The Florida Family Association logo (Photo: floridafamily.org)

Home-improvement chain Lowe’s is facing backlash following its decision to pull ads from TLC’s All-American Muslim, a reality-TV show centering on the lives of Muslims living in a Detroit suburb. Though reps for Lowe’s have said the company pulled the ads due to “strong political and societal views” from many individuals, a conservative Florida group is at the center of the controversy.

Last month, the Florida Family Association sent a series of emails to supporters asking them to petition several of the companies advertising during All-American Muslim. According to the Association’s website, companies including Sweet ‘N Low and The Home Depot have also pulled their ads from the show. The Association has said that Lowe’s is the 66th company to remove its advertising from the show, but it is the only one to release a statement about its decision. (Ed note: Since this article’s publication, Florida Family Association has disabled all pages of its website, leaving a lone statement on its homepage about having faced “mean spirited” attacks from critics; though the nature of such attacks is not specified. “Because of our real concern for the terrorism that is a way of life for some folks, we ourselves have become victims,” the statement reads.)

Though the show aims simply to show the lives of American Muslims living in a post-9/11 world, the Family Association has claimed it profiles “only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish.”

“Learning Channel’s new show All-American Muslim is propaganda clearly designed to counter legitimate and present-day concerns about many Muslims who are advancing Islamic fundamentalism and Sharia law,” reads a post on the Association site.

This isn’t the first time the group has concerned itself with television shows. The group also launched petitions against the advertisers of VH1′s Ru Paul’s Drag Race, NBC’s The Playboy Club (which was canceled after only three episodes) and the Teen Nick show DeGrassi.

California Sen. Ted Lieu has said the ad pulls were evidence of “naked religious bigotry” and are prime examples of the discrimination often faced by Muslims in America.

In addition to penning a  letter to Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock, in which he expressed his distaste for the company’s recent actions, Lieu told the Associated Press he might consider legislative action if Lowe’s doesn’t apologize to Muslims and reinstate its ads.

Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., has also spoken out against Lowe’s, which he says is choosing to disregard the First Amendment. ”Our nation’s history is full of examples demonstrating how we have repeatedly torn down false divisions hate groups choose to create,” Ellison said in a statement. “But the struggle against bigotry and hatred must continue so we never give in to intolerance like Lowe’s Corporation has done.”

Florida Family Association Executive Director David Caton (Photo: floridafamily.org)

According to a 2010 Florida Family Association financial statement (PDF), the organization received around $172,000 in gifts and contributions last year. According to the mission statement posted on its website, the group was formed in order to “educate people on what they can do to defend, protect and promote traditional, biblical values.”

Haris Tarin, the director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council’s D.C. office, said he anticipated that the show would be controversial.

“From the beginning, our organization was anticipating that there would be a few campaigns launched to use the show to push the discourse to an even more extreme position against Islam,” Tarin said. “There’s an entire industry that doesn’t want to see any portrayal of Muslims without terrorism or without an extreme narrative of Islam being pointed out.”

Tarin said his organization has launched its own campaign, to counter the attacks by the Florida Family Association. In addition to meeting with the Council’s interfaith and civic partners, the group plans to put pressure on companies like Lowe’s to ensure that it apologizes and reinstates the ads.

“We’ve been getting Americans of all backgrounds to call Lowe’s since last week and we are initiating meetings with Lowe’s and some of the other advertisers to have a conversation about this, because it sets a very disconcerting precedent,” Tarin said. “There are a large number of Muslim-Americans who shop there, as well as many Muslim employees, and this decision [to pull the ads] could prove very problematic for our democracy.”

(Photo: Flickr Creative Commons/www.BackgroundNow.com)

Make Us Great Again has bought $29,813 in airtime at KCCI in Des Moines, the local CBS affiliate and leading network TV station in the state. The ads are scheduled to run from Nov. 3 to Nov. 11.

Make Us Great Again has so far made $417,205 in independent expenditures, the third most of any super PAC.

The ad “Leadership” touts Perry as a military man and farmer that based lawsuit reforms and cut regulations while creating jobs in Texas:

The ad “Conservative” has a similar intro but praises him for cutting spending and balancing the budget, again while creating jobs in his state:

Perry himself has ads scheduled through Nov. 14 at KCCI. He’s spent $104,179 so far at that station and WHO, the local NBC affiliate in Des Moines. The latest ad on Perry’s youtube channel attacks perceived GOP frontrunner and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for comments on the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The battle over Medicare has hit the airways in Iowa, as a group dedicated to fighting cuts to the popular government program has begun buying TV ads in Des Moines.

The Partnership to Protect Medicare spent $39,390 at the local CBS and NBC affiliates in Des Moines between Nov. 5 and Nov. 8. The bi-partisan, 501(c)4 non-profit was formed in 2011.

The ad asks viewers to call U.S. Rep. Tom Latham (R-Ames) and “thank him for protecting seniors at their greatest time of need.”

