AP Photo/Nati Harnik
Joe Ricketts in 2011.
The billionaire said to be weighing a proposal to resurrect racial politics into the 2012 campaign shelved the idea today after President Obama and Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney denounced the tactic.
An aide to Joe Ricketts, founder of Nebraska-based TD Ameritrade Securities and owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, said the proposal to draw the Rev. Jeremiah Wright into the presidential campaign -- and the issue of race, by extension -- went too far.
The New York Times reported today that Ricketts' Ending Spending Action Fund, a conservative super PAC, was considering a proposal for a $10 million TV ad campaign highlighting Wright's sermons.
The blueprint, titled "The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: the Ricketts Plan to End His Spending For Good," was devised by a group of Republican strategists and right-wing consultants.
"Our plan is to do exactly what (2008 GOP presidential nominee) John McCain would not let us do: Show the world how Barack Obama's opinions of America and the world were formed," the proposal said. "And why the influence of that misguided mentor and our president's formative years among left-wing intellectuals has brought our country to its knees."
The group suggested hiring an "extremely literate conservative African-American" spokesman who can argue that Obama misled the nation by presenting himself as a "metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln."
Wright became a problem for Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign when videos of the pastor's sermons surfaced. In a 2003 sermon, Wright said black people should condemn the United States for oppressing African-Americans with drugs, prisons and three-strike laws.
MSNBC's Thomas Roberts speaks with a political power panel, including: Jonathan Capehart, MSNBC Contributor and opinion writer for the Washington Post, Alicia Menendez, NBC Latino and co-host of "Power Play" on SiriusXM Radio, and Rich Galen, republican strategist and editor of Mullings.com, about an ad campaign that would resurface the controversy surrounding Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
Obama delivered a major speech on race relations to try to quell the controversy and severed ties to Wright.
Obama campaign manager Jim Messina criticized the Ricketts plan as a "campaign of character assassination" and urged Romney to come out against it.
At first, Romney declined to comment, claiming he hadn't yet read The New York Times article. But later in the morning, he urged the independent group, which favors his candidacy, to abandon the Wright strategy, as John McCain had done in 2008.
Now don't give Romney too much credit here. He actually used Obama's former association with Wright to attack Obama during an interview with Sean Hannity just three months ago, saying "I’m not sure which is worse, him listening to Reverend Wright or him saying that we must be a less Christian nation."
Listen to it:
Brian Baker, president of the super PAC, says the Ricketts plan was "merely a proposal." But he knows the damage is already done. They have indeed resurrected racial politics into the 2012 campaign.
And just talking about it smacks of desperation, an acknowledgement that Romney is a weak candidate and that we got to go back down this road to win.
But it didn't work in 2008 when President Obama was a U.S. Senator and it won't work now he's president with a clear record.
So righties, this is was your big plan for winning in 2012 -- another failed idea from the past? What's next, resurrection of the birther issue?
Ed is planning extended coverage of this tonight on The Ed Show at 8pET on MSNBC with Ben LaBolt of Obama for America, Sam Stein, Huffington Post political editor and MSNBC Analyst Richard Wolffe.
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So the Republicans want Obama to be a one term president. WOW What A Shock!!!!
I guess that when Bush was president, the Democrats wanted him to serve 2 terms.
Hey Ed you played sports, did you want the other team to win???
At least President Barack Obama was actually ' elected ' by the people and not 'selected ' by the mostly Right-Wing Supreme Court.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will wipe the floor with Mr. Etch-A-Sketch Man, Willard Romney, in 2012.
Be sure to to buy a hat to eat that is edible Stupido when this happens !
Stupidita, there you go again, trying to pretend you know something when you don't.
It would really be nice if you could show up with one source and one fact that was truthful.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/02/24/mitts-romneys-money-man-who-is-frank-l-vandersloot/
http://boingboing.net/2012/03/21/how-mitt-romneys-anti-gay-bi.html
I learned from the best of them, Hope.
Stupid, the differance between the Bush and Obama issue is that most Democrats went along with Bush's agenda for most of his first term unlike the Republican Senate leader who made it very clear on the fiirst day Obama was sworn into office that his # 1 priority was to make sure he was a 1 term president which proves that Republicans cares about one job, nothing moire.
