Centerfield

CNN Reports Steinbrenner-Dean Story

My post about Steinbrenner funding the anti-Dean ads was passed onto Judy Woodruff at CNN by Rebecca MacKinnon, a CNN reporter currently on leave as a fellow at the Shorenstein Center at Harvard's Kennedy School. I know Rebecca through the Thursday Night meetings at the Berkman Center at Harvard Law School.

The information made in onto JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS yesterday (transcript) in this exchange between CANDY CROWLEY and JOHN MERCURIO:

CROWLEY: Let me -- let me ask you about -- Howard Dean got out of the race this week. But a lot of talk, particularly in his campaign, about those ads that -- with Osama bin Laden ad...

MERCURIO: Right.

CROWLEY: ...very negative that came up in Iowa. What are you hearing about that still?

MERCURIO: Well, you're talking about this -- it was a group called the Americans for Job -- I have to look at my notes, because I forget. It was a long title -- Americans for Jobs Health Care and Progressive Value. It was put together by a guy named David Jones. He's a former fund-raise for Dick Gephardt. They spent about $500,000 on these ads that you're talking about, the Osama bin Laden ads, in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

We heard last month, I think, that Bob Torricelli, a former New Jersey senator, put about $50,000 into it. What we haven't heard, though, I think, is that George Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees, through his company -- I think it's called Yankees Entertainment and Sports -- spent twice as much as Torricelli. He spent -- he put $100,000 into these ads.

CROWLEY: Wow...

(CROSSTALK)

MERCURIO: I don't think Howard Dean is going to be a season ticket holder for the Yankees.

CROWLEY: I guess not.

Neither this blog, nor Blogging Of The President:2004, where I cross-posted the information, was credited. That's understandable. TV news would be dreadfully boring if reporters had to footnote every piece of information. But as the story expands into print media and further into the blogosphere, where there is more room for crediting sources, I hope it will be noted that the story first appeared below, on Centerfield.

(and thanks to Scripting News, Drudge Retort, Oliver Willis and others too numerous to mention for giving this story some visibility)

Update:
Eric of Off Wing Opinion makes a convincing case that Leo Hindery, Jr., who I mentioned in a previous post is CEO of the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network, has a consistent record of giving soft money to Democratic campaigns, in contrast to George Steinbrenner. Still, it's Steinbrenner's company, if the Hoover's report is to be believed, and Steinbrenner's money, unless some fancy internal accounting is involved.

Update2: Jerome Armstrong has some top-notch analysis of 527 committees, which were used to fund the attack ads.

Posted by rickheller at February 23, 2004 01:34 PM