The VoteVets political action committee, which aims to place military veterans in office, is also stridently in favor of any laws that would work to wean the United States off its dependency on oil– an addiction, the group says, that pours billions of dollars into the coffers of states where the U.S. military has been ordered to fight and into the Middle East generally where additional conflict with the U.S. seems inevitable. VoteVets spent $2 million to air ads on cable TV arguing that climate change legislation is vital to U.S. security. CNN and MSNBC have been airing the ads but FOX has rejected them, saying they might be “too confusing” for FOX viewers.
From Vote Vets:
Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are putting up $2 million in advertising, connecting our addiction to oil to the wealth and boldness of our enemies, and pressing for Washington to act on clean energy climate legislation.
[One of the ads] entitled “Alarm,” features an alarm clock ticking off the over $100 million a day we could deny Iran by passing clean energy legislation, intercut with images of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iranian militants. It makes the point that while clean energy legislation would cut our dependence on oil in half, driving down the cost of oil that Iran profits from, every day Washington waits, “our enemies get bolder.”
Indeed, An analysis by the Center for American Progresses Wonk Room concluded that an 80 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 levels would eliminate $1.8 trillion in Iranian oil revenue or $100 million a day.
Politico reports that Fox Sales Executive Mike Mandelker told the VoteVets ad buyer that the spot was too confusing, suggesting the ad undercut the anti-global warming and pro-military position pushed by the network. Neither Mandelker nor Fox News spokeswoman Dana Klinghoffer responded to Politico email inquiries about the decision.
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