in the next few months in cities and states nationwide. In Michigan, Florida, Ohio and 14 other "battlegrounds" that could be decisive in the fall, Democrats are counting on independent but loyally Democratic organizations such as the Media Fund to level the huge fundraising advantage that Bush enjoys over Kerry.

Under federal campaign finance laws, these organizations -- representing teachers, environmentalists, civil rights and abortion rights activists and other traditional Democratic constituencies -- cannot legally coordinate their advertising or activities with the Kerry campaign or the Democratic National Committee. Nevertheless, a coalition of 28 groups says it is poised to raise millions of dollars to supplement the Democratic effort between now and the Nov. 2 election, substantially closing the image-making gap with the president.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18973-2004Mar23.html

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

1. To this date I've only seen one Kerry ad on TV.

I've seen and heard a shitload of pro-Bush adds on TV and radio.