Tampa Billboards Booked To Jab, Cajole RNC Delegates

Tampa Tribune ^ | August 21, 2012 | Kevin Wiat rowsli

[Iron Munro]

When GOP delegates make their way downtown each day next week, they'll get a reminder that they're holding their quadrennial convention in a city run by Democrats.

A billboard scheduled to go up today on Interstate 275 at Armenia Boulevard welcomes Republicans to a city "Where the mayor and all city council members are Democrats."

It adds, for good measure, "Enjoy our well-run city!"

The billboard was purchased by Ruth's List Florida, a group that works to elect what it describes as progressive women. It's one of a number of organizations – partisan and non-partisan – laying claim to the Tampa area's tallest billboards to grab the attention of the Republican National Convention crowd.

C-Span has bought boards on Interstate 4 and Interstate 275 to promote its gavel-to-gavel coverage of the convention. Other groups promote positions opposing abortion or supporting measures to curb climate change.

In a written statement announcing Ruth's List's billboard, the group's co-founder, Ellis Robinson, drove home its message: "Electing women makes a difference," Robinson said. "Women office holders are also more collaborative in their decision-making – both with colleagues and the public. And Democratic women do this better than anyone."

The Public Notice, a Virginia-based nonprofit, is pushing its own message urging national political leaders to "stop digging" the deep financial hole the country now finds itself in.

Public Notice founder Gretchen Hamel said the group is targeting 10 swing states – Florida included – with its message favoring debt reduction. They're taking out billboards in Charlotte, N.C., aimed at the Democratic National Convention, which opens a week after the RNC.

"Our primary goal is to educate Americans about the policies coming out of D.C. and how they affect them," Hamel said.

Her group wants both political parties to add debt reduction to their party platforms.

Clear Channel Outdoor has seen an increase in politically oriented demand for its advertising space throughout the Tampa region, said spokesman Jim Cullinan. Clear Channel and CBS are the area's two top billboard owners.

Clear Channel is juggling the rush of new customers with existing customers, Cullinan said. Some existing customers are being moved to less high-profile signs. Others are getting additional time to make up for being bumped during the convention, he said.

In at least 15 cases, the company couldn't accommodate RNC-related customers in high-profile locations near the airport and the Tampa Convention Center, Cullinan said.

The company's electronic billboards are popular with political advertisers because they're available on a short-term basis – a week or two instead of the month or more old-fashioned boards usually require.

Clear Channel Outdoor's former corporate sibling, Clear Channel Radio, has close ties to conservative talk-radio stars Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Back and Sean Hannity, but the billboard company doesn't play political favorites, Cullinan said.

"Billboards are not a partisan issue."

[Iron Munro]

TAMPA - Another "well run" democrat ruled city, deep in debt, spending money they don't have and surviving by sucking on the federal teat.

[House Atreides]

Well, Tampa is run by Democrats? That certainly helps explain why Tampa is the largest locale for fraudulent IRS tax refunds. Looks to be about 1/2 Billion dollars for Tampa alone.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/20/us/tax-refund-scam/index.html

Who knows, maybe some of that money stolen from the actual hard-working and tax paying Americans via IRS Refund Fraud helped pay for those billboards. You must be very proud Tampa Democrats.

[Iron Munro]

There have been several stories oflarge, multiple arrests for this type of IRS frauds.
As far as I can recall the culprits have all been Holder’s People.

[red-dawg]

Just goofing around, it was ripe for it.
Maybe some intrepid Florida freeper can climb up there with a can of spray paint?

[Iron Munro]

PERFECT !!!

[agere_contra]

Honestly there’s no need for a photoshop.

The undoctored billboard is a naked display of hubris. Just save a copy of the image now, and when Tampa goes belly-up we can all post the image again. It’ll be hilarious.

[Henry V]

Not enough wealthy suburbs.

[a fool in paradise]

In a written statement announcing Ruth's List's billboard, the group's co-founder, Ellis Robinson, drove home its message: "Electing women makes a difference," Robinson said. "Women office holders are also more collaborative in their decision-making – both with colleagues and the public.

Nancy Pelosi did not collaborate with the GOP on Obamacare. Nancy Pelosi did not collaborate with the public on Obamacare.

She said that the Democrats would have to pass the bill so the public could then learn what was in it.