It's tough to say who are the bigger scumbags -- political propagandists or tabloid writers. Here we have the unfortunate marriage of the two. Under a headline that quotes from the National Enquirer "How Brad and Angie are helping Mitt Win" a brief post notes that Romney's "secret weapons" are not "Obama boosters" Brad and Angelina but their parents. It then reprints a tabloid claim that Angelina complained to Brad about his Mom's letter to the editor and quotes "Angie's Dad and a big fan of Mitt and Ann Romney" as he came to Jane Pitt's defense.
It's nothing more than a flimsy excuse to put their picture on the cover. But it will probably get a few people to open the insert instead of tossing it outright and that was no doubt their plan.
From THR
Romney Backers Feature Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie 'Family Feud' in Campaign Mag
The publication also dishes on how the White House allegedly snubbed Oprah Winfrey's offer to help the first lady with her healthy kids initiative.
Mitt Romney’s backers may once have derided President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign for its frequent reliance on celebrities, but now that push has come to shove, the GOP candidates’ allies have decided to play the Hollywood card.
This weekend, readers of newspapers across the contested swing states will find a glossy, 12-page color magazine insert called, MittZine and it uses a good dose of celebrity dish to persuade voters to cast their ballot for Romney. In tried and true tabloid fashion, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are on the cover with a headline reading “Political Family Feud.” Inside are details from "gossip mags" about how Pitt’s mother had upset Jolie by writing an anti-Obama letter to her local Midwestern newspaper. The actresses' father, Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight—a longtime conservative stalwart—came to Mrs. Pitt’s defense.
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"Gossip mags say Angie complained to Brad about his mother's outspoken conservatism," according to the story in MittZine. "Voight has defended Mrs. Pitt's right to speak her mind, and attacked the media for unduly criticizing a 'very honorable and intelligent' Mitt Romney."
The cannily retro magazine also includes a recitation of stories alleging the White House snubbed Oprah Winfrey when she offered to help First Lady Michelle Obama with her healthy kids initiative.
"When Oprah offered a TV program to aid Michele's [sic] fight against childhood obesity, Oprah received a curt reply: 'This wouldn't fit into the First Lady's plans,'" dished MittZine.
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The professionally produced magazine also is filled with stories of Romney is heroic and humanizing roles—helping a Bain Capital colleague to find a runaway child and pitching in to save a sinking pleasure boat on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.
MittZine is the brainchild of one of the more active pro-Romney super PAC’s, Ending Spending Action Fund, which is run by Joe Ricketts, founder of Ameritrade. He has pumped $12 million of his own money into the fund, which up until now was best known for producing television commercials in which former Obama voters explained why they’ve switched to Romney.
Ricketts’ PAC spent slightly more than $1 million to print and distribute 4.5 million copies of MittZine, which is being delivered inside leading newspapers across the swing states this weekend.
