More On Lindsey Graham’s Left-Leaning Bedfellows

Last week, FITS published an in-depth report about how liberal special interests were the real driving force behind a new “conservative” advertising campaign aimed at protecting embattled U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The massive radio and television blitz – which features RINO State Sen. John Courson as its spokesman – has been bombarding the state’s airwaves all week.

The ads portray Graham as “fighting to protect South Carolina,” of course they conveniently neglect to mention that the climate change legislation he is currently drafting with President Barack Obama and Democratic Sen. John Kerry is likely to significantly raise South Carolinians’ power bills – perhaps by as much as $4,000 a year.

Of course it’s not just that Graham is selling out the taxpayers of South Carolina … that’s nothing new.

What’s interesting here is the duplicity involved in crafting his defense – the particulars of which have been laid bare here on FITS.

In fact, in yet another display of the power of “new media,” our investigation into these ads appears to have been what prompted Graham’s handlers to ditch the left-leaning organization that was initially responsible for the content of the ads in an effort to find a new “issues launderer” for this message, although the group they finally settled on ultimately traces its roots to organizations run by George Soros, America’s foremost liberal financier.

More on that in a moment …

As reported on FITS last week, the pro-Graham radio and television ads were originally scheduled to be paid for by a group known as the “Truman National Security Project.”

Once our investigation began to expose this organization as nothing but a liberal front group, however, Team Lindsey quickly switched gears.  In fact, they began scurrying frantically to switch the ad’s sponsors, even though a few radio ads bearing the name of the group had already started running.

How frantically?

Take a look at this email obtained from the public files at WIS TV 10 (Columbia – NBC), in which Jesse Demastrie – the advertising account executive in charge of placing the ads – writes that “we need to change the client name on these South Carolina buys. The client should be Republicans for Environmental Protection.”

As you can see, Demastrie’s email was sent to the advertising representative at 9:25 a.m. last Thursday – which was the morning immediately following FITS’ initial inquiries regarding these ads.

In fact, just below the highlighted email is another message from Demastrie – sent less than eighteen hours earlier – which clearly references the “Truman National Security Project” as the entity responsible for the content of the ads.

So much for Graham’s consultant telling us that he made a “mistake” when he relayed the name of the group to us.

Other emails between the TV station’s ad representatives and the agency responsible for placing the Graham ads highlight the level of concern over our investigation.

“Hopefully we did not get (the ads) on the air for today,” an ad rep for the station writes in one message.

As we reported last week, the board of directors and executive staff of the Truman National Security Project are littered with establishment liberals and Democratic consultants representing groups like the Progressive Policy Institute, the Open Society Institute and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign organization.  Several of the organization’s employees – including its president, a Democratic activist – also receive funding from an environmental group called “Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs.”

Additionally, since our story ran we have been able to uncover additional reports showing that the Truman National Security Project was formed out of the ashes of John Kerry’s failed 2004 presidential bid, with the specific goal of “preventing other Democratic candidates from being identified as soft on defense.”

Of course, simply scrubbing the name of this left-wing front group from the Graham ad (and replacing it with another front group) doesn’t hide the paper trail.

In fact, look no further than the Washington D.C. advertising agency that purchased the airtime – GMMB.

“We are, at heart, activists,” the GMMB website states.  “We believe in our clients and are dedicated to the causes they champion.”

So who are GMMB’s clients?

Yup.  As its website proudly attests, look no further than the current occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

FITS has also discovered that “Republicans for Environmental Protection,” the group that is now responsible for the pro-Graham ads, is connected to a donor fund managed by the San Francisco-based Tides Foundation, one of the many George Soros-funded non-profits that provides provides “fiscal sponsorship for progressive groups.”

You don’t get any further left on the American political spectrum than that, people.

Additionally, there are some striking similarities in the footage contained in the pro-Graham ad and an “unaffiliated” advertisement sponsored by a group called “Clean Energy Works.”

First, here’s the pro-Graham ad …

And here’s the “Clean Energy Works” ad …

See the similarities?

It’s almost like the same creative team produced both ads …

Incidentally, “Clean Energy Works” lists groups like the Sierra Student Coalition, Live Earth, Climate Protection Action Fund, Alliance for Climate Protection and Green Faith among its member organizations on its website.

Oh, and in an ironic twist, the Truman National Security Project is also a member of “Clean Energy Works.”

The bottom line?  As much as he wants you to believe otherwise, Lindsey Graham is not really being protected by “Republicans for Environmental Protection,” but rather by a network of liberal environmentalists with ties to some of the most left-of-center organizations in America.

Stay tuned to FITS as our investigation into the pro-Graham ads continues …

UPDATE – We’ve been called by several Graham supporters and asked to provide documentation that GMMB is in fact the agency that purchased this airtime.  Below is one of the checks that the agency sent to WIS TV …

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