Wednesday, October 15, 2014

FIRST WATCH: Unions Airing $450K Ad Attacking AG Candidate Brnovich On Abortion; Ties Him To More Extreme Position Of Right To Life Org (#50ShadesOfDarkMoney)

Revitalize Arizona began airing a $450,000 ad attacking Republican AG candidate Mark Brnovich for his anti-abortion position, alleging that he "would turn back the clock for women".

The ad apparently aired a few times last week, although the $389,130 Phoenix market ad buy was (properly) disclosed last night to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office. That report indicates that $450,000 is being spent, in total, on the ad (presumably including Tucson airtime and production).

The ad notes that Brnovich has been "proud" to receive the endorsement from the Arizona Right To Life PAC, and that "they would make abortion illegal even in cases of rape or incest." Brnovich told the Center For Arizona Policy - a conservative social issues organization - that he thinks that there SHOULD be an exception for rape or incest.

The ad attempts to make the case that Brnovich would take action on his beliefs, by "let(ting) politicians interfere in women's most personal healthcare decisions."  The Attorney General can and does give opinions to the Legislature and does make determinations on how and whether to fight challenges to Arizona laws.

The Revitalize Arizona ad did not appear to be available on YouTube or through other online searches; however, an Arizona's Politics reader has been kind enough to send this video:

Arizona's Politics reported on Revitalize Arizona recently, when it ran an ad in the Democratic Congressional primary between Ruben Gallego and Mary Rose Wilcox. That article relied on older reports to note that RA's funding came from the national teacher's union, other unions and the Tohono O'odham Nation. A more recent report indicates that it had received all of its $314,000 (as of Sept. 15) from Residents For Accountability.  RFA's most recent report indicates that it has received most of its money (more than $507k of $821k) from the Arizona Pipe Trades 469 union.

#50ShadesOfDarkMoney

Running funds through multiple organizations is generally designed to make the original donors less obvious. However, in this case, Revitalize Arizona/Residents For Accountability clearly receives nearly all of its money - on an ongoing basis - from a small group of unions, which generally rely on small contributions from many members.  RA/RFA currently receives a light gray shade of dark money - about a 15 on our scale
of 0 (transparent) to 50 (very dark).

We need your help! If you see an ad, mailer, sign, etc. that you think should be written about, send it to Arizona's Politics!  You might win some Diamondbacks tickets!
We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

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