Tag Archives: ad

TN GOP Welcomes President with Obama-bashing ad; Demos Bash GOP

Tennessee Republicans have a greeting for Democratic President Barack Obama’s visit to Chattanooga on Tuesday, reports the Chattanooga TFP — an ad touting what they say are the state’s strides under GOP leadership.

“Welcome to Chattanooga, Mr. President — welcome to America,” says the ad, which the state Republican Party says it plans to run on local television stations starting today. “We’re succeeding in Tennessee, not because of your liberal policies but in spite of them.”

Over images of Tennessee, including an aerial shot of the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, a narrator says the state was fourth in job creation nationwide, in the top five for business and the third “freest,” “thanks to Republican leadership.”

“We’re a right-to-work state relying on the hard work of individuals, not unions,” the narrator continues. “Unlike Washington, we’ve got the lowest debt of any state in the nation.”

Obama is scheduled to speak Tuesday at Amazon’s giant distribution center in the Enterprise South industrial park, near the VW plant.

State Rep. JoAnne Favors, D-Chattanooga, noted the state’s successful recruitment of both Amazon and Volkswagen came from a collaborative effort between then-Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, and local officials, including then-Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey, a Republican. The state, county and Chattanooga all put up substantial cash and tax incentives.

Favors said she’s “elated” over Obama’s visit and criticized both the state GOP and U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., who on Friday put out a mock postcard welcoming Obama to Chattanooga and criticizing him.

“The president has a lot of courage to come to this hostile environment,” Favors said. “But the majority of people are pleased about it.”

She said some of the criticism “gives us a reputation for being a racist state and that’s wrong.” The narration concludes over a shot of downtown Chattanooga with Lookout Mountain in the background.
“Maybe you can learn a thing or two while you’re here, Mr. President. This is what America should look like,” the narrator says.

Party Executive Director Brent Leatherwood wouldn’t say how much Republicans plan to spend on running the ad.

Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Brandon Puttbrese took aim at Republicans Sunday.
“The real record of [Gov.] Bill Haslam and the Republican majority is soaring unemployment, falling workers’ wages and multimillion-dollar state contracts for old business partners and well-connected cronies,” he said. “I doubt the millions of Tennesseans who work multiple jobs and still struggle to get by are impressed by this phony attempt to sell Republicans’ failed top-down agenda.”

Rand Paul Hasn’t Endorsed Lamar Alexander

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Aides to Sen. Rand Paul said the Kentucky Republican’s participation in Sen. Lamar Alexander’s campaign ad should not be construed as an endorsement for a third term in the Senate, reports Chris Carroll.
Paul, a tea party favorite who praises Alexander in the Volunteer State Republican’s statewide ads, said through a spokesman his remarks should be viewed in a very narrow context.
“The footage that Sen. Alexander’s campaign is using is from a public press conference in regards to a bill they both cosponsored,” spokesman Sergio Gor said. “At this time Senator Paul has not made an endorsement in this race.”
Viewed in a broader light, Paul’s actions belie his statement in the ad that “Nobody wants to say no to Lamar Alexander.
In fact, Paul opposed Alexander on three recent, high-profile votes: the “fiscal cliff” measure, an Internet sales tax bill and immigration reform.
Alexander voted for all three, angering some tea party activists.
Gor and Paul chief of staff Doug Stafford said the former Bowling Green ophthalmologist has not decided whether he’ll endorse Alexander or anyone in Tennessee’s 2014 Senate race.
To date, Alexander has not drawn a GOP primary challenger. But conservative opposition groups, including one called “Beat Lamar,” have sprung up across Tennessee. Lately, they’ve cited Alexander’s immigration vote as a reason to bring him home from Washington.
Initial reports about the ad, which deals with a bill fighting fishing restrictions, highlighted Paul’s presence and its effect on Alexander’s political future. An article in The Hill newspaper cites an unnamed Alexander campaign aide saying, “Paul’s inclusion in the video is designed to boost Alexander’s credibility among the grassroots Tea Party activists.”
But in a Friday phone interview, Alexander himself cautioned against “making more or less of the ad than there is.”
“I know how to run an endorsement ad, and this was not an endorsement ad,” Alexander said. “I’ve run into several people who saw the ad, liked it and understood it was about fishing.”

