Americans United to Preserve Marriage, Too Liberal

Americans United to Preserve Marriage is a 527 organization headed by conservative Gary Bauer. (527 is an IRS code for non-profit "issue advocacy" groups organized primarily to affect elections and create candidate-specific attack advertising.)

Bauer has a long resume , heading the Family Research Council, director of the Office of Policy Development and former Domestic Policy Advisor to President Ronald Reagan, failed former Republican presidential candidate, and is now president of an organization simply called American Values.

AUPM created this ad to draw attention to John Kerry's position on gay marriage as a hot-button issue.

Footage from one of Kerry's speeches rolls, with a narrator providing the audio. Headlines echoing the narration and sources for the information also appear on the bottom of the screen, mimicking the style of a news program.

"How liberal is John Kerry?" asks the narrator. "Here are the facts.

John Kerry opposed efforts to stop gay marriage in Massachusetts, even signing a letter supporting it.

And as a U.S. Senator, John Kerry voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman. That's liberal. That's John Kerry.

John Kerry, too liberal for America."

The last frame reads: "Paid for by Americans United to Preserve Marriage and not authorized by any candidate or any candidate's committee."

While Kerry lost the presidential race, the future of the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), and its support from President Bush and Congress, remains uncertain.