Right on Thankful Mom ! The good thing about trolls is that they help us be VERY clear about what we know and what we believe in !!
According to Grover Norquist, as long as the guy can hold a pen and sign his name to whatever bill they want to promote, Grover's happy. He doesn't care if it's Mitt or not. He just needs a warm body.
Whata you mean resurrects they've always stood for racism and bigotry.
Dems weren't willing to let the country go to hell by utilizing 100% obstructionism to accomplish the defeat of Dumbya. He should have lost on his record but freaks like you helped him steal not one, but two elections.
stupid,
we did not want w. bush to be president at all, but if voters decide to elect W. bush, tthan we have to live with what voters decide.
except in the case of w. bush. he served two terms, and didn't win either election, he stole both of them.
we never hear about the recount that took place in florida, after daddy bush's friends in the supreme court annointed his hapless son, W., as president. Al Gore won that election, but no one ever talks about that, and of course that was after W. was "annointed".
then in 2004, in ohio, karl rove and his buddies hacked computers and stole 90,000 votes from John Kerry.
i really hope if the repubs take this strategy, that democratic super-pacs fight back with the horrors of the mormon religion, and the history of romney's mormon ancestors.
fair is fair.
Hey ed---Why do you only have empty talking heads on your show that always agree with your slanted, pathetic view of events? Whats the matter, you can't bully someone that has facts on their side? Also I don't see where you will bring up the facts about George and Trayvon---oh thats right --the facts don't fit your false rants. You are one sad individual.
He's proven time and again that he can present facts against right wing guests. The problem is, the right wing refuse to come on the show. He's tried to get several. Maybe you should listen some time so you would know.
None dare call it treason
I am writing about the Citizens United Decision and the Supreme Court Justices that gave it to us. Webster’s New Dictionary describes treason thus; a violation of allegiance towards one’s country. For the record, I make a distinction between treason and a traitor in this particular circumstance.
The Citizens United decision of two- years ago turned out to be a frontal assault on our democracy. It put the power to elect candidates back into the hands of the very wealthy and the corporations by allowing unlimited spending for elections. It also allowed them to remain anonymous. This travesty was perpetrated in the name of free-speech.
Free-speech, as intended, never had anything to do with money and everything to do with cost. Cost being the retribution the government could impose on individuals for anything they said. The Founding Fathers eliminated retribution (cost), thus the term free-speech. Over the years the courts have broadened and refined what free-speech actually means.
The Citizens United decision must be examined for what it was intended to actually do; return the balance of power to the wealthy. It had been demonstrably wrested from them in the 2008 presidential election. The internet made it extremely easy for the masses to make campaign contributions. Small donations by millions of people now dwarfed the $2500.00 limited donations that could be made by the limited number of wealthy that could afford that amount. The internet had freed politicians to actually do the people’s business unencumbered. The result was the election of the first black President of the United States. The internet contributions could never be undone. The only recourse for the wealthy was to eliminate the limitation of $2500.00. This need gave birth to the Citizens United Lawsuit.
The wealthy knew that conservatives dominated the Supreme Court. The question then became; could they get them to ignore case-law, precedent, common sense, and return power to the very wealthy and the corporations. Conservatives, by their nature, are suspect of the general public’s ability to render reasoned decisions.
No matter how well intentioned these Supreme Court Justices that supported the Citizens United Decision may have been, they sided with the powerful, and allowed our country’s election process to be severely compromised. That seems to fit the definition of treason. If any of these justices allowed themselves to be approached, or offered counsel during the lawsuits framing and/or its winding its way through the legal process, then that would make them traitors.
Today May 17, 2012 another outrageous example of the wealthy exploiting the Supreme Court’s Citizens United Decision has been forced into the light. And still none dare call it treason!
Michael McMannus, #4 You said, "return" power to the wealthy. I'd say their aim it to keep it there, as it has been going that way for thirty years.
My shock was not so great when the SCOTUS passed Citizens United. They are responsible for GWB being president, after all.
The people spoke. The Supreme Court said, essentially, "Shut up! You'll take GWB and live with it."
What chance do the people have now to speak? Our Democracy is on life support thanks to the US Supreme Court. The GOP will never allow CU to be repealed.
Too late...I don't think it can be fixed.