Alexander TV Ad: Fishing saved and Rand Paul Can’t Say No to Lamar!

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Lamar Alexander’s first ads of his re-election campaign feature fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a tea party favorite from neighboring Kentucky.
The Alexander campaign announced Friday it has bought $180,000 worth of ads to run over two weeks on broadcast and cable television and on the radio.
The ads highlight Alexander’s successful effort to place a moratorium on an Army Corps of Engineers plan to erect barriers to prevent people from fishing below dams on the Cumberland River. (It was, says Alexander in the radio version, “one of the most extreme cases of government overreach in history.”)
The spot includes video of Paul saying: “Nobody wants to say no to Lamar Alexander.”
Alexander’s campaign had $1.8 million on hand through the first quarter of the year. While some tea party groups have grumbled about a third term for Alexander, no Republican challenger has emerged so far.
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Note 1: Politico says Alexander collected $2 million in second quarter fundraising and has some details on the ad, HERE.
Note 2: The Alexander campaign news release, with links to the radio and TV versions of the ad, is below.

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Ad Labels Jonesborough as Johnson City

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JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (AP) — Some Jonesborough residents are upset over an advertisement in the March issue of Southern Living magazine that features a photograph of their city with the words “Start Your Adventure in Johnson City.”
The advertisement was placed by the Johnson City-Jonesborough-Washington County Chamber of Commerce, and “Start Your Adventure in Johnson City” is the chamber’s slogan.
Chamber President and CEO Gary Mabrey told the Johnson City Press (http://bit.ly/10Bjxrc) said the group’s national ads often feature sites outside of Johnson City, such as the Gray Fossil Site.
“I see it as advertising this community,” he said. “I see it as Johnson City advertising a community and all that we have to offer and all that we offer around us.”
But Jonesborough resident and business owner Steve Cook said he felt it was almost false advertising. He said Jonesborough is attractive and has a lot going on but not given any credit by the chamber.
“We just thought it was real strange that they would post that, and then they come down here and want businesses to join their Chamber … and they give you a sticker that says ‘Start Your Adventure in Johnson City,'” he said. “I don’t think so.

TEA Launches Ad Campaign Against Voucher Bill

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By Lucas Johnson, Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to create a school voucher program in Tennessee continued its progression in the House on Tuesday as the state’s largest teachers’ union mounted an ad campaign seeking to defeat the measure.
The legislation carried by Republican Rep. Bill Dunn of Knoxville was approved 8-4 in the House Government Operations Committee and sent to the House Finance Committee.
The legislation, called the “Tennessee Choice and Opportunity Scholarship Act,” would limit the program to 5,000 students in failing schools in the academic year that begins in August and grow to 20,000 by 2016.
A competing Republican-sponsored measure seeks to broaden the number of students by not limiting participation to low-performing schools, and several special interest groups have spent millions of dollars on ads in support of such a proposal.
However, the Tennessee Education Association has shot back with an ad of its own denouncing voucher initiatives altogether.
The cost of the TEA ad — roughly $40,000 — pales in comparison to the amount of money being spent by special interest groups. But TEA chief lobbyist Jim Wrye said the group is hoping to draw more money to develop more ads.

