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 Preshow #1 PrioritiesReturn to index of stories... |
Now on New Hampshire Outlook. A new lobby group makes its debut hoping to influence elections and public policy in New Hampshire. But is the message really heard from these groups? We'll hear from the experts. |
| Hello/Intro Priorities Return to index of stories... |
Hello. I'm Beth Carroll. Welcome to New Hampshire Outlook. Voters in New Hampshire are accustomed to hearing and seeing a variety of political messages aimed at influencing their decisions during election years. There is a new group joining the already numerous list of lobby groups. As Outlook's Richard Ager tells us "PrioritiesNH" knows it is joining a crowded field, so it is trying a somewhat different approach in getting its message across. |
| PrioritiesNH Return to index of stories... |
Soundup: Priorities NH tape 11:20:00 * Welcome to the PrioritiesNH Budget Wheel of fortune. Track: Some numbers are so big, they can be incomprehensible. For example…. Soundup: Priorities NH tape 11;21:15 This is your federal discretionary budget. What we're going to do is make a spin and see if it lands on one of these categories that someone has bet on. And here we go - no one knows where it will stop. Track: How to make sense of what happens to hundreds of billions of federal tax dollars? If you're Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, you might make your point with a circus amusement. Soundup: Priorities NH tape 11:21:43 *** Oh oh - where is it going to go? The Pentagon wins once again. Track: And by definition, everyone else loses. That's according to PriortiesNH, a new lobby group that wants take $60 billion in Pentagon funds, and spend it on other priorities. Bite: Priorities NH tape 10;42:44 You might get the idea that it's all just fun and games. I can assure you that this is a very serious campaign that is the result of very serious analysis by some very highly qualified people. Track: One of those people is Lawrence Korb, assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan Administration. Bite: Priorities NH tape 10:55:10 ** The first thing to keep in mind is that when we're talking about taking funds from the military budget, it has nothing to do with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those are funded in a supplemental which is considered completely differently and we don't touch that. We're not talking about cutting a single soldier or national guard person or anything like that. What we're talking about are weapons systems designed to fight an adversary that no longer exists. Weapons systems that don't work, and things that are put into the budget that have nothing to do with national security. Track: Korb is talking about weapons such as the new F-22 fighter, the Navy's DD Destroyer and the Virginia class Submarine. All were designed to overwhelm a new generation of Soviet weapons that were never built. And he says voters shouldn't be swayed by announcements like this. Bite: Shipyard Newser tape 12:41:43 The next Virginia class submarine will be the USS New Hampshire and I think that's very fitting. Soundup: USS Pittsburgh tape Track: It is the Los Angeles class sub that keeps the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard going - and they are being phased out to make way for the Virginia class. Bite: Priorities NH tape 10:57:15 We say why are you building Virginia class submarines when the Los Angeles class still have a lot of years of life. In fact, if you recore them, you can get many more years out of them. Track: Korb says recoring - replacing the nuclear plant - would cost $200 million per sub, instead of $3 billion for each new submarine. Soundup: Priorities NH tape 10:51:40 * It's a campaign based on traditional Yankee values of being thrifty and cutting waste. Track: PrioritiesNH is one of several groups backed by Cohen. He has also started organizations whose members are exclusively from business and the military. Bite: Priorities NH tape 10:47:23 The best messengers are business leaders and former military leaders, because the public believes business people understand big numbers and budgetary tradeoffs, and retired military leaders are not beholden to their boss. They're free to speak their minds. Bite: Oreo dub tape 0:08:25 **** My name is Jack Shanahan, Vice Admiral U.S. Navy, Retired. One of our nuclear bombs blows up Hiroshima 15 times. 