Richmond, VA - In the wake of last week's announcement that Independence Virginia, a super PAC organized purely to benefit George Allen's Senate campaign, had solicited and received a $10,000 donation from Wyoming resident Foster Friess, Tim Kaine issued the following statement:
"I challenged George Allen to conduct the 2012 Senate campaign without any third party involvement and he refused. That is unfortunate and I pledge, if elected, to reform our nation's campaign laws to reduce the influence of secret money and super PAC donations.
"But, we should all agree that out-of-state contributions from individuals like Foster Friess should have no influence in this race. Mr. Friess has spoken on the need for 'more intolerance.' He suggested that President Obama should invest in a 'bulletproof teleprompter.' And, in an interview with Andrea Mitchell in February of this year, he ridiculed the need for contraception, suggesting that women just put aspirin between their knees.
"I call on George Allen to reject the intolerant views of Foster Friess and ask Independence Virginia to return his contribution."
At Pepperdine University Commencement Speech, Friess Urged Students To “Be More Intolerant.” Think Progress reported, “He preached intolerance in a commencement speech at the Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University. ‘Be more intolerant,’ urged Friess to a room full of graduating students in 2007. ‘There’s a group of people—maybe the secular Taliban is a good name for them—who have morphed this idea, that you have to accept my values being every bit as cherished as your values. That’s not tolerance…there are too many things in this world which we sit back and tolerate.’” [Think Progress, 2/11/12]
Foster Friess Said Of Contraception, “[B]ack In My Days, They Used Bayer Aspirin For Contraception. The Gals Put It Between Their Knees…” During an interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC, Friess said, “You know, back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraception. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn’t that costly.” Host Andrea Mitchell interjected, "Excuse me, I’m just trying to catch my breath from that, Mr. Friess, frankly,” she said after a long pause. “Let’s change the subject.” [Politico,2/16/12]
Friess Said Of Obama: “I Hope His Teleprompters Are Bulletproof." The Huffington Post reported, “Wealthy GOP super PAC donor Foster Friess, fresh off announcing a conversion from Rick Santorum's corner to Mitt Romney's, drew a little unwanted attention Wednesday when he used gun imagery to weigh in on the shifting state of the 2012 race. ‘There are a lot of things that haven't been hammered at because Rick and Mitt have been going at each other,’ Friess said during an interview on Fox Business News. ‘Now that they have trained their barrels on President Obama, I hope his teleprompters are bulletproof.’" [Huffington Post, 4/12/12]
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