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Democratic Super PAC Slams DesJarlais in $100K TV Buy

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A Democratic super PAC has jumped into the Tennessee 4th Congressional District race with an ad slamming Republican U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais over revelations that he once had sex with a patient and encouraged her to seek an abortion, reports Andy Sher.
The House Majority PAC is spending”more than” $100,000 in the campaign and it is the first evidence that Democrats see Jasper’s DesJarlais, who has campaigned as being anti-abortion, as being vulnerable in his contest with Democrat Eric Stewart.
The group’s ad, “Trust,” begins airing this evening. “Trust and faith,” it says. “As a doctor, Scott DesJarlais earned his patients’ trust.” The ad then cuts to extensive news coverage of the abortion controversy.
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View the House Majority ad HERE.
“Scott DesJarlais’ incredible hypocrisy is just staggering,” said Alixandria Lapp, executive director of House Majority PAC, which is linked to House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, in a statement. “Tennesseans deserve better than Scott DesJarlais, for whom touting the values of trust and faith was nothing more than lip service.”
DesJarlais’ campaign issued a statement charging Stewart “has tried to run from his strong backing of Barack Obama and Obamacare throughout this campaign by pushing out recycled, 12-year-old garbage to keep from talking about his support of liberal policies that are killing jobs in Tennessee.”
“His out-of-state, liberal attack team that works hand in hand with Obama is now trying to hijack this race from Tennesseans — but they are too smart to fall for that.”
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Note: The Tennessee Democratic Party, meanwhile, has a web video that is being passed around on the Internet, also bashing DesJarlais. It is HERE.
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Note2: DesJarlais is currently up with an ad attacking Stewart for thinking that Obamacare” is “great,” Prior post HERE. The Tennessee Journal says the current DesJarlais ad buy is for $250,000.

DCCC Upgrades Stewart; DesJarlais TV Ad Attacks Him

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Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais is slamming Democratic rival Eric Stewart on “Obamacare” in a new television ad, but the underfunded Stewart’s fortunes may be in for a substantial change, reports Andy Sher.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Thursday switched Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District to its “red to blue” category, a designation indicating Democrats think it’s a winnable seat and intend to devote resources to Stewart’s battle with the Jasper physician.
Stewart announced the move Thursday in an email to supporters, saying he has “more good news” after his campaign on Wednesday released an internal poll that Stewart says shows him in a “dead heat” with DesJarlais.
… DesJarlais enjoys a huge cash-on-hand advantage over Stewart, a state senator from Winchester, and is currently pounding him in television ads over what he says is Stewart’s support of “Obamacare.” (View the ad HERE.)
…(The ad accuses Stewart) of calling the federal Affordable Care Act “great.”
“Great,” a woman announcer says, “a word used to describe a quiet moment of fishing, a [UT] Vols win, a plate of barbecue. But great is how Eric Stewart describes Obamacare. Bureaucrat between patient and doctor — great. $700 billion in Medicare cuts — great. … There are a lot of great things in Tennessee, but Eric Stewart and Obamacare are not one of them.”
The ad cites a Times Free Press article from this summer in which Stewart said repeal of the law would kill popular provisions such as one that fills in a gap in Medicare drug coverage for seniors known as the “doughnut hole.”
Repeal, Stewart said, also would allow insurance companies to continue denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions and parents wouldn’t be allowed to keep their children on their plans until age 26.
“Given all those great things that are in it, no, I wouldn’t vote to repeal it,” Stewart said. “Now, it still needs some work. … What we need are leaders who can go up there and do the job they were sent to do and that’s work together and solve the problems.”

