Thread: Struck a nerve? Reid's pals fire back over embarrassing ads

ELECTION 2010

Struck a nerve? Reid's pals fire back over embarrassing ads

Threatening letter follows commercials linking senator to casino, Arab money

Posted: March 15, 2010
9:21 pm Eastern
By Drew Zahn
© 2010 WorldNetDaily


Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

A pair of TV commercials set to air in Nevada that claim to "expose" Sen. Harry Reid's connections to casino and Arab money have drawn the ire of the Senate majority leader's friends.

Lawyers for the MGM Mirage casino fired off a letter demanding "full and unequivocal retraction" of the ads, which allege collusion between MGM's CEO James Murren, MGM investor Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sen. Reid, D-Nev.

As WND reported, one of the ads highlights Sen. Reid's actions in pressuring banks to bailout City Center, MGM's $85 billion construction project, while the project's partner, Maktoum, used slave labor to construct his own buildings in Dubai. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php? ... eId=127996

"Slave labor in Dubai, union labor in Las Vegas," the ad quipped, "and both the slave bosses and the union bosses want Harry Reid re-elected. Go figure."

A second ad, which can be seen below, further alleges that Reid's allies at MGM and in Dubai have built their casino businesses with the help of taxpayer money:

Expose Harry 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzOw0mS6 ... r_embedded

Expose Harry 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ07OjvXPwQ&NR=1

MGM's lawyers, however, contend the ad is "false, misleading and reprehensible in the extreme."

"The taxpayers of Nevada did not pay for any licensing investigation of Sheik Al Maktoum," the lawyers' letter states. "Gaming licensees pay entirely for the investigations of them performed by gaming regulators, and the gaming licenses held by Dubai World and its subsidiaries are no different."

Indeed, according to Nevada Revised Statute 463.331 and Nevada Gaming Regulation 4.070, some of the fees and costs associated with gambling are paid by the gaming industry and applicants.

"Dubai World paid the full cost of its license investigation," the letter asserts. "Over the years, MGM has paid millions of dollars to the state of Nevada for its license investigation, all pursuant to existing law."

One of the people behind the ad, however, told WND that the lawyers have left out part of the story.

Gary Kreep, president of the Republican Majority Campaign PAC, which funded the anti-Reid ad, explained that a later clause in regulation 4.070 and a corresponding clause in NRS 463.162 exclude casinos from paying some of the costs associated with regulating the gaming industry. Instead, the financial burden is shouldered by the state's general fund (as established, for example, by NRS 463.330).

"Thirty-two million dollars are coming out of the general budget to pay for regulation of gaming in Nevada," Kreep told WND. "The point is that these casinos are getting rich, and the general taxpayers are paying to monitor and regulate them."

He explained, "It's like going to a federal park, where the taxpayers pay for the government to maintain the park and in turn, get some measure of enjoyment out of visiting it. But by making the public pay to maintain the gaming industry, it's as though the owners are saying to taxpayers, 'You have to pay for the pleasure of gambling at my casino.'"

The lawyers' letter went on to assert that MGM is Nevada's largest employer and a major financial contributor to the state's economy. It also takes exception to a quote from Floyd Brown, the ad's producer, in which Brown suggested Reid's connections to casinos and the ruler of Dubai "begin to explain" how Reid has risen from a poor childhood to become a multimillionaire.

"The clear implication of this language is that Jim Murren has been involved in improper payments to Senator Reid," the laywers object. "Since this is completely and absolutely false, we are certain you have no evidence upon which to base such a defamatory statement."

Kreep again told WND, however, that despite the lawyers' shock and chagrin, the letter fails to address the primary assertion of the ads themselves, that slave-labor bosses are pushing for their already proven pal's re-election.

"The main point of the two ads is the tie-in between slave labor and Harry Reid," Kreep said. "Notice the letter didn't refute that part."

MGM's lawyers, however, weren't the only pals of Reid who rallied to the senator's defense after news broke of the ads.

Brown told WND that a group called Friends for Harry Reid came to the press conference earlier today announcing the ads' release:

"Reid people were distributing flyers at our news conference in an attempt to disrupt it," Brown said. "We were successful, but they accosted every reporter on the way in to the location of the news conference."

The flyer itself was titled, "Out-of-State Hatchet Men Bring Their 'Filthy Campaign Tactics' to Nevada."

It accused Kreep and Brown of being a "nut" and a "knife-thrower," respectively, and apparently most heinous of all the accusations, labeled them as "birthers."

Kreep gave WND the following response: "I … am humbled and honored by having my successes praised by Senator Reid and his staff as one of the 'leading hatchet men of the Republican Party.' Given the experience that Mr. Reid has had working with modern day slave-labor masters, he certainly should know a 'hatchet man' when he sees one."