5 devastates Russia. After that, this is how many the U.S. has left….I feel safer reducing nuclear weapons. Do you? Track: Ben Cohen is more at home with different metaphors - whether animated… Bite: Oreo dub tape 0:01;50 I'm a dessert guy, so when I'm faced with a serious problem, I think about - dessert. In this case - Oreo cookies. Let's say one cookie equals $10 billion. Track: …or in person. Soundup: Priorities NH tape 12:52:43 * Take another Oreo off the top and put it on children's health care, and that would be enough to provide health care for every kid in the United States who doesn't have it today. Soundup: Priorities NH tape 11:54:47 3 Pigs go by Bite: Priorities NH tape 11:01;15 We are looking to inject the issue into the federal elections every two years as they come by but we believe that it will be a major issue by 2012 if not before that. Video: Priorities NH tape 11:52:50 Inside van driving shots Track: And where better to inject the budget priorities issue than NH and Iowa, which will also have a local chapter. Bite: Cohen/Kolb Interview tape 14:08:45 We can't do the entire country - we don't have the money to do it. So if you have to limit the places you're campaigning, the best places to do it would be those that have some kind of national bounce. And Iowa and NH are like that. And the other aspects of Iowa and NH is that they're both very small states so it's very possible for us on the budget that we have to make our voice heard. And the other part of political realities in NH and Iowa is that the candidate has to meet face to face with the voters. That's what we're depending on. Bite: Cohen/Kolb Interview tape 14:04:06 YOU WANT TO BEGIN WITH THE PREMISE THAT THE ORGANIZATION IS NON-PARTISAN. Yes. BUT I DO HAVE TO BRING UP THE FACT THAT - DIDN'T YOU IN FACT DURING THE LAST ELECTION PAY FOR THE LIAR, LIAR PANTS ON FIRE FLOAT? True Majority Action did - DOESN'T THAT CREATE A CARRY OVER THAT PUTS SOMEWHAT LEFTISH IMPRESSION TO EFFORTS YOU UNDERTAKE? True Majority Action is a totally separate organization. THAT'S TRUE - BUT YOU'RE A VERY VISIBLE FIGURE IN BOTH. Correct. And you know our board of directors at Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities was not very happy with us doing the Pants on Fire thing. And so we have a policy now that we do not do any politician bashing in the future. What we're using our PAC for is to support candidates who support the Common Sense Budget Act. DID YOU HAVE SOME WORDS FOR BEN WHEN YOU SAW THE LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE? Basically, I stay out of partisan politics. Track: At this luncheon meant to recruit business leaders, an informal poll showed 10 Democrats, 10 Independents and only 2 Republicans in attendance. Still, Lawrence Korb, a Republican, says PrioritiesNH hews to his party's traditional values. Bite: Cohen/Kolb Interview tape 14;02:18 My attraction to the Republican party was under Eisenhower who believed in balanced budgets and holding down defense spending. Bite: Oreo dub tape 0:05:06 I get tired of saying defense is to be made an excuse for wasting dollars. I don't think we should pay one cent more for defense than we have to. Track: According to PrioritiesNH, both political parties are to blame, with too many legislators afraid to challenge defense spending. Bite: Cohen/Kolb Interview tape 14:26:33 After Sept. 11th the dam on the regular defense budget, not the cost of the war, broke. And basically no hard choices were made. Donald Rumsfeld in his first 8 months wanted to cancel a whole bunch of weapons systems in order to transform the military. What happened was, military and the congress and the defense contractors resisted. And they basically fought it to a draw. And Rumsfeld gave a speech - Sept. 10th 2001 - and he accuses the Pentagon - you're the enemy, you're resisting the things that need to be done. Bite: Oreo dub tape 0:06;29 I doubt, to be honest, that people inside the department are going to be capable of sorting this out. Bite: Cohen/Kolb Interview tape 14:26:55 Sept. 11th - things change, he got what he wanted, they got what they wanted. And the regular defense budget - not the war thing - goes up by 40% until 2005. And that's the situation we're dealing with. Bite: Cohen/Kolb Interview tape 14:29:37 AS WE GO THROUGH THE MIDTERMS THIS YEAR AND THEN THE PRESIDENTIALS IN '08, WHAT IMPACT DO YOU HOPE PRIORITIES NH WILL HAVE HAD BY THAT POINT? I think we will begin to have some impact in November '06. The issue will start bubbling up. I don't think it will be earth shaking. I think in '08, it will be - people will in general be hearing about it - it won't rise to the top of the issues most talked about. In '10, I would say it's going to be an issue in those races, and in 2012, the Presidential candidates are going to have