Today we launched a new website, www.giveitbackjim.com, highlighting Jim Gerlach's close connection to indicted former Majority Leader Tom DeLay and the pay-to-play culture in Washington.
For the last four years Jim Gerlach has been more interested in doing the bidding of DeLay than listening to the people of Pennsylvania's Sixth District.
Gerlach has accepted $30,000 from indicted former Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ARMPAC. Meanwhile he votes with DeLay 90% of the time. Is there a connection? That's for the voters to decide. But we believe that Gerlach ought to return DeLay's tainted money and explain himself to Sixth District voters.
This is an important message. It is also a message that media giant Clear Channel will not let you see.
Our campaign paid to place a billboard in our District calling on Jim Gerlach to give back the $30,000 he had received from indicted former Majority Leader Tom DeLay. It said "Congressman Jim Gerlach, you are part of the problem in Washington. Return Tom DeLay's money."
When we presented the design, however, Clear Channel - which owns the space we had reserved, and, in fact, owns most of the billboards in the area - said no. When we asked the Clear Channel representative why, we were told that they would not run any ad "that would upset Jim Gerlach if he saw it." click here to see the censored billboard
Clear Channel is one of the special interest friends of Jim Gerlach, George Bush, and indicted former Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
Cases in point . . .
· Clear Channel executives Tom Hicks and L. Lowry Mays have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Bush's gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. Clear Channel gave $119,370 in `soft money' to Republicans in 2001-2002, this on top of the $82,850 it gave in 2000." (Source: BuzzFlash.com)
· The vice chairman of Clear Channel is Tom Hicks. In 1998 Mr. Hicks purchased the Texas Rangers in a deal that made Mr. Bush a multimillionaire. (Source: Paul Krugman, NYT, 3/25/03)
· In 2001, two stations owned by Clear Channel pulled an ad accusing Republicans of failing to protect consumers from high gas prices. According to the Clarion Ledger newspaper in Mississippi, "Clear Channel, the owners of WMSI-102.9 and WSTZ-106.7 in Jackson, decided this week to stop airing an ad accusing U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., of sitting idly while gasoline prices rise." (Source: Clarion Ledger, 6/3/01)
· Clear Channel has contributed $22,000 to Tom DeLay's campaigns (Source: Center for Public Integrity)
· In 2005, Clear Channel PAC gave Jim Gerlach's campaign $1500 (Source: FEC filings).
We've asked Jim Gerlach to return Tom DeLay's tainted money. He has refused. And now his special interest friends at Clear Channel have refused to display our message.
You can help to spread the message by contributing online today so that we can place a new ad on a billboard not owned by Clear Channel.
Clear Channel may be big, but together we have the power. They can't hide the truth. They may want to shut out the facts about Jim Gerlach, but we won't let them win. Jim Gerlach's involvement in the pay-to-play culture in Washington is bad for the Sixth District and is bad for America, and it's time for him to go. Help us make it happen.
Please visit http://www.giveitbackjim.com today. Learn the whole story about Jim Gerlach's ties to the pay-to-play culture. Make a contribution to Lois Murphy for Congress, send Jim Gerlach an email, and help us spread the word.