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
11:43 AM PDT 10/27/2012 by Tina Daunt
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.
STORY: Brad Pitt's Mother Pens Anti-Gay, Anti-Obama Letter to Local Newspaper
"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.
PHOTOS: 10 Presidents and Their Hollywood Pals
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.
