Bossie is the president of Citizens United, a conservative
group whose anti-Hillary Clinton movie in 2008 led to a landmark ruling this
year. The Supreme Court threw out parts of a 63-year-old law prohibiting
corporations and unions from paying to air ads for or against political
candidates.
The decision has contributed to an explosion in political
advertising by outside groups, so far most of them allied with the Republican
Party, that have flocked to raise big money from individuals and companies and
flooded into some of the most competitive races across the country.
Bossie,
however, is sticking with his movies — conservative documentaries that are
critical of President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress or that champion
conservative icons and causes.
Over the next week, Bossie says he plans to
spend "a couple hundred thousand dollars" on 30-second ads on
national cable television promoting four of his new films, available on DVD.
The amount is modest compared to the millions being spent by other outside
groups, but the political message in the ads is clear — Obama's and the
Democrats' policies are wrong and conservatives need to assert themselves.
"Getting
people activated, getting motivated is clearly part of our goal," he said,
sitting in his office two floors above Pennsylvania Avenue and next door to his
film studio.
"The stakes on Nov. 2 are just unbelievably
important," former Democratic strategist-turned-conservative commentator
Dick Morris says in one ad, referring to congressional elections that could
determine whether Democrats keep their majority in the House and Senate.
Images
of Obama appear, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid behind him. "He has no understanding of how to be
president," Morris adds.
"Elections have consequences." But
the ads, according to the Federal Election Commission, do not amount to
electioneering.
In June, the FEC concluded that Citizens United was
entitled to a "media exemption" extended to news stories or
commentary by broadcast, cable or satellite television or radio stations that
aren't owned by a party, political committee or a candidate.
As a result,
Citizens United doesn't have to include a disclaimer that identifies who paid
for the ad or assert that it is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee, like other political groups must do.
The ads will promote DVD
movies such as "Battle for America," the one featuring Morris;
"America at Risk," calling for a new commitment to fighting
terrorism; "Generation Zero," about the financial meltdown, and
"Fire for the Heartland," a salute to conservative women.
Bossie,
a top Republican congressional investigator who led inquiries into President
Bill Clinton's Whitewater land deal and his fundraising, said he takes his
inspiration from director Michael Moore, the provocative left-wing documentary
maker who directed "Fahrenheit 911," which accused President George
W. Bush of using the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as a pretext to go to war
in Iraq.
"A lot more people saw the ads than saw the movie," he
said of "Fahrenheit 911." "It permeated the culture."
Still, the Supreme Court decision prompted by his anti-Hillary Clinton movie
has done far more to expand the reach of political advertising for other
outside groups than it has for Citizens United.
"It was always a
custom designed test case," said Trevor Potter, a campaign finance lawyer
who worked on John McCain's Republican presidential campaign and is a critic of
the ruling. "The beneficiaries were always going to be other
players." Obama, who took the unusual step of denouncing the court's
decision during this year's State of the Union address, has made the case a
staple of his current stump speech and has criticized it twice during his
Saturday morning radio and Internet addresses.
"I want you to
understand right now all over this country special interests are planning and
running millions of dollars of attack ads against Democratic candidates,"
Obama said at a Democratic fundraiser in New York on Wednesday. "Because
of last year's Supreme Court decision in Citizens United, they are now allowed
to spend as much as they want, unlimited amounts of money, and they don't have
to reveal who is paying for these ads."
Obama's chief political adviser, David Axelrod, continued
that line of criticism Sunday, complaining that Republicans had blocked
legislation to require groups that air political ads to reveal their
donors.
"You know, there's an old saying that if you want to keep
things secret, you have something to hide," Axelrod said on ABC
television.
Bossie takes delight in the attention.
"You can see by
the actions of the White House and the Congress, this Citizens United ruling
has gotten under the skin of the liberal establishment, the leadership of the
House and Senate and the White House," he said. "They are completely
emotional."
