New 527 Group: RightChange

It is becoming difficult keeping up with all the new issue advocacy groups that keep materializing.

The latest one we’ve heard about is RightChange.com, a conservative 527 group that has been questioning the wisdom of Senator Barack Obama’s economic proposals. A 527, named after a section of the tax code, can raise unlimited funds from individual donors.

The group appears to take its name from a phrase Senator John McCain used in a campaign speech June 3:

The decision facing Americans in this election couldn’t be more important to the future security and prosperity of American families. This is, indeed, a “change” election. No matter who wins this election, the direction of this country is going to change dramatically.

But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change, between going forward and going backward. [emphasis added]

Tim Pittman, executive director of RightChange.com, explains the group’s mission: “Over and over we hear candidates for office calling for ‘change,’ with little explanation of how their policies will really affect American families. People are frustrated with the same old political promises and want details on policy matters.” North Carolina pharmaceutical executive Fred Eshelman is a major donor to the group.

The group’s first ad, “Bungee,” isn’t great. A man with a bullhorn rants on a bridge about the true cost of politicians’ promises, stands on the railing, falls off and is saved when a bungee cord magically appears thus allowing him to continue his rant upside-down. Instead of coming across as a justifiably fed-up taxpayer, he seems like a nut and reminds me of William ‘D-Fens’ Foster, the character played by Michael Douglas in the 1993 movie, Falling Down.