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Dold demanded DCCC ad linking him to Trump be taken off the air

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From the very beginning, Republican congressional candidates in moderate districts have been hesitant to embrace Donald Trump. Now, two weeks before Election Day, some of those Republicans are threatening to sue TV stations for running ads that link them to the GOP presidential nominee.

Five candidates ― Reps. Bob Dold (R-Ill.), Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), David Jolly (R-Fla.), John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican running for an open seat that’s currently occupied by his brother ― contend that certain commercials paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee provide false or misleading information by linking them to Trump.

All five Republicans have, at some point, said they don’t support Trump. And all five have a bit of a case: The DCCC ads do use some creativity to tie them to Trump. […]

Dold demanded the removal of an ad that claimed he was privately raising money to defeat Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The DCCC was referencing an event Dold headlined called “Beat Hillary at the Distillery.” Dold says the money only went to local candidates.

Dold’s takedown demand letter is here.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 4:46 pm

Comments

Ohhh the Outrage!! Ohh the Injustice!!!

Cry Me A river…

Comment by Union Man Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 4:50 pm
“The DCCC ads do use some creativity to tie them to Trump.”

And Rauner and Co’s subsidiary of Proft doesn’t do “Because Madigan!” Oh the hurt fees-fees!!!

Comment by Anon221 Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 4:58 pm
Ads connecting you to felons. Ugh

Ads connecting you to child molesters. Gawd.

Ads connecting you to Trump. Get the lawyers!!!! Cease and desist!! Cease and desist!!! Make it stop!!!!!!

Comment by Henry Francis Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 4:59 pm
Good luck with that. When you are a “public figure”, the bar for things like slander and mis-information is much higher than if you are a “private citizen”. Most the time you just have to grin and bear it.

Comment by RNUG Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:03 pm
Just because you’re losing an election doesn’t mean your campaign has to act like pathetic crybabies, Team Dold.

Comment by hisgirlfriday Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:11 pm
You’d think that political leaders would have thicker skin…
Maybe if they did a better job at governing, that their opponent might have a harder time painting them with a broad brush!
Get over it!

Comment by Anon Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:11 pm
Horrors!!

Nah…Your party, your guy.

Comment by Wensicia Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:11 pm
He headlined an event called “Beat Hillary” and wants to say he’s not trying to beat Hillary. Yeah, good luck with that.

Comment by Anon2 Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:13 pm
The “Beat Hillary” invite says “Please make your check payable to: Lake County Republican Central Committee.”

In Lake County there are now hundreds of Trump signs that say, “Paid for by the Lake County Republican Central Committee.”

There is only one committee with that name. Therefore, Dold raised money that went to an organization that paid for Trump campaign materials.

Like Trump, Dold can desperately try to sue his way out of this hole, but the facts are facts.

Comment by lake county Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:13 pm
Yeah, remind people of “Beat Hillary at the Distillery.” That’s a swell idea when you’re trying to distance yourself from Trump among suburban women.

Who thought that was a good idea for the North Shore? It sounds like a very special “Duck Dynasty” episode guest-starring Ted Nugent.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:15 pm
Misleading political ads? I am shocked!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gf8NK1WAOc

Comment by DuPage Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:15 pm
Flyer does state:

“(In Support of our Get Out the Vote effort for our Local Candidates!)”

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:16 pm
–Flyer does state:

“(In Support of our Get Out the Vote effort for our Local Candidates!)”–

LOL, so which one of those local GOP candidates was going to beat Hillary?

The name of the GOP event was “Beat Hillary at the Distillery.” Trump is the GOP nominee. Spin yourself silly.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:21 pm
These are the Trump yard signs that the group behind “Beat Hillary” purchased. If you zoom in on the disclaimer you can see:

Paid for by Citizens for Mark Shaw & Paid for by the Tenth Congressional District Republican Organization & PAID FOR BY THE LAKE COUNTY REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE

http://i.imgur.com/Ia1iYDL.jpg

Comment by lake county Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:22 pm
@Louis LOL. Even if that made sense–and it strains credulity–Dold raised money that they would have had to raise to buy the Trump signs. He needs pro-Trump/anti-Hillary voters and he got caught.

Comment by Anon2 Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:23 pm
Dold also donated $1,500 to the pro Trump organization

http://elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/ItemizedContrib.aspx?FiledDocID=o%2bZzWKXhSkTmLnVVUnkmGw%3d%3d&ContributionType=9Jha28Cj4G832ucF4e7oaiy8GYk9LN8jCA3e8MhOUWw%3d&Archived=6ep1XWxoZkXgvSPr55yWGQ%3d%3d&OrderBy=CrUlaHcZcmsdc06BR9%2f5%2blOvJ7ER5wOiyDvFXE3HXewGdUMFGOEOuA%3d%3d&ItemizedContribFrom=h2278ew9EzKg1grXp2p9cpw1M92KRob8DU8%2bg1MWdpcMxxoLskjlug%3d%3d

Comment by Anon Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:27 pm
I guess all that Distillery - Hillary thingy is difficult to spin away from about now.

Bruce Rauner supports Donald Trump for President of the United States. Dold held a funder to defeat Hillary… Who is Dold trying to get to defeat Hillary? Where did the money go again?

So confusing…

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:29 pm
I’m just quoting the flyer guys. You are free to wear whatever tinfoil hats you want in attempting to reach a different conclusion.

Lake County Republicans far smarter than I put together and promoted that event.

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:53 pm
Not tin foil, friend. The writing is on the Trump signs.

Comment by lake county Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:57 pm
@Louis Why was it called “Beat Hillary”? [takes out tin foil]

Comment by Anon2 Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:57 pm
- Louis G Atsaves -

For me, this one is so tough. I like Dold. Dold didn’t inoculate himself against Trump.

