The post-Labor Day political ad blitz is now officially underway, with Super PACs and political party groups taking the lead (but with the presidential candidates not far behind).
A sampling from the current crop:
• Gary Bauer: Obama Agenda Is Shotgun Wedding of Gays and America
An outfit called Campaign for American Values says there’s a sinister plot afoot to promote gay marriage.
From BuzzFeed:
A new ad from the Campaign for American Values SuperPAC’s advertisement claims that President Obama is trying “to force gay marriage on the country.” The couple in the ad say that isn’t the “change” they voted for, a claim that overstates Obama’s position on the issue.
The ad, was first reported by by New York Observer‘s Politicker which tied the ad to Gary Bauer, the evangelical political leader.
The spot:
According to Politicker, the ad only ran in North Carolina during the Democratic National Convention, but don’t be surprised if it rears its ugly (not to mention dreadfully acted) head again before Election Day.
• American Crossroads: Obama Driving US in Reverse
American Crossroads, the Super PAC run by former House of Bush consigliere Karl Rove, has launched a 10-day, $6.6 million ad campaign whacking Pres. Obama on his economic record (via The Hill):
The . . . ad, titled “Forward?” features details about the sluggish economic recovery, including the number of Americans — 23 million — without full-time work, over clips of suffering families. It also includes shots at Obama’s healthcare reform law, which is referred to as “a new tax on middle-class families,” a common Republican refrain, and the debt incurred during Obama’s tenure as president.
“Is that really forward, or backward?” the ad asks at the end.
The spot:
One thing’s for sure: Karl Rove never backs up.
• Americans for Prosperity: Obamacare’s Not Healthy
Here’s yet another deep-pockets PAC taking a ($6.2 million) shot at the Obama administration.
From the Huffington Post:
Americans for Prosperity, the free-market group backed by millions from the Koch brothers, are recycling an anti-public health care ad they ran in 2009 that was thoroughly trashed at the time for its loose interpretation of fact.
You can read the whole story – and see the ad – at HuffPost. The hardworking staff doesn’t want to give the spot any more exposure than it’s gotten
• For RNC, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (without Screwing Up)
A new ad from the Republican National Committee features a young woman dumping Barack Obama (via Politico’s Playbook):
Yeah, just one problem: The gal doing the breaking up with the cardboard cut-out of Obama is actually . . . wait for it . . . RNC Director of Hispanic Outreach Bettina Inclan.
From BuzzFeed:
If Inclan voted for Obama in 2008 she did so privately while publicly supporting Republicans, as Rep. Thad McCotter’s communications director and then a regional Victory director for John McCain’s campaign.
Inclan made waves in May when she declared on an RNC conference call regarding Romney that “As a candidate, to my understanding, he’s still deciding what his position on immigration is.” RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski quickly walked the comments back, saying “We never said the governor is still deciding on immigration — I want to make sure we are exponentially clear.”
Uh-huh. One thing is sure “exponentially clear”: The RNC is the gang that couldn’t shoot (an ad) straight.
