Posted on 07/13/2006 6:16:59 PM PDT by Stoat
WASHINGTON (ap) _ Republicans are howling over a Democratic political Web site ad that displays flag-draped coffins and a fake police mug shot of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, arguing that the ad politicizes war casualties and is an insult to the families of the troops killed in Iraq.
The 75-second ad by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee begins with a somber musical score and images of war, high gas prices, the coffins, pollution, breached levees, followed by pictures of Texas Republican DeLay, disgraced GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
"Washington Republicans have sold Americans out," a banner states. "American families are paying the price."
The National Republican Congressional Committee promptly gathered more than a dozen GOP members of Congress, many of them former service members, to denounce the ad and call on Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the DCCC chairman, to apologize.
"For the Democrats, everything is about politics," said Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., chairman of the Republican campaign committee. "This crosses the line."
Reynolds noted that Emanuel has on occasion appeared on the House floor to remember fallen soldiers by reading their names into the Congressional Record. "It takes a galling level of smug self-righteousness for Rahm Emanuel to invoke our honored dead one day and put their coffins in an ad the next."
The outrage is reminiscent of Democratic complaints in 2004 when President Bush's campaign launched an ad that included an image of firefighters carrying a flag-draped coffin from the ruins of the World Trade Center.
"It was despicable when the Republicans used the photos of 9/11 for political purposes. Was that despicable?" House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said to reporters Thursday. "I think it is despicable that young peoples' lives are being lost more than 2,500. Republicans are in denial about that. Yet they talk about politicizing war."
But at least one Democrat, Rep. John Spratt, R-S.C., called on Emanuel to take the ad down, specifically objecting to images of coffins and of a helmet draped over the butt of a rifle, the sign of a fallen soldier. "I strongly recommend that you pull this ad and delete both of these clips before running it again," Spratt wrote in a letter to Emanuel.
Spratt is the second ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and faces his most difficult re-election in 10 years.
The Democratic ad is not all doom and gloom. After about 30 seconds, the music makes an abrupt upbeat shift and the images change. A helicopter pilot offers a thumbs up. Windmills stretch out across the landscape. Relief workers put up new walls. Smiling Democratic leaders replace the scowling Republicans. "But America is strong enough to change," the ad states.
It ends with a still shot of Bill Clinton beaming with his arms outstretched, a curious counterpoint to the ad's title: "America needs a new direction."
'Windmills stretch out across the landscape'
Surely not stretched out across Kerry & Kennedy's landscape - we wouldn't want to spoil their views of the ocean or anything like that.
Pretty interesting about the fake mug shot. I thought that was fake when I watched it. Democrats have to put fake stuff in their adds. Very interesting.
CBS thinks we are "howling"?
Personally I'm popping champagne corks in celebration of their loathsome ads. We can't buy these commercials ourselves - we rely on their stupidity to make @sses of themselves.
Happy November elections!
Well, at least it's only Clinton's arms that are outstretched.
Hannity is getting ready to talk about this...bump!
Notice that we're "howling," but when Bush ran those post 9/11 commercials during the 2004 campaign & RNC convention the media didn't mention the howling from the Dims and liberals.
BUMP
Now ya done it.
When Rush discussed his Customs kerfluffle a couple of weeks ago and said that he wouldn't be travelling overseas for awhile, he said that he had a feeling that the 2006 and particularly the 2008 elections would be "the most vicious of our lifetimes".
I have a feeling that this ad will be absolutely nothing remarkable and an example of great courtesy, professionalism and graciousness when compared with what is likely coming in the months and years ahead.
"The outrage is reminiscent of Democratic complaints in 2004 when President Bush's campaign launched an ad that included an image of firefighters carrying a flag-draped coffin from the ruins of the World Trade Center"
Someone please tell me when the Bush campaign showed an ad of firefighters pulling a coffin from the ruins of the WTC.
Spratt is a Democrat. Obviously a mistype.
They do energize the base.. and that is what they wanted from this one. But if the opposition sees these ads it energizes the opposition base even more than it energizes their own.
When Republicans see it they get energized. This ad will raise a lot of money for Republicans and it will raise a lot of money for Democrats. That is not a good deal for Democrats.
But even more important it turns off the moderates. It makes them angry and sends them to the opposite party. What is really important is to not respond in kind. Draw attention to the ad. Be appalled by the ad. Be astonished that Democrats would do such a thing.. but do not strike back in kind.
When both parties engage in nasty ads the center is turned off and does not vote. The Gray Davis strategy where he beat Bill Simon was based on taking the moderate vote away from Simon. Davis had lost the moderate vote. But by attacking Simon and then Simon attacking Davis the center was turned off. The normal vote in California was about 10 million people but only 6 million voted in the Simon Davis race.
Had Simon followed Rove's advise and responded to Davis with civil replies Simon would be governor of California. AS long as Democrats self destruct and Republicans reply with positive ads promoting solutions to problems in an honest and fair way, the Democrats use of their nasty approach will produce a disaster for them.
They're not called Dummycrats for nothing.
Note to GOP: try fighting back for a change.
What's next for the Democrats ?
Casket Cam ?
They'll probably run video from inside a military coffin in their next commercial .
Since the Democrats love dead soldiers so much,
they should also show pictures of the dismembered and beheaded Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25 and Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23.
I saw the pictures of the 'mug shots' but I wasn't listening to the TV at the time. I remember thinking that the face front picture didn't look like the one we all saw at the time.
What's the story, and if they are fake, how in he** do they think they can get away with it?
Lies and fraud have been an integral part of the Democrat playbook for decades now, in case you haven't noticed.
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