Comcast Censors ImpeachPAC - and YOU

Update 12:40 pm ET: Comcast is getting the message - keep calling 215-665-1700 (and be polite of course)!

Thanks to your support, ImpeachPAC has raised over $75,000 from nearly 2,000 donors to support pro-impeachment Democratic candidates.

We have contributed the maximum of $5,000 to 6 outstanding Democrats:
Bill Durston (CA-03)
Jeeni Criscenzo (CA-49)
Jean Hay Bright (ME Senate)
Tony Trupiano (MI-11)
Chris Owens (NY-11)
Carl Sheeler (RI Senate)

These candidates are tremendously grateful for your support. Here's what Jeeni Criscenzo wrote in "Slingshots and Goliaths":

"As a grassroots candidate in a race written off as impossible, I have the freedom to write my own playbook. The instructions for winning this battle are written in my heart, and the message is about hope and the courage we need to prevail. And that's why I promise, without hesitation, that when I am in Congress I will make the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney my first priority."

And here's Carl Sheeler:

"It is because of the generosity of your supporters we are able to use funds to proudly display our "Be Patriotic Impeach Bush" billboard along I-95 and give out more than 5,000 bumper stickers here in Rhode Island alone. I believe candidates for Congress who properly honor their oath of office and our faith in good government that is of, for and by the people will prevail. IMPEACHPAC is an invaluable player in ensuring this occurs."

Unfortunately many other candidates who support impeachment in private have been told NOT to discuss impeachment in public by Democratic insiders and consultants who get their political "insights" from rightwing fearmongers like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh. These insiders even persuaded House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to tell Tim Russert that impeachment was "off the table."

So we decided to take ImpeachPAC in a new direction by raising some of the impeachment-worthy issues that George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove don't want Americans to talk about - or even to know about.

Of course the illegal and catastrophic Iraq War is the #1 impeachment issue. But for too many Americans, the war seems far away and therefore less important than the many issues here at home.

So we decided to highlight one Iraq War issue that will affect us right here at home - unless action is taken immediately.

And that is the infiltration of neo-Nazis and racist extremists into the U.S. military.

This story first appeared in the New York Times on July 7. It was based on a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which has an outstanding record of tracking racist and anti-Semitic extremists in the U.S.

The report cites Pentagon investigators who track such extremists. These investigators have identified hundreds of extremists who should be expelled immediately. But because the Iraq War has hurt recruitment so badly, military commanders are refusing to expel these extremists.

Scary, isn't it?

It's even worse when you see the pictures. Here's one of Airman Robert Lee West, who is still active duty at Warner Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.

West took this photo in front of a Nazi flag - and put it right on his personal web site. And even though military officials knew about it, they did not expel West. For all we know, he is planning violent acts with other extremists even as your read this.

And Robert Lee West is just the tip of the iceberg. Pentagon investigators told SPLC they reported 320 extremists at one base alone - but the military expelled only 2. They also identified an online network of 57 extremists at five military bases, and several are in combat in Iraq. It's possible such extremists are responsible for some of the atrocities against Iraqi civilians.

Obviously there should be zero tolerance for extremists in the military.

Timothy McVeigh's extremist ideas came out of his military service during the first Gulf War, and led to his terrorist attack in Oklahoma City in 1995. McVeigh murdered 167 people - the worst terrorist attack in American history before September 11.

Later that year, several extremists with the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, NC wanted to earn a skinhead tatoo. So they left the base and murdered a young black couple.

Shortly thereafter, President Clinton's Defense Secretary, William Perry, ordered a zero-tolerance policy for extremists. But George Bush's Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has ignored that policy - just as he ignored policies against torture and the use of chemical weapons like white phosphorous.

So last week we produced a TV commercial to highlight this issue. And we decided to broadcast it in Connecticut, where Ned Lamont, a strong opponent of the Iraq War, is challenging Senator Joe Lieberman, George Bush's strongest ally on the war.

You can see the ad here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYes93Byn-s

and read the documentation here:
http://impeachpac.org/lamont-ad-1-text

We contacted Comcast, the largest cable company in Connecticut - and in the U.S. We sent them the link to the ad on July 18. We signed the contract on July 21 and sent the link to the documentation. We gave them our credit card.

Everything was ready - except for Comcast's censors.

We waited... and waited... and waited. Each day we were told the censors were reviewing the ad. But we were never told when - or even if - they would decide.

Frankly, this censorship is intolerable.

Our ad is factual. It is based on a report by a credible, non-partisan organization. The report was credible enough to appear in the New York Times and other publications. Neither the Pentagon nor the White House have challenged the report in any way. The comparison to the Swift Boat ads is night versus day.

Comcast has no right to censor us - or to keep us in the dark. So we need your help.

First watch the ad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYes93Byn-s

Then review the page with links to our sources.
http://impeachpac.org/lamont-ad-1-text

Then check ImpeachPAC.org for the latest update, in case they suddenly change their minds.

And if you think Comcast has no right to censor this ad, then call Comcast's corporate headquarters at 215-665-1700 and ask (politely of course!) for CEO Brian Roberts.

Tell him (or his assistant) that Comcast has no right to censor ImpeachPAC's Connecticut ad on neo-Nazi extremists in our military, and the ad should go on the air immediately.

If Comcast agrees to run the ad, drop us a note here. Tell us who you spoke to and we'll post the announcement at the top of ImpeachPAC.

Thanks for all you do!

Bob Fertik

p.s. We plan to run more hard-hitting ads in the weeks and months to come. If you'd like to help us get these ads on the air, we welcome your contributions here:
http://www.actblue.com/page/impeachpac3