Michael Mc Manus, Wow! what a heart pumping post. This explains in clear details what has and is happening to this nation we call home. Will they be held accountable and face prosecution , that is a question we all ask. We can only hope . Thank you so much for posting this. I think we have waited too many decades to stop it but just maybe we can prevent the last domino from falling and crushing the middle class. It is no corindence this is happening world wide. The wealthy want to rule the earth !!! If they elect Romney they will have the leader they want to rule the kingdom !
Michael, First question. Prior to Citizens United did Unions contribute to political organizations and lobbyists to promote government policies that favored the Unions?
Second question. Why is it OK for Unions to buy political favor but not OK for Stockholders?
Don't get me wrong, I don't like either Unions or Businesses buying political influence. I believe lobbying should be outlawed and that political donations should be limited in the amount and to individual citizens. I just don't understand why some one would see nothing wrong with Unions doing it, while they protest business. Can you explain?
Unions and companies had the same financial restrictions. The playing field, politically speaking, was more level, but not level. There are significantly more companies than unions. Business still had the advantage.
The internet swung the influence pendulum to individuals that also had the financial cap, but the majority never came close to hitting, but their were tens of millions more individuals than businesses. It represented a water-drip financial torture to business. Individuals' contributions, because of their sheer numbers, could never be overcome. It would be impossible for business to regain its political influence. The only method available to business to regain control of political influence was the elimination of the $2500. cap! The Supreme Court outrageously bogus Citizens United Decison did just what it was intended to do.
Guess who funds the Super PAC.....
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/05/10/Guess-Whos-Funding-the-Super-PACs.aspx#page1
Koch brothers and Karl Rove,etc.
Ever heard of George Soros? Billie..thankful mom.
Why is it you people always slam the other side for doing the exact same thing you do? Please tell me that.
And johnny always wrong brings out that good old Fox news fake outrage.
What organization does Soros fund that crafts Left wing laws for state, and federal Democratic lawmakers? What Democratic Governor talked on the phone with who he thought was George Soros? You've been on Newsvine long enough to be able to post links, so provide the proof. Just because you type it, it doesn't mean it's true.
The right wingers have been invited on their show many times, but they don't call back. In my 62 years on earth, being an independent voter, and I've voted republican before, but this is the first time I've seen so much hatred. One thing I know for sure, trouble is coming and it's not going to be pretty! You won't be able to blame one man, hell to pay for us all!
i so agree with you Addrienne60, so much hatred,bigotry, and it is scary. GOD help us all
Deb Fischer’s knight in super PAC armor: Joe Ricketts
Posted by Aaron Blakeat 04:16 PM ET, 05/16/2012
The Club for Growth, Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-S.C.) Senate Conservatives Fund, the Tea Party Express and FreedomWorks all backed losing candidates in Tuesday’s Senate primary in Nebraska.
But one outside group emerged victorious, and you should expect to hear more from it.
The Ending Spending Action Fund super PAC, funded by Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, whose family also owns the Chicago Cubs, made a mark in Nebraska with a targeted and very late $250,000 ad buy on behalf of Deb Fischer. The buy came just when momentum had shifted to Fischer and was double the amount the state senator spent on ads for herself. And in a close race, it might have made the difference for her.
But Ricketts’s ties to Omaha (where Ameritrade is based) don’t mean he’s done now that the Nebraska primary is over.
The fiscally conservative group — which includes the Ending Spending Action Fund super PAC and the nonprofit issue advocacy group Ending Spending — is looking to get involved in a series of races this year, including some other Republican Senate primaries.
The group also has an ad up in Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) recall election and was ready to launch an ad against Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) toward the end of his primary, but it pulled back when it looked like Lugar was a sure loser, according to the group’s president, Brian Baker.
“We were ready to launch a very significant ad buy against Lugar; the ads were in the can and ready to go,” Baker said.
The involvement is a significant step up for the group compared to the 2010 campaign, when it earned some notice for spending $860,000 against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and invested a few hundred thousand more in House races.
The group wouldn’t say how much it plans to spend in 2010, but the moves in Indiana, Nebraska and Wisconsin early this primary season suggest it’s ready to take a step forward.
The group began as an anti-earmarking group, but once Congress banned the practice, it expanded its scope more broadly to fiscal conservative causes.