“Medicare represents a promise made to Americans that they will have access to quality affordable health care as they age or if they become disabled,” the group’s website reads.

It’s not the first issue-based group to buy ads in the state in recent months. The National Popular Vote initiative spent $62,890 in the state in October, and American Petroleum had bought $49,403 worth of ads in the state since late April.

Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, which has ties to former White House deputy chief Karl Rove, has ads scheduled to run through Nov. 7 at both KCCI and WHO in Des Moines. KCCI – the local CBS affiliate – and WHO – the local NBC affiliate – are the two biggest networks in Iowa’s capitol and largest city.

Crossroads has so far spent $186,556 at the two stations, with ads running since late June. The spot being run targets U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell, (D-Des Moines), and President Obama.

Boswell and the Iowa Democratic Party responded to the ads last week, with Boswell’s campaign asking for donations to combat the ads and the IDP saying Crossroads is trying to support Boswell’s 2012 challenger and U.S. Rep. Tom Latham (R-Ames).

Crossroads then lashed back at Boswell, saying the statements from his campaign and the IDP don’t explain why he voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

According to OpenSecrets.org, the 501(c)(4) “outside spending” group spent $15.1 million against Democrats in the 2009-10 cycle and $479,619 for Republicans. It spent another $1.1 million on electioneering communications. The group doesn’t disclose its donors.

American Crossroads, a related “super PAC,” raised $26.5 million in 2010 and spent $21.5 million. It raised and spent the most out of any independent expenditure-only committees in 2010.

The super PAC, which must disclose its donors, has raised $6.6 million so far this cycle.

Crossroads GPS focuses on seven issues, according to its website: lower taxes, less government spending, building the private sector, reducing government worker pay, shutting down the borders, reworking health care reform, pushing for American energy development.

Paul has ads scheduled to run through early November at KCCI and WHO in Des Moines, the local CBS and NBC affiliates and the two biggest networks in Iowa’s capitol and largest city.

Paul has spent $172,336 so far at the two stations, unleashing a blitz in October that will apparently continue for the foreseeable future. He’s got $38,080 worth of ads ready to go through his most recent buys.

Meanwhile, Perry has made a splash in recent days, grabbing $56,137 worth of ads since late October. His most recent buy is $29,665 in spots running through Nov. 7 at KCCI.

Bachmann continues to lag in the ad war race after making a couple substantial buys in August. Her campaign spent $14,535 at KCCI for ads beginning Aug. 3, and $15,376 at WHO beginning that same date. But since then she hasn’t made any purchases, and her total stands at $35,138.

National frontrunners Herman Cain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have yet to purchase ads in the Des Moines market; neither have former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum or former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who dropped out of the race after a mediocre showing at the Ames Straw Poll in August, $166,511 on ads at KCCI and WHO.

Gingrich met with former Black Hawk County GOP Chairman Russ Knoll following a public speech before about 100 Iowans in Waterloo. (Photo: Lynda Waddington/The Iowa Independent)

“Newt’s a politician,” explained Russ Knoll, a former Black Hawk County Republican chairman. “Most of what he said was taken out of context — he got set-up.”

Knoll was discussing Gingrich’s appearance on “Meet the Press” when Gingrich told host David Gregory that the House Republican plan to overhaul Medicare, authored by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), was “radical,” and ignited a firestorm of controversy within his own party.

“I don’t think right-win social engineering is any more desirable than left-win social engineering,” Gingrich said on the NBC show. “I don’t think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate.”

The following day, Ryan responded, “With allies like that, who needs the left?”

Gingrich has since attempted to walk back the comments, and has personally phoned Ryan to apologize for the controversy that resulted.

“He should know better. He really should. He’s been around a long time,” said Knoll.

“When he gets set-up like that, he’s going to pay a price for it. But, in the long-term, I don’t see it having any effect at all [on Newt's chances to claim the GOP 2012 nomination or to compete in Iowa].”

Joan Day, a Waterloo Republican who came to hear what Gingrich had to say, also believes the controversy will be short-lived.

“You know, I didn’t even hear about it,” she told The Iowa Independent after the event, while waiting on an opportunity to have a private word with Gingrich. “I mostly watch CNN, Fox and local news stations. So I’m usually pretty up to speed, but I didn’t catch that.”

Former U.S. Rep. Dave Nagle, a Democrat who has a private legal practice in Waterloo, was also in the audience to hear Gingrich’s remarks. The two had served together, Nagle explained to The Iowa Independent, and he “hopes to hear them all speak” in the lead-up to the Iowa caucuses.

“These people are running for President of the United States,” Nagle said. “So why in the hell wouldn’t you walk across the street to listen to them?”

The reaction to the comments made by Gingrich, he said, was blown out of proportion.

“No. It isn’t justified. I don’t think so,” said Nagle.

