HUFFPOST FUNDRACE - The Anti-Bain Documentary

Paul Blumenthal
Updated
HUFFPOST FUNDRACE - The Anti-Bain Documentary

The Newt Gingrich super PAC documentary assailing Mitt Romney's record heading Bain Capital hit the web today. At 28-minutes long and styled like a Frontline expose the documentary is a godsend to Democrats. The movie, the content of which has been echoed by both Gingrich and Texas Governor Rick Perry, runs down Bain Capital's takeovers of Unimac, K-B Toys, DDI, and American Pad And Paper. All of the companies were left with closed plants and fired workers. In the case of K-B Toys, the entire company went bankrupt and all of their stores were shuttered. Romney's Latin American investors, with implied scare quotes, are repeatedly invoked.

The movie comes just in time for the Republican primary to move into the economically damaged South. South Carolina is no stranger to closed plants, foreclosures, and unemployment. The people featured in the documentary who lost their jobs, and in one case their home, are likely to resonate. Most importantly, as Rolling Stone reporter Tim Dickinson pointed out on Twitter, the takeovers and the shuttering of plants by Bain and Romney are depicted as acts of Northern aggression. Both Boston and Wall Street play prominently with negative connotations. The documentary seems to want voters in the economically depressed South to think that people like Romney and companies like Bain are the reason why there are so few jobs available.

Watch the full documentary here.

The super PAC pushing the documentary is being funded by a $5 million contribution from casino magnate and Gingrich friend Sheldon Adelson. What is the one issue that brings Adelson and Gingrich together? Israel. [HuffPost]

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

Mitt Romney announces his best fundraising quarter yet. He raised $24 million from October through December. [HuffPost]

Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren announced a massive fundraising quarter -- $5.7 million -- nearly doubling the amount raised by her competitor Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.). [HuffPost]

Anti-Gingrich spending by super PACs tops the $5 million mark. See our chart below.

CAMPAIGN VIDEOS

Help us populate our list of campaign videos. Send any notable TV, radio or web ads that you see to Fundrace. Send your submissions to paulblumenthal@huffingtonpost.com.

Committee: Mitt Romney for President
Spot: "Nosotros" -- If Mitt Romney's speaking Spanish, he must be campaigning in Florida. This Spanish language ad, narrated by Romney son Craig, features three South Florida Republican congressmen stating their support for the former Massachusetts governor. The two main arguments in the ad are that Romney "has a plan to create new jobs" and "has the vision to restore the country's national security."
Link: [http://youtu.be/i6PYDh6Wgts]
Market: Florida.
Buy: Undisclosed.

Committee: Newt Gingrich for President
Candidate opposed: Mitt Romney
Spot: "For the Dogs" -- Newt Gingrich's campaign pulls together every embarrassing moment of Mitt Romney's for this web ad claiming that Romney is too much of an embarrassment to debate President Obama. The obsession over who can debate Obama continues. And yes, this video does feature Romney saying, "Who let the dogs out?"
Link: [http://youtu.be/x-4bm5NxqPY]
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.

Committee: Democratic National Committee
Candidate opposed: Mitt Romney
Spot: "True Colors" -- This web video is essentially the same as the above mentioned Gingrich web ad except it's set to Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors."
Link: [http://youtu.be/wFjdTGoFBdI]
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.

Committee: Sierra Club
Candidate opposed: Barack Obama
Spot: "It's that simple" -- The Sierra Club praises President Obama for enacting air pollution standards while calling on viewers to "tell Congress to do the same" in this ad meant to air in three major media markets in Ohio.
Link: [http://youtu.be/bFxBxXTW-4g]
Market: Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinatti, Ohio.
Buy: Undisclosed.

TRACKING INDEPENDENT SPENDING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:

These numbers represent spending by independent groups, like super PACs and non-profits, to support or oppose a particular candidate for the presidency in 2012. Fundrace will update this spending daily to help show which candidates are gaining from the proliferation of independent groups in this coming election.

Newt Gingrich (R), $982,082 to support, $5,778,994 to oppose. (+$1,308,059)
Rick Perry (R), $3,798,524 to support, $0 to oppose.
Jon Huntsman (R), $2,453,204 to support, $0 to oppose.
Ron Paul (R), $939,725 to support, $107,086 to oppose. (Support: +$50,686, Oppose +$104)
Mitt Romney (R), $475,000 to support, $450,741 to oppose. (+$115,439)
Rick Santorum (R), $832,436 to support, $3,028 to oppose. (+$621)
Herman Cain (R), $462,217 to support, $0 to oppose.
Barack Obama (D), $0 to support, $429,919 to oppose.
Gary Johnson (R), $518 to support, $0 to oppose.

RECENT INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

Priorities USA Action, $15,000 to oppose Mitt Romney for President.
Restore Our Future, $89,962 to oppose Newt Gingrich for President in Florida.
Restore Our Future, $1,218,097 to oppose Newt Gingrich for President in South Carolina.
DGA Action, $104 to oppose Ron Paul for President.
DGA Action, $539 to oppose Mitt Romney for President.
DGA Action, $621 to oppose Rick Santorum for President.
Endorse Liberty, $50,686 to support Ron Paul for President.
Winning Our Future $99,900 to oppose Mitt Romney for President.

RECENT POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE REGISTRATIONS

Indiana Values Super PAC, Washington, D.C., Treasurer: Andrew Klingenstein. (Super PAC)
Citizens for Prosperity and Good Government, Oxnard, Calif., Treasurer: S.F. Garrett.

Send tips, hints, submissions, rumors to HuffPost Fundrace at paulblumenthal@huffingtonpost.com.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.