Reid, additionally, served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, a state government agency that regulates casinos, until his successful run for the U.S. House of Representatives. Since his election to Congress in 1982, Reid has been a U.S. representative for two terms and a U.S. senator for four terms. He is seeking his fifth Senate term in this fall's 2010 election.

The new commercials attacking Reid have been paid for as independent-expenditure ads – meaning they have no formal ties or funding from any candidate – by the Republican Majority Campaign PAC and the Legacy Committee PAC.

The two PACs have also established a website, ExposeHarry.com, in the effort to oust the incumbent senator. http://exposeharry.com/

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=128095

ELECTION 2010

Could this ad be Reid's downfall?

Strategist who took down Dukakis targets senator's link to Arab money

Posted: March 14, 2010
11:07 pm Eastern
By Drew Zahn
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will soon be facing a public-relations nightmare in his bid for re-election: a TV ad campaign produced by the same strategist whose "Willie Horton" commercial spoiled Michael Dukakis' 1988 presidential hopes.

Floyd Brown, author and president of the Western Center for Journalism, created the infamous "Willie Horton" commercial accusing then-Massachusetts Gov. Dukakis of being soft on crime. The ad, which focused on convicted murderer William Horton, who was granted a weekend furlough under Dukakis and who used his freedom to flee, rape and murder, sent the Dukakis campaign flailing to the defensive and is credited with contributing to the candidate's loss to then-Vice President George Bush.

Now a pair of political-action committees have hired Brown to create a new series of independent-expenditure advertisements that allegedly expose Reid's record of political corruption and ties to Arab money.

Capture the spirit of the tea party movement. See the signs created by everyday Americans around the country who are sick and tired of corruption in the nation's capital!

Specifically, the commercial responds to an ad launched last fall that included the CEO of the MGM Mirage casino in Las Vegas, James Murren, praising Reid for calling banks and pressuring them to finance the casino's failing $8.5 billion construction project called City Center. Murren claims Reid's efforts saved over 12,000 Nevada jobs.

Brown's ad, however, points to Murren's business partner, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The ad claims Al Maktoum used slave labor to build similar structures in Dubai and that the slave-labor bosses and union-labor bosses are now working together to get their financial friend in Washington re-elected.

The TV ad, scheduled to begin running this week, can be seen below:

Expose Harry 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ07OjvXPwQ&NR=1

"The ad focuses on the close relationship between triad Reid, Al Maktoum and the CEO of MGM Mirage, CEO James Murren," said Brown in a statement. "The bottom line is that the taxpayers and citizens of Nevada pay a terrible price because of the collusion between this corrupt triumvirate."

The advertisement boils down the collusion charge to the statement, "Slave labor in Dubai, union labor in Las Vegas – and both the slave bosses and the union bosses want Harry Reid re-elected. Go figure."

Brown also took a shot at a commercial Reid made last fall that touted the senator's difficult childhood in Searchlight, Nev.

"I can look back and it doesn't seem that long ago that I lived in a home that didn't have hot water," Reid said in his advertisement last fall.

An announcer chimed in, "Harry Reid saw some difficult days. The son of a hard rock miner, Harry Reid hitchhiked 40 miles to high school, worked his way through college as a janitor and law school as a cop. But as tough as it got, he never backed down."

Brown responded in a statement announcing the new ads, "Education and other essential services are being cut in Nevada because of MGM and Al Maktoum's unwillingness to pay the cost of gaming regulation. While at the same time they shortchange the Nevada budget, they are pouring resources into making sure that their favorite political protector, Senator Harry Reid, is re-elected. These connections begin to explain why Harry Reid, the so-called poor public servant from Searchlight, is now a multi millionaire."

Reid, additionally, served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, a state government agency that regulates casinos, until his successful run for the U.S. House of Representatives. Since his election to Congress in 1982, Reid has been a U.S. representative for two terms and a U.S. senator for four terms. He is seeking his fifth Senate term in this fall's 2010 election.

The new commercials attacking Reid have been paid for as independent-expenditure ads – meaning they have no formal ties or funding from any candidate – by the Republican Majority Campaign PAC and the Legacy Committee PAC.

The two PACs have also established a website, ExposeHarry.com, in the effort to oust the incumbent senator.

Gary Kreep, president of the Republican Majority Campaign PAC, has announced the ad is set to begin running on KTNV-TV, an ABC affiliate in Las Vegas, tomorrow.

"The buy for this – and already produced future ads – will be extended around the state in weeks to come," Kreep said in a statement.

Brown and Kreep have also called a joint press conference for tomorrow to discuss the impact of the ad airing in Las Vegas and to show the news media a copy of a second ad scheduled to be released after the conference.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=127996