The Republican National Committee (RNC) released a new Web ad Tuesday suggesting that a key fundraiser for the Obama campaign received insider access and preferential treatment on government contracts, on day two of a GOP attempt to shift the conversation to the president's political donors.
The ad notes that Silicon Valley investor Steve Westly raised half a million dollars for the president's 2008 campaign, and since then, companies he's invested in have received some $500 million in government contracts.
"While middle-class Americans are suffering, President Obama's political pals are 'doing fine' thanks to the billions in taxpayer dollars he has steered their way," said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in a statement. "President Obama proclaims that he's a defender of the middle class, but as millions are struggling to find work, pay their bills and send their kids to college, he's passing out their hard-earned tax dollars to his political cronies."
RNC communications director Sean Spicer also circulated a memo addressed to White House press secretary Jay Carney and Obama campaign traveling press secretary Jen Psaki demanding responses to questions about Westly's companies' contracts.
"Steve Westly would have had many opportunities to lobby for his companies to the Energy secretary himself. Their communications should be released to ensure no such conversations occurred. That is the only way to prove there were no taxpayer-subsidized political kickbacks," Spicer wrote.
The push from the RNC came a day after Mitt Romney looked to turn the page on President Obama’s attacks on his links to Bain Capital with a new line of attack accusing the White House of favoring political donors with government contracts.
In an appearance on Fox News on Monday, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee said the ties between the Obama administration and donors “stinks to high heaven.”
“This is a tough time for the people of America. But if you’re a campaign contractor to Barack Obama, your business may stand to get millions or hundreds of millions in cash from the government,” Romney said. “I think it’s wrong, stinks to high heaven, and I think the administration has to explain how it is they would consider giving money to campaign contributors’ businesses.”
Obama spokeswoman Lis Smith dismissed the accusations in a statement Monday.
"It’s clear that Mitt Romney’s campaign is desperate to avoid answering serious questions about his tenure at Bain Capital, record of investing in companies that were pioneers in outsourcing and investments in foreign tax havens and offshore accounts," said Smith. "But launching a warmed-over and false line of attack that has already been debunked by independent news organizations and fact-checkers won’t help him.”
But the Romney campaign continued its offensive Tuesday, circulating to reporters stories that tied government contracts to Obama donors.
“Life in the Obama economy is difficult for millions of struggling middle-class Americans — but President Obama didn’t make it any easier for more than a thousand workers at Solyndra," said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul in a statement. "While the president’s political allies reaped the benefits of half a billion dollars in taxpayer funds, American workers lost everything. Middle-class families deserve better from their president.”
