Before Newt Gingrich?s super PAC paid $40,000 for the stinging anti-Mitt Romney documentary that?s roiling the GOP presidential campaign, Jon Huntsman?s allies expressed interest in it.
Veteran GOP adman Fred Davis, who is a key adviser to the pro-Huntsman Our Destiny PAC, was impressed by the introduction to the half-hour documentary, ?When Mitt Romney Came to Town,? and took it to his group?s board.
Continue ReadingThe board ?decided not to move forward with it? because ?we simply saw it too late to seriously consider,? Davis told POLITICO.
Still, he predicted the film?s portrayal of Romney as a cold-hearted ?corporate raider? could be used to devastating effect against the former Massachusetts governor.
?Think ?Swift Boats?,? he said of the movie, calling the introduction ?very well made and powerful stuff.? that seemed ?to be accurate portrayals of various individuals and situations.?
Though the full documentary has yet to be released, a three-minute trailer posted on Winning Our Future?s website features interviews with people who worked at companies taken over by Bain, who bash Romney while a narrator accuses him of ?exploiting dozens of American businesses.?
Romney?s campaign has cried foul over the movie?s line of attack, asserting it plays into Democrats? hands by vilifying capitalism and mischaracterizing Romney?s days at the helm of the investment firm Bain Capital. And some conservatives have suggested funny business, questioning the money and motives behind the movie, which is likely to become a major force in the coming days.
The pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning Our Future ? fueled by a $5 million contribution from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson ? intends to use the movie as the basis for a hard-hitting multi-million-dollar advertising campaign targeting Romney this week in South Carolina.
The real consideration Davis and Our Destiny gave to obtaining the movie, which the super PAC had previously minimized, highlights the emerging consensus among Romney opponents that the Bain attack that it may be their best shot to slow Romney?s march to the GOP nomination ? even if it is ideologically unorthodox for conservatives.
The movie?s producer Barry Bennett, who previously consulted for a pro-Rick Perry super PAC, told POLITICO that Our Destiny came closer to buying the film than even Davis admits.
?Fred had seen the film and they liked the film and we had conference calls with their attorney,? said Bennett. ?But they were having some money problems, and they were supposed to get back to me and I just proceeded with another opportunity.?
Our Destiny has aired more than $2 million worth of ads supporting Huntsman and ripping Romney. And Davis brushed off Bennett?s characterization, asserting he ?never had a discussion of money? with Bennett.
Both men rejected complaints from Romney allies that the movie plays into Democrats? hands.
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