Asides

Obama & McCain to curb 527’s

The Washington Post

Sen. John McCain has made clear his antipathy toward outside political organizations known as 527 groups, whose campaign ads have been a factor in recent presidential elections. (By Elaine Thompson — Associated Press)

Fundraisers for Sen. Barack Obama have asked donors not to contribute to independent liberal organizations because he does not want groups’ negative ads to subvert his message. (By Melina Mara — The Washington Post)

By Jonathan Weisman and Michael D. Shear

Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, May 14, 2008; Page A06

Sen. Barack Obama’s top fundraisers have asked his campaign donors to refrain from contributing to liberal independent political organizations in hopes of controlling the tone and message of the general-election campaign.

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At a meeting in Indianapolis on May 2, members of the Democratic front-runner’s finance committee made it clear Obama (Ill.) is worried that overtly negative advertising from outside organizations could undermine his themes of unity and hope.

“If people want to support our campaign, they should do it through our campaign,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.

The meeting was only the most overt effort by Obama or Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican nominee, to freeze out “527″ groups — named after a provision in the tax code — which are not allowed to openly support a candidate but have helped define recent elections through negative advertising.

The McCain campaign has been less organized than Obama’s in its efforts to counter the groups, but the senator from Arizona has made clear his antipathy toward them — without much effect.  Link to complete story Washington Post>>

“We will attack Obama viciously on all fair issues, whether they are national security, whether they are taxes or the economy,” promised Chris LaCivita, one of the Republican strategists behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group that attacked Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry in 2004. LaCivita added: “At the end of the day, every individual has a right to participate in the political process whether John McCain likes it or not. It’s their constitutional right.” Link to full story Washington Post>>

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