Moroun steps up propaganda campaign as new bridge inches toward becoming a reality

by: Communications Guru/blogging for Michigan With the possibility of the planned Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) bridge - now known as the New International Trade Crossing (NITC) - between Detroit and Windsor is becoming a reality, Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun is pulling out all the stops in order to keep his monopoly on the busiest commercial border crossing in all of North America.His TV commercials, that the Michigan Truth Squad has debunked, are running almost non-stop, and he hired Faux "news" pundit Dick Morris in April. It seems the only people who are against the DRIC bridge are those paid to be gait it. That includes the Washington, D.C.-based rightwing think tank "Americans for Prosperity" that organized and financed the teabaggers a few years ago. We will never know how much cash the Moroun family donated to them because they do not reveal their donors, but it has to be considerable. In April the AFP sent out glossy, full-color direct-mail pieces and radio ads against three Republican senators who have not taken a position on DRIC. That was true, but now the AFP has targeted at least one State Senator -  Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood, D-Taylor - who is a strong supporter of the DRIC with a bogus mailing telling people he is undecided and call him to tell how your opinion to help him make up his mind. Of course the mailing is filled with so many lies that even the most strident supporter of DRIC would be against the new bridge. Hopgood sponsored the Senate Bill 66 back in January that would create the public-private partnership to build and operate DRIC. The new bridge has the support of all five living Michigan Governors, as well as organized labor, the Big 3 Automakers and the Detroit Chamber of Commerce. Rarely do you get those three to agree on anything, but despite that much bipartisan support, it appears Moroun's money is winning the PR battle. (Continued)

Communications Guru :: Moroun steps up propaganda campaign as new bridge inches toward becoming a reality

U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, points out in an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press today that if the DRIC bridge is not built, those thousands of Michigan jobs will go to other border areas like Buffalo, N.Y. "Not only is it the only bipartisan bridge proposal with the necessary local, state and federal approvals, it also has widespread community, corporate and small business, and political support from the southern state line all the way to the Upper Peninsula," Dingell wrote. The Canadians do not want a new crossing emptying huge semi-trucks into historic downtown Windsor, and even if Moroun did apply for a permit to build a new bridge - which, surprisingly, he hasn't - it's not likely he will get a permit to land his twin span on Canadian soil.The good news is that the Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Randy Richadville, R-Monroe, plans to introduce SBs 410 and 411 that would authorize the construction of the bridge.  The bills are similar to SB 66.