We came across this blog on Daily Kos that reveals the latest dirty trick from the US Chamber of Commerce in their ongoing effort to exert corporate influence over local elections. This story comes from New York where the election for the 26th Congressional district has turned dirty. The Tonawanda News tells of the latest incident involving the Chamber in an editorial published yesterday:
The special election for New York’s 26th congressional seat has been downright dirty and after the most recent blatant effort to deceive voters — which comes at this newspaper’s expense — it is time to place the blame squarely where it belongs: On the shoulders of Republican candidate Jane Corwin and her increasingly desperate raft of supporters.
We have all, by now, seen the ludicrous “assault” video where a Corwin employee goads Jack Davis into a confrontation, then clearly embellishes what happened. It was a quintessential political dirty trick.
Now there is this:
Over the weekend, Corwin was endorsed by the reliably conservative national Chamber of Commerce. In endorsing her, the chamber also purchased airtime on local television stations. The advertisement they produced is a blatant attempt to legitimize her flagging campaign by implying that her policy positions are endorsed by this newspaper, when in reality they are not.
Two position statements made by Corwin in the chamber’s advertisement carry a large source tag on the screen referencing the April 19 edition of the Tonawanda News. Casual viewers are left with the clear impression that this newspaper has endorsed Corwin’s position or that we have somehow validated her argument.
We have not endorsed Corwin — or any of the candidates, for that matter — and the chamber’s commercial is a blatant attempt to trick voters into believing we have in order to bolster her credentials.
The Tonawanda News is pressuring the US Chamber to remove the ad from the air or at least correct the content (the Chamber also spelled “Tonawanda” wrong). When contacted by a local news station for a comment, a Chamber spokesperson replied, “The ad speaks for itself.”
Indeed. Yet again, the Chamber has made it clear that it will stop at nothing to subvert the democratic process to benefit its top contributors. We’ll be working this week to contact our supporters in upstate New York to sign up even more local businesses to say “The US Chamber Doesn’t Speak for Me.” Maybe the local Tonawanda chamber will be next on the list?
