Political Ads To Link Iraq And Economy

The war in Iraq is returning to the airwaves.

A coalition of anti-war groups that was influential in last year's political debate on Iraq says it plans to spend more than $20 million this year to convince voters that Sen. John McCain and the Republican Party's support for the war is bad for the economy.

At the same time, a labor union supporting Democratic Sen. Barack Obama will begin airing an ad in Ohio that links an end to the war with the government's ability to address domestic problems.

"For once can ... we put American jobs for workers first? We have a recovery that reaches Main Street? And we stop spending money in Iraq and start spending it here?" a montage of workers say in the ad by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. "Can we have affordable health care for everyone? For everyone? For everyone? Can we really elect a president we can believe in?"

The two independent ad campaigns illustrate how Democrats plan to connect the economy, which stands out as the top issue with voters, to the war, which is still a powerful motivator for the liberal wing of the Democratic party.

In a conference call with reporters, activist leaders said they believe Americans are increasingly aware of the economic burden the Iraq war has caused. They say voters will blame Republicans this fall for supporting the war at a time of rising health care and college costs and a mortgage foreclosure crisis.

"Leaders who do not recognize this connection will be at a disadvantage come Election Day," said Jeff Blum, director of USAction, which plans to spend $10 million organizing a grass-roots effort against Republican candidates. Blum said the group intends to dispatch hundreds of thousands of volunteers to go door to door to convince voters that the GOP's war effort is hurting the economy.

MoveOn.org, another anti-war group, says it will spend at least $5 million targeting congressional seats, including Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, John Sununu of New Hampshire, Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Brad Woodhouse, head of Americans United for Change, said he estimates his group will spend about $8.5 million, focusing primarily on political advertisements. Another group in the coalition, VoteVets.org, plans to run an ad on Washington, D.C., cable stations urging McCain to abandon his commitment to Iraq.

The food and commercial workers ad does double duty for Obama, who is emphasizing the economy as he casts himself as a longtime Iraq war opponent. The ad will begin appearing Tuesday and run in major Ohio markets through the March 4 primary.

Outside groups that support a candidate can run ads promoting them as long as they don't coordinate their activities with the candidate's campaign. Unions and other organizations are stepping in to help Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Obama as the presidential campaign enters the final week before Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island hold contests on March 4. Texas and Ohio are critical to Clinton's chances.

Obama has a number of organizations promoting him in Texas and Ohio. In the last week, an independent group based in California, PowerPAC, spent more than $150,000 on direct mail supporting him in Texas. The Service Employees International Union, which endorsed him last week, is spending $300,000 on phone banks and get-out-the-vote efforts for him in Texas and nearly a $1 million in phone banks, direct mail and door-to-door canvassing in Ohio, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission since Thursday.

Clinton is getting support from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which spent about $80,000 on mailings in Ohio, and from Emily's List, a political organization that helps candidates who support abortion rights and spent more than $90,000 on radio ads supporting Clinton in Texas. Democratic activists also have created an organization to raise money and run ads in Ohio and Texas promoting her stands on issues.

Clinton's campaign has criticized Obama, noting that while he denounced ads run by outside groups on behalf of Democrat John Edwards in Iowa last year, he has not called on his union supporters to stop their ads.

"The outside organizations supporting Senator Obama are far outstripping any support we're getting from our supporters," Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said.