Media blitz boosts pro-life politicos

When two Pasadena attorneys learned that certain pro-life Maryland legislators were being targeted for defeat in the November 5 elections, they organized‹and paid for‹a massive media campaign that led instead to their victory.

"We determined there were going to be a lot of close races, and [State] Senate Majority Leader Mike Miller was targeting about nine or ten strong pro-lifers‹like [State Senators] Alex Mooney, Andy Harris and Nancy Jacobs," Steve Peroutka told Defend Life.

Steve and his brother Mike, who make up the law firm Peroutka & Peroutka, decided to focus their ad campaign not on changing anyone's mind about abortion, but on getting voters who were already pro-life out to the polls.

STEVE PEROUTKA

"We were preaching to the choir," Steve explains.

Helping them put the campaign together were Chris Trevane, owner of Terra Productions Recording Studios, and Wayne Fowler, of Fowler Advertising.

Chris created the "Vote Pro-Life" TV spots at no charge.

"That got my juices going!" says Steve.

"Wayne negotiated the best deals with Comcast, TV and radio stations, and newspapers. He was able to get us a lot of bang for the buck. He also wrote some of the ads, and helped syncronize when they ran."

In the weeks before the election, the Peroutkas blanketed the state with ads urging pro-lifers to get out and vote.

They aired 192 TV spots and ran ads in the Washington Post, the Washington Times, The Sun, the Annapolis Capitol, The Catholic Review and many of the smaller newspapers.

Ads also ran on radio stations WBAL, WCBM, WLIF and WNAV.

"For the last five days before the election, we were on every hour from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on all the radio statsions," says Steve.

They spent $87,000 of their own money.

"God has given me the ability to do it," says Steve; "I feel like it's not my money, it's God's money.

"And Mike Miller was spending hundreds of thousands to beat these guys. I figured it was the least we could do."

After the last hurrah had been shouted and the votes were counted, the Peroutkas sniffed the sweet smell of success: almost all of their candidates had won.

Herb McMillian, for example, who ran in a tight race for delegate in District 30, in Annapolis, won by only about 400 votes, out of over 60,000 votes cast.

"We had been all over WNAV in Annapolis, The Sun and the Capitol," says Steve. "We feel we made a difference.

"Looks like we beat Mike Miller's hundreds of thousands with our $87,000. But we had God on our side!"

Tune in to Steve Peroutka every Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. on WNAV radio, 1430 AM (or on WNAV.com), for pro-life talk and guests.