A group close to House Speaker John Boehner that’s been running anti-Conservative advertisements in support of President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty is now airing positive ads thanking liberal Republicans who supported funding executive amnesty earlier this week.
The Republican member at the center of this new leg of the pro-executive amnesty ad buy is Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC), Politico reports, with others including Reps. Susan Brooks (R-IN), Todd Young (R-IN), and Dan Benishek (R-MI) benefiting from the ads as well.
“The American Action Network, a group allied with House Republican leadership, is placing a six-figure buy for television advertisements to thank several GOP lawmakers for voting to fund the Department of Homeland Security,” Politico’s Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan wrote on Friday morning.
The new leg of the TV ad campaign costs $350,000 and comes after previous TV advertisements earlier in the week costing $400,000—before the Tuesday vote to fund executive amnesty in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill—ran against Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) and Jim Bridenstine (R-OK). Web ads were also run against other members including Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX).
“The group’s ad, tailored for each Republican, tells constituents to thank their congressman for ‘fighting for a stronger and safer America,’” Politico wrote about the new leg of the campaign.
The ads call the members they support “conservative.”
“It starts with conservative champions like Congresswoman Renee Ellmers,” the ad for Ellmers says. “Fighting to beef up our national security, enhancing cyber security and securing our economic future by fighting for less debt and greater fiscal accountability.”
That Ellmers is one of the biggest beneficiaries is controversial and sure to cause more of a firestorm–even though it’s no surprise. Ellmers is all but certain to face a strong Republican primary challenge in 2016 after her support for amnesty for America’s millions of illegal aliens and her work to kill pro-life legislation on the eve of the March for Life. Ellmers has been at the center of many dustups in the Republican Conference, putting many of her colleagues at risk from the right over the course of her short time in Washington.
Politico noted the ads will run from Friday morning through March 12 on Fox News and during sports broadcasts this weekend in each district—a total of between 175 to 185 times per district.
“In addition to television ads, AAN is launching a six-figure online campaign to thank 16 members for ‘standing up to [President Barack] Obama,’” Politico added. “It will also spend $50,000 for a ‘live operator’ campaign in 75 other districts. Altogether, AAN will spend $525,000 on this campaign.”
The members who will benefit from that liberal campaign from AAN include: Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), John Carter (R-TX) Kay Granger (R-TX), Mike McCaul (R-TX), Tom Cole (R-OK), Chris Collins (R-NY), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Jeff Denham (R-CA), Tom Emmer (R-MN), John Kline (R-MN), Candice Miller (R-MI), Kristi Noem (R-SD), Robert Pittenger (R-NC), Joe Pitts (R-PA), Glenn Thompson (R-PA), and John Shimkus (R-IL).
The ads are so anti-Republican that even though his ex-chief of staff Barry Jackson is involved in pushing them from his AAN board position slot, Boehner came out publicly against them.
“We are forbidden by law from coordinating with outside political groups – but the Speaker does not think these ads are helpful,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in an email to Breitbart News earlier this week. “He strongly believes in Ronald Reagan’s ‘11th Commandment.’”
Mike Shields, AAN’s president and the former chief of staff to Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Reince Priebus, praised the liberal Republicans for standing up for Obama’s executive amnesty funding.
“Our interest is in educating voters on these important issues,” Shields told Politico. “There are certain members of Congress that have been proven effective conservatives. That’s an important message for voters in those districts to understand.”
Politico notes that this is a part of a longer term plan by AAN to push liberal solutions past unsuspecting House Republicans.
“The sustained presence on television represents a new phase for AAN,” Politico wrote. “The group, which describes itself as ‘center right,’ is trying to become an active participant in the legislative process in Washington. In addition to trying to educate voters about positions it considers problematic, the organization is also looking to reward members who take tough votes. AAN officials say they will spend millions of dollars in the coming years.”
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