patrick.net

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/09/17/joe-ricketts-ad-campaign-romney-republicans/70000498/1

Joe Ricketts, whose family owns the Chicago Cubs, is moving forward with plans to bankroll a major ad campaign to help Mitt Romney and Republican candidates.

Ricketts sparked a firestorm in May when The New York Times reported the billionaire was considering a controversial ad campaign against President Obama. The anti-Obama ad, since rejected, would have spotlighted the race-based rhetoric of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's former pastor.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Ricketts will spend $12 million on ads starting this week, with $10 million to back Romney and $2 million to assist Republicans running for Congress.

The ads funded by Ricketts will feature ex-Obama supporters talking about Romney, a tactic that Romney used on his own in a video played at the GOP convention in Tampa. The WSJ says the ads will run in battlegrounds such as Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia and Iowa.

Ricketts, the founder of TD Ameritrade, is behind the Ending Spending Action Fund. The super PAC has assisted Republican Deb Fischer, the Senate candidate in Nebraska, and spent money on an ad supporting Gov. Scott Walker in the Wisconsin recall election.

It's unclear what impact the new pro-GOP ad campaign will have on the Ricketts family as it seeks to get the city of Chicago's help in renovating Wrigley Field. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, an Obama friend and the president's former chief of staff, has refused to negotiate with the baseball team's ownership since word of Joe Ricketts' anti-Obama ad plans were published in the spring.

Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia and Iowa. Ricketts, the founder of TD Ameritrade, is behind the Ending Spending Action Fund. The super PAC has assisted Republican Deb Fischer, the Senate candidate in Nebraska, and spent money on an ad supporting Gov. Scott Walker in the Wisconsin recall election.

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