Obama’s Campaign Manager May Have Broken Campaign Law In 2002 With A “Homophobic Ad” In Montana
Montana Watchdog quotes a passage from a recent profile about Barack Obama campaign manager Jim Messina in which Montana Senator Max Baucus reminisces about a very controversial ad from 2002 that Messina had helped develop. According to Salon writer David Sirota it was “one of the most homophobic ads in American history.”
The ad targeted Republican state legislator Mike Taylor who was challenging Baucus at the time. “Critics across the ideological spectrum labeled it blatantly homophobic because it was set to classic porn music and ends with a shot of Taylor reaching toward a man’s crotch, a clip grabbed from a beauty school video the Republican produced in the 1980s,” reports Dustin Hurst.
Here’s what Baucus had to say about it:
“Jim is tough,” Baucus says. “I’ll never forget when he showed me that ad. We were in Bozeman in a motel. The curtains were drawn. He said, ‘Max, what do you think?’ They were afraid I wasn’t going to like it. I loved it!” Humiliated, Taylor quit the race, and Baucus sailed to victory. “I found out quickly from Messina that there was no honor in politics,” Taylor says in an e-mail.
Why is this an issue now? Well, Baucus’ comments would seem to indicate that he and current Barack Obama campaign manager Jim Messina violated election law. Per Hurt’s report, “the ad’s production could violate laws that prohibit campaigns from coordinating with outside groups such as the party and DSCC.”
The public may be interested in Barack Obama’s campaign manager apparently breaking campaign law in 2002 with a “homophobic” ad.
Tags: Barack Obama, election 2012, jim messina, max baucus, montana
