EMILY's List, the political action committee aimed at electing pro-choice Democratic women to public office, is launching a new ad taking aim at former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and her comments calling its supporters a "cackle of rads."
The ad is the second in the group's "Sarah Doesn't Speak for Me" series. The first one featured women dressed in bear costumes -- playing off the "Mama Grizzlies" candidates Palin is endorsing in the 2010 elections -- saying, "Sarah doesn't speak for us." Instead, they advocate for health care, federal funding for schools, and the right to "hibernate with whoever we choose." The ad was incredibly popular, garnering more than 110,000 visitors for EMILY's List's website and more than 200,000 views for the actual video. In fact, Palin herself even responded on Twitter, writing, "Who hijacked term:'feminist'? A cackle of rads who want 2 crucify other women w/whom they disagree on a singular issue; it's ironic (& passé)."
Palin even joked about the bear get-ups on her Facebook page, writing, "[L]ying about a sister while wearing an Ewok outfit is no way to honor our foremothers on the eve of the 90th anniversary of their victory. But, that aside, I'd love to know where you got those get-ups. Halloween is just around the corner, and Piper and Trig would look adorable as little grizzly bears." In an interview with the Huffington Post on Tuesday, EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock said they would be more than happy to send some over. "I think we might have to" send them, said Schriock. "I have to find a little version. These were big adult versions. But maybe she wants one too!"
EMILY's List responds to Palin's "cackle of rads" comment in the second installment of its "Sarah Doesn't Speak for Me" series, highlighting the media attention the ad received and the positive responses it received from supporters around the country. Several men and women then address Palin, taking issue with her calling them "radicals." "You're calling me a radical because I want to protect our wildlife and hold corporations like BP accountable?" asks one young woman.
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Schriock will be formally unveiling the ad at the San Francisco Women's Policy Summit on Wednesday, with a special focus on Fiorina. "The Sarah Palin-Carly Fiorina partnership out there needs to be highlighted and talked about, and it's something that's really critically important," she said.
Part of Wednesday's announcement will also be a new independent expenditure program, CA Women Vote, which will put resources into getting the word out about Fiorina's record through direct mail, television, and online advertising. Schriock declined to say how much the group would be spending, but called it "a significant campaign and one that we're confident is going to shift this race a little bit and really help Barbara Boxer out." "Barbara Boxer has been such a champion of choice, in particular, and the threats facing us with global warming," she added. "Boy, we do not want to lose that voice in the U.S. Senate."
The third component of the California news will be Team EMILY, EMILY's List's grassroots volunteer network. Schriock explained that it's intended to give an "opportunity for young women -- and men, quite frankly, who support electing women to office -- to get involved by volunteering and giving a little bit of time. Not everybody has a check, but everybody has a little time." The first state where Team EMILY was active was New Hampshire, where volunteers mobilized for Ann McLane Kuster in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional district.
On Sept. 8, Politico reported that the EMILY's List independent expenditure effort was launching a two-week television campaign against Joe Heck, the GOP congressional candidate in Nevada running against Rep. Dina Titus (D). The anti-Heck ad was "precision-targeted to reach women between the ages of 18 and 49, running on television shows and websites where young female voters are likely to see it."