Liberal Group MoveOn.org Releases Ad Urging Obama to "Stand Tough" on Tax Cuts
In a 60-second television spot released on Thursday, liberal group MoveOn.org urges President Obama to halt negotiations with Republicans on the extension of tax cuts for America's highest earners, calling for an end to the so-called "millionaire bailouts."
(Watch the ad at left.)
"We voted for you because for the first time in our lifetime a politician was actually laying out a plan that reinforced the values that we've come to believe in as American," pleads one woman depicted in the ad, which is presented as a montage of MoveOn members making direct appeals to the president.
"We the people want you back and need you back," another woman implores.
The ad - which comes as the White House and Congress scramble to reach an agreement on whether tax cuts should be extended for Americans earning more than $250,000 a year - is the second such appeal this week: Yesterday, The Progressive Change Campaign Committee unveiled an ad slamming Mr. Obama for considering a compromise, and urging him to "fight," not "cave."
(Watch the ad at left.)
And today, the Washington Post reported that the PCCC would be running the spot in Iowa as well as the District of Columbia - meaning that voters, as opposed to just Washington insiders, would see it.
MoveOn Executive Director Justin Ruben said the organization's ad was a tribute to working-class Americans who are struggling financially in a tough economic environment.
"MoveOn members worked countless hours to help elect President Obama so we would have a leader who would go to the mat for regular Americans," Ruben said. "At a time when most Americans--including our members--are struggling to make ends meet, and local governments are laying off badly needed teachers and firemen, we need the Obama of 2008 back to lead the fight and make the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share."
The PCCC's Adam Green told the Washington Post that Obama's willingness to compromise was a direct betrayal of his campaign pledge.
"We're bringing our ad to the place President Obama made his core campaign promise of letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire," Green said. "There is no room for compromise on an issue where the promise is so clear and where the Republicans are standing with the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans against the entirety of the American people."
The House voted on Thursday afternoon to extend Bush-era tax cuts for Americans making $250,000 a year or less - but did not extend the cuts for families earning more than that. The vote, however, is unlikely to pass in the Senate, where it would need 60 votes to fend off a Republican-led filibuster.
The White House is currently working with Congressional leaders to hammer out a deal that can garner the necessary support in the Senate.
