Phil Ammann
A nonprofit created by Marco Rubio supporters is about to launch a million-dollar advertising campaign, the first since the Florida senator announced his presidential campaign in April.
Conservative Solutions Project, which produced the 60-second “issue” ad called “Bad Deal,” will appear on cable TV, radio and online. Sean Sullivan of The Washington Post writes that the campaign is set to coincide with Senate preparations for securing a nuclear deal with Iran, as the deadline approaches.
“President Obama is negotiating a bad deal with Iran. Senator Marco Rubio is fighting to stop it,” says the ad’s voiceover.
Conservative Solutions Project, started by South Carolina GOP strategist J. Warren Tompkins, is a nonprofit organization with a similar name to a pro-Rubio super PAC. The campaign budget, Sullivan says, will be around $1 million for the first week.
Super PACs and nonprofits can both accept unlimited contributions. Nonprofits, however, must spend most of their money on nonpolitical affairs, and do not have to disclose its donors, unlike PACs.
This is why the Conservative Solutions campaign commercials are technically classified as “issue ads,” even though they feature Rubio prominently.
“Let me tell you about negotiations,” Rubio says in the spot. “It is a tactic that Iran is using and here’s the why: in 2003 the world told Iran ‘You cannot have any enrichment capability’ … then it became ‘OK you can enrich but only up to 20 percent” … then it became ‘OK you can enrich over 20 percent but you have to ship it overseas.’ Now it’s ‘Okay you can enrich at 20 percent but you can only use it to a research reactor.’
“At this pace,” Rubio continues, “in five years we are going to build the bomb for them.”
Other footage includes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has opposed President Obama over Iran, and has sided with conservative Republicans.
“Tell your senators to join Marco Rubio,” the ad concludes. “Vote against Obama’s deal and stop Iran from getting the bomb.”
“Bad Deal” is now available on YouTube.