It doesn’t appear as though it will be spending money in as big a chunks as the other groups — at least not yet — but Ricketts’s deep pockets should allow it to get involved in targeted races at opportune times.
Ricketts has been both a Democrat and Republican, leaving the latter party more recently to become an independent. His son, Pete Ricketts, was the self-funding GOP nominee against Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) in 2006. Nelson’s retirement this year created the open seat Fischer ran for.
The elder Ricketts has also given $500,000 this cycle to the new anti-incumbent super PAC, the Campaign for Primary Accountability.
His daughter, Laura Ricketts, meanwhile, is a LGBT activist and bundler for President Obama
Mitt, appears on Hanndy show, on fake noise .....where else to spread his lies un-checked.
can we all say right-wing hypocrisy in big letters? mutt went on the air to "repudiate" any ads coming out today about obama. repudiate who talks like that anyway. his best quote was " i don't remember what i said, but i stand by what i said"
He's lucky if he can't remember what he said.
He probably knows it's all meaningless.
Billie~ Sarah Palin, except she calls it "refudiate". Ha! Mittens also called it the "aircraft" instead of the plane. Chris Matthews was amused by that one!
Mitt Romney said president Obama wants to run on character assassination. What does Romney think he is doing? Romney can dish it out but he can't take. The Big wheeler-dealer Romney will say what wants and claim President Obams is trying to ruin his reputation.....What reputation? Every time a reporter ask him about something he has said..... Romney will say I don't remember saying that but i will stand by what I said.'
Romney is in early stages of dementia..........he is the blind leading the blind. Imagine Romney getting a 3 am phone call.............................YIKES..,,,,,,,,,,,
Both sides dig on the other. Both sides dish it out. At times...both sides can't take it. Its all about the shape this country is in...since Jan. of 2009...and it is not good....so this guy has to go. He said himself, if things were not where they should be, he would be a one term president. So he should step aside.
Talk about yikes? If something happened to Obama? Biden? NOW THAT IS A YIKES MOMEMT isn't it Billie and thankful mom? Scary.
Mitt is a good moral man with character...just as I am sure Obama is (all except the men marrying men thing....one big difference....Obama has been a failure as president and Mitt hopefully will get the chance to see if he can pull this country out of the flames. Do it with truth and integrity.
By the way Billie and thankful mom. What is your son came over to visit with his new husband and they started making out on the couch. How would you feel? Tell the truth.
Marriage was design by God to be between a man and a woman. Natural, beautiful.
I don't mind your hallucinating and fantasizing but, please, do it somewhere else.
There is no place for republicans on this earth.
Johnnie -
How would you feel if a black man came to your house and sat on your couch?
Tell the truth!
The best thing I heard said about Obama's supposed character assassination of Mitt Romney is, "Where's the body?"
Ricketts owns the cubs. Obama's a White Sox fan. connect the dots. lol
What’s the chance a future repentant Mitt Romney has built a time machine and is using the space-time continuum to prank his 2012 self? First Mitt today repudiates any SuperPac bringing race into the election. But then when reminded in February he himself brought up Rev. Wright on the Sean Hannity’s radio show, the great communicator said, “I’m actually — I’m not familiar with precisely, exactly what I said. But I stand by what I said, whatever it was. And with regards to — I’ll go back and take a look at what was said there.” Too funny, as is this humorous YouTube video about “3 Things I’ve Learned from Mitt Romney.” Enjoy:
By the way, where is Jeremiah Wright speaking up for Obama this go around? Anybody know?
Try going to his church. With God all things are possible.
Johnny, when did the snob punk bully from Cranbrook become this icon of virtue you have cooked up? Oh, just a heads up, there was marriage before there was a bible, so WHO made the rules?
Right on to the right wing for exposing Obama for the muslim atheist he is(rflmao)
Clearly this is not what Mitt Romney himself wants to do and bring up in the campaign, you can get Mitt to say anything but to be fair not even he will say that. Luckily he can still reach out the the white nationalist leaning folks(think pat buchanan), and yes they sadly do exist primarily on the GOP side when he has Rush, and Hannity and all these other wackos to do it for him. But if he smart he'll tell them to shut up with it because it doesn't reflect well on him. But we've seen how forceful Rommey is willing to be so...........