to talk about it. 14:30:30 IS THAT WHAT YOU EXPECT… I don't get into that type of thing. What I think is going to happen is - whoever becomes Secretary of Defense in 2009, regardless of whether it's John McCain's Secretary of Defense or a Democrat. He or she is going to have to confront this problem because there's not enough money in the projected levels of federal spending to deal with this. And this person is going to come in and they're going to be told - like Dick Cheney was, like Frank Carlucci was, - your first order of business is to go over there and cut. Track: For NH Outlook, I'm Richard Ager Bite: Cohen/Kolb Interview tape 14:32:10 IF YOU HAD TO GIVE A FLAVOR NAME TO YOUR MESSAGE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? American pie. AND HOW TO CUT IT? How sweet it is. |
| Tag PrioritiesNH Return to index of stories... |
"PrioritiesNH" says it will bring more attractions to the state to get its budget priorites message across. |
| Intro 527 vo Return to index of stories... |
If you ask the average voter they probably have no idea what a 527 is or a 501-c for that matter. PrioritiesNH is considered a 501--3. These private, tax-exempt organizations have been around for years. But, they weren't center stage until the 2004 Election. That's when 527's became major players. 527's are named for the IRS Tax Code. They're supposed to be "issue oriented groups," independent of the candidates, but, that doesn't always appear to be the case. The groups are most widely known as sponsors of the controversial MoveOn.org and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Ads. These groups started to grow in size and influence following passage of Campaign Finance Reform in 2002. Since then, both parties have been critical of them for having undue influence on the political process. |
| Intro 527 Conv Return to index of stories... |
Just how powerful are these 501-'s and 527's? And, what impact have they had on the political landscape? Here to talk about that: Andy Smith with the UNH Survey Center and Dean Spilliotes the director of Research at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm's College. Welcome. Q DEAN: What's the difference between a 501- and a 527? 501: non partisan citizen advocacy group 527: influences the selection & election of candidates Q ANDY: MONEY still RULES politics.. 527 groups spent 400-million in the 2004 campaign. Does that MONEY -- buy influence??? Q DEAN: Have these groups changed the DYNAMICS of the electoral playing field? Are they a POLITICAL force to be reckoned with?? Q ANDY: How effective are these groups in INFLUENCING voters??? Q DEAN/ANDY: What are your thoughts on PRIORITIESNH campaign??? Q DEAN: 527's have been UNDER ATTACK on a number of fronts: The Courts, the Federal Election Commission, Members of Congress looking to ban their activity. WHY all the fuss??? Q ANDY: The Federal Election Commission has REFUSED to adopt 527 Regulations. Does that SET the stage for MORE COURT BATTLES -- and how will that impact the 2006 CONGRESSIONAL elections or the 2008 PRESIDENTIAL election? Q DEAN/ANDY: Spending money to buy ADS, or turn-out VOTERS is nothing NEW. ADVOCACY groups like the NRA or the SIERRA Club have spend money on ISSUE Ads at Election Time. Isn't this just a form of POLITICAL EXPRESSION??? Q How do POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES fit into the equation? Have they been impacted -- or is it still the place CORPORATIONS spend their money? Q DEAN/ANDY: 527's and 501 's Certainly been effective in attracting MORE voters and YOUNGER voters -- something both major PARTIES have been unsuccessful with. Why IS that? Q Could attracting these NEW VOTERS have a big affect on WHO WINS OFFICE and what ISSUES get attention in Congress? Q What are some other 527's making waves??? Americans for Dr Rice Texans for Truth The Media Fund America coming together The Progress for America Voter Fund November Fund Q Campaign Finance Reform SHUT the door on SOFT-MONEY to political parties.- Now, big-dollar donations are going to 527 groups? George Soros gave 12-million to an independent political outfit seeking to defeat Bush. Is that worriesome?? Corporations were the SOURCE of SOFT money for both parties. You don't seem to see their names on the list of 527 contributors??? Q Republicans have talked about shutting down 527's / But -- the GOP is somewhat SILENT when it comes to regulate 501's. WHY??? Q What can we expect as we head into the 2008 Presidential Election -- with regard to these lobbying groups. Just like blogs -- these groups are Here to STAY? |
| Web Pointer Return to index of stories... |
