Posted on 10/25/2006 3:03:12 PM PDT by SmithL
The Republican National Committee has pulled from the airways a controversial ad demeaning Senate Democratic nominee Harold Ford Jr.
The RNC apparently intends to replace the ad.
The Senate Republican nominee Bob Corker had asked that the ad be taken down, calling it "tacky."
"We felt like it was tasteless and didn't reflect the kind of campaign we were running," said Corker spokesman Todd Womack.
The ad, called "Who hasn't," began running Friday.
In the ad, a man in sunglasses says of Ford, "So he took money from porn movie producers. Who hasn't?"
The ad continues with a bare-shouldered blond who says she met Ford at a Playboy party. At the end of the ad, she looks into the camera and says, with a wink, "Harold, call me."
Unhappiness with the negative ads filling the airwaves in the Senate race between Corker and Ford surfaced again at the first of two candidate meetings today with the Executive Women's Association in Knoxville.
After a luncheon speech by Corker, Baptist Health System retiree Marty Begalla told the Republican she finds the ads in both campaigns "insulting."
"I do not like what has happened by either campaign," Begalla told the former Chattanooga mayor. "They're personally demeaning and it keeps people away from discussing the issues. Surely the voters can rise above those ads. "
She said the national parties of both candidates are "dumping money on Tennessee. They think we're not smart enough to make up our own minds."
Ford speaks to the group at 5:30 this afternoon.
"It makes Willie Horton look like child's play," said John Geer, a Vanderbilt University political science professor who studies political ads. "I've never before seen an ad that brings up interracial sex — then has that porn industry comment. It's unbelievable."
Horton, who was black, was a Massachusetts murderer who was charged with rape while on a weekend furlough. Republicans used Horton in an attack ad against 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis in an effort make him look soft on crime.
Ford has called on Tennessee stations to stop broadcasting that ad and another that he says is so blatantly false that it violates federal rules for commercials sponsored by non-candidate organizations and could lead to legal action against stations running it.
The ad, called "Shaky," calls Ford "slick" and "smooth" while having a record that is "a little shaky."
Among the ad's contentions are that Ford "voted to recognize gay marriage" and "wants to give the abortion pill to our schoolchildren."
In the letter from Ford's lawyer to television stations, all those claims are declared "blatantly false and misleading."
As for gay marriage, the vote cited by the RNC in documentation for the ad dealt with federal court jurisdiction over lawsuits under the "defense of marriage act" and did not involve recognizing gay marriage. In fact, the letter says, Ford voted twice in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
As for the abortion pill to schoolchildren, the letter says the vote cited had nothing to do with the so-called "morning after" pill that, at the time of the 2000 vote, was not available in the United States.
As in the first ad, "Shaky" also cites contributions from the porn industry. The Ford campaign has acknowledged receiving $3,600 from individuals tied to the X-rated film industry but says the money was immediately returned as soon as those ties were known.
"If this advertisement continues to air, we will pursue all legal avenues available to us," according to the letter.
Whit Adamson, executive director of the Tennessee Broadcasters Association, said the letter will trigger reviews of the ad by stations across the state and each will make its own decision. Adamson said he knew of at least one station, which he declined to name, that had indicated it would refuse to air the ad.
It has been running since Sunday statewide, said Danny Diaz, spokesman for the RNC.
Federal Election Commission figures indicate the RNC is spending about $1.5 million on the two ads. A total of almost $8 million in such "independent expenditures" have now been reported in the current Tennessee U.S. Senate campaign — apparently, a record amount for Tennessee.
The RNC defends both ads and has spurned requests to pull them — including the one from Corker.
Diaz said both ads were "air-tight, 100 percent factually accurate. We look forward to a discussion on it."
He said the first ad raises valid points and has no racial overtones.
Indeed, Diaz said Ford himself had "just lent credibility to the statements in the ad" by acknowledging Tuesday that he had attended a Playboy party at the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., in 2005.
"I was there," said the congressman at a Nashville news conference. "I like football. I like girls. I make no apologies about that."
Ford, however, criticized Corker for not doing enough to get the ad taken off the air.
"If Mr. Corker wanted these ads down, he could get them down," said Ford.
Ford also addressed the RNC ads at a ribbon-cutting for a new veterans nursing home in Knoxville on Tuesday afternoon.
"If he can't convince the Republicans to pull down this offensive, scurrilous, sleazy ad, how can we expect him to stand up for Tennesseans in the U.S. Senate?" Ford said.
The Ford campaign has pointed to close ties between Corker and the RNC, which has had one of its staffers, Camille Anderson, accompanying Corker and serving as his press secretary in recent weeks.
Diaz said, however, that the RNC keeps its "independent expenditures" wing completely separate from the main RNC, which employs himself and Anderson. Under the "fire wall" arrangement, mandated by federal laws, the RNC cannot communicate with the "independent expenditures" section — even though RNC provides the money to finance the ads.
"That's the problem with these independent expenditures," said Todd Womack, spokesman for the Corker campaign. "Apparently, Congressman Ford doesn't understand the rules, even though Democrats have the same thing."
In a statement sent to media Tuesday, the Ford campaign noted RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman said he, too, had no control over the ads during an MSNBC interview. The "Who Hasn't" ad has received considerable national attention, with reports on CNN and newspapers such as The Los Angeles Times — all focusing on perceived racial and sexual overtones.
"The Republican shell game is now plain for everyone to see," said the Ford statement. "This is the classic Washington defense — no one takes responsibility for it, but everyone gets the benefit from it. The hypocrisy is overwhelming."
Federal Election Commission figures available on Tuesday show the RNC has spent $1,519,337 on Ford attack ads. Earlier, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, or NRSC, spent $1,631,032 attacking the Democrat.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, meanwhile, has spent $2,024,702 on ads attacking Corker and $1,923,837 on ads promoting Ford.
Other independent expenditures listed by the FEC include:
You're still waiting for the first time, idiot, because that ad didn't bring it up. YOU did.
If it's the Harold Ford ad, they paid for it but they didn't run it.
Or is there another one? I can't tell the players without a scorecard anymore.
It's amazing how the most effective ads always seem to be offensive to the Rats somehow...
Gareth, The Office, BBC
You know, I saw the video before the kerfuffle aledging racism. Upon looking at the video, after it was pointed out it was racist in nature, I still cannot see racism. The RNC was pointing to his morals and character.....hanging out with Hefner, playmates,....that is not the MO of a southern baptist. That is what they were saying. Now the dems act wounded and conflate the video to mean something it was never meant to mean.
Only problem is he thinks he is Jesus!!!!
DEMS: Hey! Your commercial is effective! Stop it NOW!!!
REPUBLICAN'TS: oooohkaaaaaaay...
Now it looks like the RNC is pulling it because of the racism charges. I probably would have let it run for a few more days, long enough to make it clear that Ford's charges had no impact on the RNC decision.
Exactly.
Just wait for the next one!
> The ad was all about the issues.
Especially the blowzy wench saying, "Call me". What great, big issues *she* had. /s
Somebody that has his email address, ask him what the media would do with the ad, if the bimbo were a black woman, instead of white!
What were they supposed to do? Find an Inuit woman?
Ford plays himself like he's a straight-laced conservative. The Playboy party is possibly-contradictory evidence. Sorry you don't understand that, I suspect Tennesseans did.
Oh, and by the way, Ford also tried to deny he was involved with the Playboy party before he fessed up (because he knew he was caught).
Honesty (or on the other hand a propensity to give Clinton-esque answers) is a highly relevant issue.
Character does count.
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