Right-wing resurrects racial politics into 2012 campaign
I don't understand the "resurrecting" part. When did they stop?
Johnny...................I would tell them to get a room...........what would you do if your son came home for you to meet your new son-in-law?
You are badly mistaken if you believe Mitt Romney has morals. Morals develop values where people judge what is important, worthwhile and good. Mitt Romney has none of these qualities.
Mitt Romney is a cult worshiper, he isn't a christian....He is a Mormon.
Mormons believe that Jesus and God are two seperate spirt beings. They believe Jesus created the earth...not God. Mitt Romneey believes there are 3 heavens. The 1st where people followed God go. The 2nd one where people who followed Moses go and the 3rd heaven is where the infidel go. And if you a good mormon you can be baptized as a proxy for the infidels that went to the 3rd heaven and they can float around in the other two lalala heavens because they don't believe there is a hell.
In the Bible the book of Revelations...chapter 18-19. tells us what will happen to us if we add to or take away from the word of God.
The Mormon's have added the book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.....because they believe our Holy Bible is incomplete. Oh! I almost forgot they have their secret sacred undergarment. And the trees . Ever wonder why Romney says the trees are just the right height?
Romney is the product of polygamy. His grandfaher had 5 wives and his great-grandfather had 10 wives. Now what kind of character were you talking about?
Wow you sound almost as bigoted as the far right righties personally I could care less what a person's religion is I'd vote for a satanist if they could do the job best. Some vote for merit not caricatures of candidates. This is about being qualified, simple as that.
Now on history you don't actually have as much of a grasp on christian history as you believe you do. First off when the religion was founded there were many different groups some of which believed Jesus was merely an embodiment or servant of God not a God itself. This goes back into the more jewish teachings that god can never any man or object which they refer to as idolatry. So christianity was not a monolith in its founding. It was the majority that actively worked to destroy the other smaller sects like the Gnostics and Cathars. It was this majority that later gathered the books that became the accepted orthodox christian bible, there were many other texts and also remember that the bible is not a book written at one time it is many books from different eras. The single binding does not make it one book.
Furthermore not a single person alive has read any of the original texts, claim what you like you have no idea what has or has not been added, censored, or changed over time. Who decided what should be in the bible, I'll give you a hint it wasn't god, the books in the bible are revered because that's what people have been told to think of them why couldn't the gospel of mary be "sacred"? Man has decided.
You have never read the original so you can have no idea what has or has not been added or subtracted, think what you wish, you haven't.
Moving on. I believe mormonism is a stupid, stupid religion but that doesn't mormons are not good people. In addition your mention of polygamy is laughable last I checked people which didn't choose which family to be born into and let's be clear Romney does not practice polygamy nor was he born into. Trying to attack a candidates family history is just flat stupid pyschotalk.
I don't care how anyone feels about that flip flopper that is Mitt Romney but if you're going to talk about politics, talk about the issues not the bs you're spewing here.
Wow-- I came back to see that my comments were collapsed by the community. I guess looking at the truth is too much take, so you collapse it and you think the truth will go away. Facts are a hard thing to wrangle with because they always stand above the excrement you and your ilk spew!
Well to start your name could be considered a violation of the honor code which you agreed. The rules do matter when you post, you will claim this is some persecution and you would be wrong to assume this as you may come to see if you don't end up getting yourself banned too quickly that there are several conservatives here who have not been banned or collapsed so it's about you not your ideas.
My issue is the fact that people like ed can condemn someone like George Zimmerman without having all the facts and then when contradicting evidence comes to light, he acts as though it does not exist. Media personnel should have the burden to tell the truth without slanting facts just to push their personal agendas.
Listened to Fox Propaganda lately?
Damn, now I'll have to wait for Ricketts to die before I can go to Wrigley field and check that off my bucket list. No Cubs for me. Thanks, douche.
Greedy, unprincipled jack bags like Ricketts and Romney are what has brought this country to its knees. Bring back Glass-Steagall!!!
PITY.... Poor Cubbies, if they they did'nt have Bad luck they would'nt have none at all, For years they been trying the end the Billy Goat Curse, now they've been Cursed by a Braying JACKA$$ !!!