Just a reminder if you missed any of this program or would like to watch it again-- New Hampshire Outlook is available online on-demand at nhptv.org/outlook You can also find streaming video of ALL our Outlook broadcasts. |
| Goodnight Return to index of stories... |
That concludes this edition of New Hampshire Outlook. Thanks for watching. I'm Beth Carroll. I'll see you next time. |
| key: State Politics Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 9/1/06 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 11:00 minutes Now on New Hampshire Outlook. A new lobby group makes its debut hoping to influence elections and public policy in New Hampshire. But is the message really heard from these groups? We'll hear from the experts. Hello. I'm Beth Carroll. Welcome to New Hampshire Outlook. Voters in New Hampshire are accustomed to hearing and seeing a variety of political messages aimed at influencing their decisions during election years. There is a new group joining the already numerous list of lobby groups. As Outlook's Richard Ager tells us "PrioritiesNH" knows it is joining a crowded field, so it is trying a somewhat different approach in getting its message across. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Beth Carroll / Richard Ager NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Ben Cohen\Founder, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities , Lawrence Korb\Assistant Secretary of Defense 1981-1985 , Gordon England\Secretary of the Navy\August 5, 2004 |
| key: Economy Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 9/1/06 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 1:00 minutes Now on New Hampshire Outlook. A new lobby group makes its debut hoping to influence elections and public policy in New Hampshire. But is the message really heard from these groups? We'll hear from the experts. If you ask the average voter they probably have no idea what a 527 is or a 501-c for that matter. PrioritiesNH is considered a 501--3.These private, tax-exempt organizations have been around for years. But, they weren't center stage until the 2004 Election. That's when 527's became major players. 527's are named for the IRS Tax Code. They're supposed to be "issue oriented groups," independent of the candidates, but, that doesn't always appear to be the case. The groups are most widely known as sponsors of the controversial MoveOn.org and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Ads. These groups started to grow in size and influence following passage of Campaign Finance Reform in 2002. Since then, both parties have been critical of them for having undue influence on the political process. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Beth Carroll NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: |
| key: State Politics/Government Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 9/1/06 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 13:30 minutes Now on New Hampshire Outlook. A new lobby group makes its debut hoping to influence elections and public policy in New Hampshire. But is the message really heard from these groups? We'll hear from the experts. Just how powerful are these 501-'s and 527's? And, what impact have they had on the political landscape? Here to talk about that: Andy Smith with the UNH Survey Center and Dean Spilliotes the director of Research at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm's College. Welcome. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Beth Carroll NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Dean Spiliotes\Saint Anselm College , Andy Smith\UNH Survey Center |
| key: UNH Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 9/1/06 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 13:30 minutes Now on New Hampshire Outlook. A new lobby group makes its debut hoping to influence elections and public policy in New Hampshire. But is the message really heard from these groups? We'll hear from the experts. Just how powerful are these 501-'s and 527's? And, what impact have they had on the political landscape? Here to talk about that: Andy Smith with the UNH Survey Center and Dean Spilliotes the director of Research at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm's College. Welcome. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Beth Carroll NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Dean Spiliotes\Saint Anselm College , Andy Smith\UNH Survey Center |
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Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. . Tonight at 10pm on New Hampshire Public Television. |