SuperPAC Funder Ricketts Repudiates Rev. Wright Ad Idea

Politico reports that Joe Ricketts has released the following statement:

Joe Ricketts is a registered independent, a fiscal conservative, and an outspoken critic of the Obama Administration, but he is neither the author nor the funder of the so-called “Ricketts Plan” to defeat Mr. Obama that The New York Times wrote about this morning. Not only was this plan merely a proposal – one of several submitted to the Ending Spending Action Fund by third-party vendors – but it reflects an approach to politics that Mr. Ricketts rejects and it was never a plan to be accepted but only a suggestion for a direction to take. Mr. Ricketts intends to work hard to help elect a President this fall who shares his commitment to economic responsibility, but his efforts are and will continue to be focused entirely on questions of fiscal policy, not attacks that seek to divide us socially or culturally.

This doesn’t preclude the possibility that Fred Davis will be able to sucker some other rich guy to fund his idea, of course.

FILED UNDER: 2012 Election, US Politics, , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Chad S says:

    The question everyone should be asking is how Fred Davis still gets work after his “I’m not a witch” ad for O’Donnell.

  2. Hey Norm says:

    “…a fiscal conservative, and an outspoken critic of the Obama Administration…”

    Sorry…that’s an oxymoron.
    A supposed fiscal conservative…maybe.
    An alleged fiscal conservative…perhaps.
    A fiscal fraud…most likely.
    An actual fiscal conservative would have no real reason for this level of criticism. Sure…there may be reasons to quibble over this or that. But Obama’s actual record is the most fiscally conservative in decades.

  3. al-Ameda says:

    his efforts are and will continue to be focused entirely on questions of fiscal policy, not attacks that seek to divide us socially or culturally.

    That’s what they all say.

  4. Tsar Nicholas says:

    @Hey Norm: You’re joking, right? Saying that Obama ‘s record is the “most fiscally conservative in decades” is like saying Cleveland has had “the most successful sports teams” over the past few decades.

    In any event, I’m glad to hear that this Ricketts character has rejected this horrible idea. Any such ad campaign would have been the worst decision by a Republican campaign since Sarah Palin. If Davis manages to convince someone else to finance it then Republicans deserve whatever they get.

  5. Gromitt Gunn says:

    @Tsar Nicholas: You’re absolutely correct. One could argue that Clinton was more fiscally conservative. Before that, you’ld have to go back to Eisenhower.

  6. swearyanthony says:

    A fiscal conservative who wants the taxpayers of Chicago to build his baseball team a new office building ($200M), and the federal taxpayers to subsidize his stadium refurbishment (tens of $M). Sorry, that’s not a fiscal conservative.

  7. Nikki says:

    @swearyanthony: Yeah. And now Rahm won’t take his calls. Politics can be a bitch.