08.26.08
Dallas billionaire, swift boat financer, attacks Obama with Ayers and funds Bryan Daniel to boot
The Dallas billionaire who made a fortune as a corporate raider and financed the 2004 swift boat ads has paid $2.88 million to air a 60-second attack ad against Barack Obama that asserts a linkage to a 1960s radical antiwar group’s founder William Ayers. Last Friday, New York Times reporter Jim Rutenberg wrote about the link:
Mr. Ayers, now a professor of education in Chicago, was a founder of the Weather Underground, which bombed government buildings in the early 1970s. He was indicted on conspiracy charges that were thrown out for prosecutorial misconduct.
He served with Mr. Obama on the board of the Woods Fund of Chicago, a charitable organization, and, along with his wife, the former Weather Underground member Bernardine Dohrn, hosted Mr. Obama at their home in 1995 when he was running for state office.
Mr. Obama has called Mr. Ayers “somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8 years old.”
Saturday, Los Angeles Times reporter Dan Morain wrote:
ландшафтSimmons was No. 43 on the 2007 Forbes list of richest Americans, with a net worth estimated at $7.4 billion. Known as a corporate raider, Simmons has been nicknamed “the Ice Man.” He acquired his wealth by investing in drugstores, steel, garbage collection and other entities.
…
The anti-Obama ad that Simmons funded notes that the Sept. 11 hijackers failed to crash one of the hijacked jets into the Capitol but that 30 years earlier the Weather Underground detonated a bomb in it. “Why would Barack Obama be friends with someone who bombed the Capitol and is proud of it?” the ad asks.
Ayers was never prosecuted for any of the Weather Underground bombings; charges were dropped because of prosecutorial misconduct.
Daily Kos blogger Hesiod reported that Harold Simmons has been accused of raiding his daughters’ trust fund and attempting to exploit a loophole inserted into the tax code by politicians on the receiving end of his largesse that would have helped him avoid paying $100 million in taxes.
Harold Simmons business venture Waste Control Specialists is applying for a license to build a radioactive waste dump in West Texas.
Speaking of radioactive, Simmons’ stable of politicians includes Texas House of Representatives district 52 Republican nominee Bryan Daniel. According to Texas Ethics Commission filings (PDF), Simmons is Daniel’s largest individual contributor. So if you like radioactive waste dumps and dubious smear ads, then Bryan Daniel is definitely your candidate.
remerson said,
August 27, 2008 at 2:23 am
Arrogance knows no bounds! These guys have gotten away with it for so long that they seem not to even attempt to practice the “plausible deniability” that Richard Nixon tried to maintain.
It’s the Hitler “Big Lie” theory; it’s worked far too long, taking this country to the brink of destruction. Owning the media gave these jerks a tremendous edge, of course, but the net has neutralized that advantage and, with a bit of intelligence (or simple enlightened self-interest) on the part of the electorate, we can send some of them to prison and the rest of them packing.
Karl Rove would be a good start. So satisfying to see his pudgy, pasty little body in prison garb and know he had a bruiser for a cell-mate!
Dig Deeper Texas » Texas Progressive Alliance Roundup said,
September 1, 2008 at 9:30 am
[...] dumps, smear ad campaigns and HD-52 Republican nominee Bryan Daniel? Dembones at Eye On Williamson follows the money trail back to Swift Boat financer, Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons, whose latest smear campaign tries [...]
Texas Progressive Alliance Roundup « TruthHugger said,
September 1, 2008 at 11:04 am
[...] dumps, smear ad campaigns and HD-52 Republican nominee Bryan Daniel? Dembones at Eye On Williamson follows the money trail back to Swift Boat financer, Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons, whose latest smear campaign tries [...]
Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round Up Sept. 1, 2008 | BlueBloggin said,
September 1, 2008 at 11:14 am
[...] dumps, smear ad campaigns and HD-52 Republican nominee Bryan Daniel? Dembones at Eye On Williamson follows the money trail back to Swift Boat financer, Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons, whose latest smear campaign tries [...]
Eye on Williamson » Texas Blog Round Up (September 1, 2008) said,
September 1, 2008 at 11:58 am
[...] dumps, smear ad campaigns and HD-52 Republican nominee Bryan Daniel? Dembones at Eye On Williamson follows the money trail back to Swift Boat financer, Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons, whose latest smear campaign tries [...]
Crazed Ship’s Captain Barks Texas Progressive Round-Up To Telegraph Operator « Texas Liberal said,
September 5, 2008 at 9:44 am
[...] dumps, smear ad campaigns and HD-52 Republican nominee Bryan Daniel? Dembones at Eye On Williamson follows the money trailback to Swift Boat financer, Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons, whose latest smear campaign tries to [...]