“I think the problem that you run into is that there are those journalists who want to announce the results of the election today. So, they seize on any incident, any misstep by a candidate as a defining moment, therefore deciding who will not be the nominee. You know, we still have a long way to go, and he (Gingrich) needs to remember that Iowa is a long-distance race. I don’t think [the reaction] was fair to him, and I hardly think it was a defining moment.”

Although neither Day or Knoll are ready to place their support behind a single GOP candidate for 2012, both said they are currently leaning toward supporting Gingrich — and both for the same reason.

“He brought up some of his points, but what I remain impressed with is his knowledge of history, how to implement things and how to change our government and country back to the way it should be,” Day said. “He speaks like I think — we are the government.”

Knoll says he has “always liked Newt” and that the two “go back a long time.”

“His knowledge of American history, and what our country was really founded upon, needs to be applied to our government today,” Knoll said. “That’s what we are missing. That’s why we are getting in so much trouble — because we aren’t doing what our founding fathers had in mind. So, I think he can get it done and get it applied. I think he has the knowledge to do that.”

As for Gingrich himself, he acknowledged to Iowans attending his whistle stops that his first week as a candidate hasn’t been everything he expected it to be, but also that he expects to fully overcome the rocky start. But he also forcefully denounced a new web ad created by the Democratic National Committee that documents the dust-up.

“The ad this morning is despicable. The President should withdraw it. He should be ashamed of the work of the national committee that he controls,” Gingrich told members of the press following his public remarks. During public remarks, Gingrich again called Obama “the food stamp president” and upped the ante by referring to the President as an “amateur” while touting his own experience in politics.

Gingrich also appears to have a good understanding of the fact that what makes for political buzz in Washington, D.C. isn’t necessarily what drives political discussion in Iowa. He encouraged supporters to show their approval of his candidacy in an upcoming video so that they can “convince the Washington news media the voters will decide the election.”

Here’s the web ad developed by the DNC:

Smith’s latest scoop will only feed such flames, as the Chamber is currently engaged in what it hopes will be a $75 million spending campaign almost entirely on behalf of Republican candidates during the upcoming election cycle. The Chamber’s nearly $8 million in ad spending thus far makes it the biggest spender of any interest group.

Smith notes that, in the past, News Corp. had — like ABC parent company Disney and NBC parent company GE — spread its donations more evenly across both political parties:

Murdoch’s political leanings were considered to be pragmatic rather than strictly ideological. Although known as a conservative, he turned his right-leaning British papers behind Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair and flirted with support for Senator Hillary Clinton when she was a Democratic presidential candidate. But his political giving have been sharply aligned with the Republican Party this year.

“The events of the last two or three months show us that this is an issue that should be looked at seriously,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Thursday at a Senate hearing on Comcast Corp.’s proposed deal to acquire control of General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal. “It’s certainly something that we’ll be looking into and look at whether this framework makes sense or whether reforms may be necessary.”

But the feds don’t know if they have the authority to protect consumers, and local governments have often been loathe to do anything about cable companies’ monopolistic practices. With a major cable provider’s acquisition of a network, however, it could be an increasingly frequent access problem for cable consumers.

Take this latest one Sam Stein reports on for The Huffington Post, showing that 77 percent of Americans think it’s important to have a “choice” between government-run health insurance and private coverage.  That poll comes from Survey USA. Meanwhile, Rasmussen Reports  found just 34 percent of Americans support a health care reform plan without a public option. Okay — so far, so good.

So how is it that Rasmussen’s last poll on health care reform found that only 42 percent of voters supported the Democrats’ proposed health reform plan, when that plan still clearly included a “public option”? Back then (last week), the whole Democratic proposal for health reform was sinking, leading President Obama and some members of his administration to start backing away from the government-run option and proclaiming their newfound flexibility.

Well, that Rasmussen poll referred to the Obama plan as simply “the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and the congressional Democrats.” It seems significant that none of the Rasmussen questions included the word “choice” in them. And as pollsters for NBC found earlier this week, without the word “choice,” only 43 percent of the public favored “creating a public health care plan administered by the federal government that would compete directly with private health insurance companies.”

Meanwhile, another Rasmussen poll earlier this month found that “51% of the nation’s voters fear the federal government more than private insurance companies.” I guess that’s when they’re not offered a “choice” between the two.

If this confirms anything, it may be that Americans just don’t like to commit. MoveOn.org, which commissioned the SurveyUSA poll and supports the public option, was wise to that.

Still, as Stein notes, when read an actual description of the president’s health care plan (when it still included the public option), 51 percent of SurveyUSA respondents said they “favored” the approach; 43 percent opposed it. Asked the same question by NBC and the Wall Street Journal, 53 percent of respondents said they favored the president’s plan, and 43 percent opposed it.

The highlight is probably a clip from David Letterman’s show intended to prove that the teleprompter that “late night comics” have noticed this non-story:

Critics are now criticizing his overuse of the teleprompter. [Audience laughs, Letterman throws his hands up.] OK. Maybe he should think about stepping down.

That’s a joke about the coverage, not about the president.