I ran across this at TPM this morning and was glad to see it. My 84 year old Mom lives with me. She’s been a registered Republican forever. This past year she switched parties. She received one of these DVDs. I explained to her what it was. It’s in the garbage.

From TPM:

We’ve finally gotten to speak with the people behind the mass distribution of Obsession, a DVD warning viewers of the threats of radical Islam. And they’re actually claiming that their mailing of the DVD to millions of households in swing states, and paying to have it inserted in local papers in places like Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, is not an attempt to sway voters in swing states.

And get this: They’re saying the swing-state focus is simply an effort to get the attention of reporters in swing states, because the media is heavily focused on swing states and if they distributed the DVD in non-swing states it wouldn’t get any attention.

The movie is being distributed by Clarion Fund, a right-wing group founded by filmmaker Raphael Shore, in partnership with the Endowment for Middle East Truth. Since these organizations are 501(c)(3) non-profits, it would be illegal for them to use the DVD as an express effort to win people’s votes — but they can embark on educational campaigns.

Nonetheless, this “educational campaign” — which would seem to be helpful to John McCain — is heavily focused on swing states. Why?

“If we were to distribute only in Hawaii and Maine, the press would be like, ‘Look we’re in Pennsylvania, we’re in Florida, we’re not covering something in Hawaii now,’” said Gregory Ross, Clarion Fund spokesman, in an interview with Election Central.

Ross explained. “So to capture the press and get interviews just like you’re calling me, that why we’re sending it to the swing states.”

“We do not consider this electioneering,” Ross added, “because we’re not telling anyone how to vote.”

Still, Ross appeared to accidentally concede that politics might be behind the campaign.

In a reference to the Endowment for Middle East Truth, which is helping push the DVD, Ross said: “They use our movie Obsession as a vehicle to help foster political — well I should say, discussion in general.”