That’s what stinks. The hope now comes that the 10th continues to show streaky independence, but is that enough against the Trump swamping?

Dunno

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 5:59 pm
Let’s hold an event called “Beat Hillary” for a group making Trump signs and then say, “Noooo, it’s not pro-Trump.” You can put “Please, please don’t make an ad with Trump and me in it” and it would be as relevant as the “disclaimer.” Dold is toast.

Comment by Anon2 Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 6:00 pm
Dold etal need a little cheese to go with all that whine!

Comment by train111 Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 6:01 pm
. . . “@Louis Why was it called “Beat Hillary”? [takes out tin foil] . . .

Wow. Quite a few bees in those tin foil bonnets!

Lake County Republicans far smarter than I put together and promoted that event.

For those “astonished” over the Dold donations to the LCRCC, it appears those were for ads for an ad booklet designed to be a walk piece for precinct committeemen. I don’t see an ad from Donald Trump in that ad book. Just local candidates.

For those trying to research all this, the LCRCC, the Shaw Campaign Fund, and the 10th Republicans bought those Trump Yard signs months shortly after the Convention, well prior to that event, and well prior to the ads purchased for that walk piece.

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 6:10 pm
What’s astonishing is the fact that Dold would raise money for this well known Trump HQ after claiming to oppose Trump…

Not even to mention that Dold said last week that voting for Hillary would be a “disaster.”

Dold has always been a career Republican Party guy. That’s fine. Let’s just cut the grandstanding from their campaign about “independence,” and be honest about it.

Comment by lake county Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 6:21 pm
There’s a longer story to be written about IE ads post Citizens United, specifically how so much money has come into media stations from it that managers are much less receptive to takedown demands.

In 2012 when I worked for Rep. Bill Foster, the NRCC ran a blatantly and demonstrably false ad accusing him of insider trading. There was no evidence for it and considerable evidence against it. We managed to get it taken down from one station and slightly revised in another. The NRCC didn’t bother rebutting our fact check; they just told the station manager to keep the ad up or they’d stop their remaining (multimillion dollar) buys that cycle.

It’s depressing if you’re an opposition researcher. The fact is zero ads in the Chicago market this cycle have been fact checked by journalists. And a bunch are iffy. Some are outright false! But fact checks aren’t something that makes news anymore, and it’s not something that can reliably take down an IE ad anymore.

Comment by Will Caskey Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 6:51 pm
The “Beat Hillary” story has been around for awhile. People were talking about it. Why wait until now to complain? Dold is desperate and is throwing a Hail Mary.

Comment by Anon2 Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 9:25 pm
Meh, they’re just trying to get some earned media that Dold isn’t supporting Trump. Classic campaign move. Not sure how much coverage you’ll get other than political blogs though, but can’t hurt.

Comment by Just Me Monday, Oct 24, 16 @ 10:53 pm
It’s ridiculous.
Talk about desperate.
Dold hasn’t a clue where he stands.
Typical GOP candidate from Illinois.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Oct 25, 16 @ 8:21 am
Personally, I think Rauner deserves these commercials. A picture of Trump’s hair and next to it a picture of an empty Carhartt jacket draped over a gate-post in front of a mansion in Winnetka. And the caption, They Think It’s Their Way Or The Highway. Vote Democratic.

Comment by Angry Chicagoan Tuesday, Oct 25, 16 @ 8:39 am
=For those trying to research all this, the LCRCC, the Shaw Campaign Fund, and the 10th Republicans bought those Trump Yard signs months shortly after the Convention, well prior to that event, and well prior to the ads purchased for that walk piece.=

The title of this event was all the research that I needed to do. If the intent here was to distance Lake County from Trump, then “beat Hillary at the Distillery” was probably a poor headline.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Oct 25, 16 @ 8:49 am
I’ve been polled three times on the Reggie vs. Malak race here in the last three weeks. My understanding is that Rauner is having trouble purchasing this district. LOL. That might tell you something about how well this thing is going for the GOP.

Comment by Chucktownian Tuesday, Oct 25, 16 @ 8:53 am
Guilt by association is perfectly proper and to be expected in an election campaign. Apparently, Congressman Dold has not heard of the Grand Old Party?

Comment by atbat Tuesday, Oct 25, 16 @ 9:12 am
You people are running as Republicans. The Republican presidential candidate is Donald Trump. Sorry, them’s the breaks — tough beans.

Comment by IllinoisBoi Tuesday, Oct 25, 16 @ 9:54 am
Sorry. If every Democrat is Madigan’s puppet, then Republicans had better expect to get tied to Trump. Save the tears, please.

Comment by illini97 Tuesday, Oct 25, 16 @ 9:56 am
Seeing all the replies, the most important one of them all is missing. Try this on for size, does anyone know why Cong. Dold, since Trump’s remark about POW’s from Vietnam, has not supported Trump? Anyone, anyone? I will take, ” I don’t know for $200″. Here is a hint, 8x years and 1x day. Let the issues decide the race, not who or who doesn’t support Trump. Granted, both sides stretch the truth (being kind) but this is black and white. Can we move on?

Comment by Can't Touch This Tuesday, Oct 25, 16 @ 2:06 pm
@Can’tTouchThis Dold said that and then held a “Beat Hillary” fundraiser afterwards. That’s kind of the point

Comment by Anon2 Tuesday, Oct 25, 16 @ 2:33 pm
Threatening lawsuits is right from the Trump playbook.

Comment by burbanite Tuesday, Oct 25, 16 @ 8:55 pm