DV Journal

Could a digital ad by a Democratic PAC be designed to trick Republican voters into not voting?

Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Tabas thinks so.  Tabas asked the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Al Schmidt, to investigate a recent ad. Tabas contends the ad weaponizes disinformation to suppress potential GOP voters from voting by mail.

“This is a serious crime, with very serious implications for our democracy,” Tabas wrote to Schmidt. “PA Values PAC executed this June 2024 ad…knowing fully that the targets of the ad may not vote at all in November, if not for the convenience of mail-in ballots.”

The ad used old clips of former President Donald Trump saying that he opposes mail-in ballots. However, Trump has changed his position and now advocates voting by mail.  At his recent rally in Philadelphia, Trump told his supporters to vote whether early, by mail, or in person.

And the Trump campaign threatened to sue the PAC over the misleading ad, which addresses  “MAGA patriots” and calls voting by mail “totally corrupt.”

A Federal Election Commission report showed the PAC spent $44,000 on a digital ad in June.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.), a staunch Trump supporter, sent Shapiro a letter about the ad.

““Of the hundreds of thousands of views, Pennsylvania Values’ ad has likely dissuaded some not to vote by mail, or worse, to not vote at all,” Meuser said. “Damage to election integrity and confidence in the election process has been done. Governor Shapiro’s office must condemn this attempt to suppress votes to help restore voter confidence that has been eroded. Election integrity is paramount, and I believe it can be achieved in Pennsylvania. We must work in a non-partisan manner to prevent the erosion of voter confidence in election outcomes.  A strong response from Governor Shapiro and Secretary Schmidt will show Pennsylvania citizens that this administration is committed to combating election law violations, regardless of party.”

Schmidt is also head of Pennsylvania’s “Election Threat Task Force,” launched by Governor Josh Shapiro in February of this year. According to a press release on the Department of State’s website, Shapiro said:”…the Election Threats Task Force will…combat misinformation, safeguard the rights of every citizen, and ensure this [November’s] election is safe, secure, free, and fair.”

The ad ran for four days in June, before it was removed by Google for “policy violation.” However, it had already  been seen by hundreds of thousands of viewers.

The ad’s use of “our president” and “stand with Trump,” according to Tabas, was intended to trick voters into believing that the ad, and its demands, emanated from Trump or authorized representatives. He reminded Schmidt that, under Section 3527, title 25, of the Pennsylvania Code, activity intended to influence unduly or overawe voters, prevent voters from voting or restrain their freedom of choice is not just an impediment to free and fair elections, but is also a felony.

“I am bringing this matter before you and imploring you to investigate and handle the matter in the thorough and determined manner pledged by the governor, when he launched the Task Force.”

PA Values PAC Treasurer Maria Galdo could not be reached for comment.

With polls showing President Joe Biden’s approval near all-time lows, the Pennsylvania native son is headed to Philadelphia for a campaign boost. He is scheduled to appear with union members and receive the AFL-CIO’s endorsement for his second term bid.

But Keystone State Republicans want to ensure local voters remember what they don’t like about the incumbent president.

“If Americans let Biden have another four-year term, what we’re going to see is that inflation will continue to worsen, real wages for American workers are down, and will continue to hurt families,” Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Lawrence Tabas said during a Friday press call. “Small businesses are being hurt tremendously and are closing left and right.”

U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14) questioned Biden’s campaign message of “four more years to finish the job.”

“I don’t know what the job is, but it’s not good for the working class of America and Pennsylvania,” Reschenthaler said.

Biden’s “assault on American energy has made it more expensive for Americans to get to work, to heat their homes, and to (afford) the basic (necessities). The average American has lost $10,000 due to inflation,” added Reschenthaler.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos Core Political poll found 41 percent of Americans approved of Biden’s handling his job, while 54 percent disapproved. An ABC/Ipsos poll last week put that approval at just 31 percent.

Biden’s appearance will be the first campaign stop since he formally announced his intention to seek reelection nearly two months ago. His Republican opponents have been aggressively campaigning across the country, and Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made campaign stops in early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

Polls show voters are unhappy with Biden’s handling of the economy, energy, and crime in particular.

“Crime has continued to rise under Biden’s administration,” Tabas said. “Nine of our nation’s cities have the highest murder rate in 2022 than they’ve had in their history. Defunding the police under Joe Biden has made us unsafe in our communities, and Americans deserve to be safe in their neighborhoods. The fentanyl crisis under him has become beyond an epidemic.”

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (PA-9) was also on the call, calling out the Biden administration for “gaslighting” the American people and running “roughshod over democracy.” He said the administration had adopted $400 billion in new regulations and more than $1 trillion in “executive order spending.”

“He’s weaponizing the SEC against companies that he doesn’t like. And the IRS.”

Meuser also smacked Biden’s record of “utterly weak” foreign policy that has China poised to invade Taiwan and opened the door for Russia to invade Ukraine.

“Joe Biden is incredibly soft on China,” added Reschenthaler. “I don’t know how our democracy survives another four years of Joe Biden.” The Democrats are “extreme.” They want to make Washington. D.C., a state, allow 16-year-olds to vote and “pack” the Supreme Court, he said.

Pennsylvania Republicans also targeted Biden over energy policy, with the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Campaign Committee releasing a statement linking the state’s Democrats to Biden’s record.

“Even though President Biden’s job performance is deeply unpopular, PA Senate Democrats are all too willing to hitch their campaign to the failed Biden-agenda,” the SRCC said. “[PA] Senate Democrats stood by RGGI last year, now Pennsylvanians are seeing higher utility bills and energy sector job losses due to this policy blunder.”

If Biden is reelected “the war on American’s energy independence will continue,” Tabas said on the press call. “His first act when he was elected was to shut down the Keystone pipeline, 110,000 jobs were lost.”

The Republicans were asked about the recent indictment of former president Donald Trump for allegedly obstructing justice and mishandling classified documents. Polls show Trump is the frontrunner for the GOP’s nomination in 2024.

“Everyone recognizes that this indictment is indicative of two things, a two-tier criminal justice system that we have in the United States where those that support the ruling regime are treated one way, and everybody else is treated another way,” said Reschenthaler.

Reschenthaler called out what he views as the media’s role in protecting the Biden administration.

“The bias of the mainstream legacy media that does nothing but cover the indictment of President Trump and says absolutely nothing about the corruption of the Biden family, their shady ties to Ukrainian oligarchs and the CCP [Chinese Communist Party].”

Meuser agreed, noting, “People are wildly, extremely frustrated with the unfairness, the targeting, the clear comparisons where Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden received no admonishment whatsoever. Just a joke. And neither one of them was president at the time they took the classified material.

“It’s really almost laughable how obvious this is,” Meuser said. “Throw Hunter Biden and the Big Guy in and some so-called ‘investigation’ taking place … people realize that our country — our federal government and our executive branch- has some really scary problems.

“And this certainly emboldens people to believe we need a change.”