Mayfield Ad Attacks Fleischman’s Voting Record

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Three weeks after promising to abstain from “negative” campaign advertising, Scottie Mayfield this week launched an attack ad condemning U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann’s voting record — a record Mayfield praised as recently as May.
Further from Chris Carroll:
On July 5, after warning on Twitter “that we’ll be attacked on TV soon,” Mayfield spokesman Joe Hendrix told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that “Scottie committed to not going negative in any way.”
But Mayfield is the first 3rd Congressional District candidate to use television to target a rival, and opponents say the dairy executive’s latest ad proves he broke a campaign pledge to stay positive.
“This is what happens when a desperate campaign sees the race starting to slip away,” Fleischmann campaign spokesman Jordan Powell said.
Hendrix indicated the ad was “the truth.”
“Mr. Fleischmann is attacking Scottie instead of addressing the facts,” he said.
As sinister music plays over black-and-white video of President Barack Obama, the Mayfield ad’s unseen female narrator notes that “our congressman voted one out of four times with Obama.”
There’s more to the story. The ad’s “one out of four” claim is based on a Congressional Quarterly study in CQ Weekly that examined 2011 House votes “on which the president took a clear position.” According to the study, Obama took a clear position on 95 House votes in 2011. The House voted 945 times that year.
On those 95 votes, Fleischmann sided with the president 24 percent of the time. Other prominent conservatives had similar scores. U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., each voted with Obama 26 percent of the time, according to the study.
Fleischmann’s 24 percent tied with U.S. Reps. Diane Black and Marsha Blackburn, both Tennessee Republicans.
House Republicans, known for stalling much of the president’s agenda, averaged a score of 22 percent overall.
That’s tied with Republican cooperation during Democrat Bill Clinton’s administration. It’s the lowest cooperation rate Republicans have had with any president since Eisenhower in 1954, the study said

Ad Slams Haslam, But Many in GOP Won’t Join in

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Gov. Bill Haslam met with prominent Williamson County Republicans last week, not long after the Williamson County Republican Party adopted a resolution criticizing him for the hiring of a Muslim in the Department of Economic and Community Development.
Haslam said the critics don’t deserve much of his attention, reports The Tennessean.
“I think that probably speaks to a pretty small survey of Republicans here,” Haslam said of the Williamson County Republican Party’s jabs.
Last week, Haslam received more than a handful of resolutions adopted by county-level Republican offices across the state skewering him for employing gay, Muslim and Democratic workers. In Williamson County, where Haslam received 79 percent of the vote in the 2010 general election, local GOP officials focused on Samar Ali, a Muslim-American attorney in the Department of Economic and Community Development.
On Friday, in a full-page advertisement in The Tennessean, a strongly worded letter to the governor warned him not to ignore their message. The ad was paid for by the Tennessee chapter of the 912 Project and championed the Williamson County Republican Party, among others, for having the courage to “break ranks” with party loyalists.
“We are not afraid and we won’t be intimidated,” the ad stated. “We declare our intentions to reclaim what is rightfully and Constitutionally ours, given by God and won through the blood of Americans. As of today, the choice is still in your hands. Choose the way of common sense while that option is still available.”
Some Republicans here are politely distancing themselves from the leadership of the party’s local chapter, being careful not to fuel further political infighting.
“I think the Republicans need to get on the same page,” Jack Walton, chairman of the county commission, said. “There’s a divide there and we need to have a summit or something.”
…It remains to be seen whether political relationships will be tested by this incident. Clearly, however, politicians are already being careful not to speak too forcefully for fear of alienating potential voters. Rep. Glen Casada said he is interested in learning more about local party members’ concerns, but also said he has no reason to suspect Haslam hired a woman bent on foisting Shariah law onto the state.
“On the surface, I don’t feel an enmity to her hire,” Casada said of the GOP criticisms. “My question is, does anyone want to implement anything that’s anti-American, and Shariah law is anti-American.”
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Note: There seems to be little sentiment for adopting Haslam-critical resolutions in Sevier County circles, nor in Hamilton County.

A Bipartisan Campaign Ad (well, kinda, sorta)

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A hint of bi-partisanship has emerged in one Tennessee congressional race, reports WPLN – albeit unspoken. Rep. Diane Black’s latest campaign ad refers to legislation introduced by a neighboring Democrat.
Walking toward the camera on a factory floor, Rep. Black of Gallatin describes her frustration at Congress for not passing a budget in three years.
“I argued. I begged. I even got mad. Now I’ve found the answer – cut their pay.”
The first-term Republican says her plan would cut the pay of lawmakers when they miss budget deadlines.
“Her plan” was originally introduced by Nashville Congressman Jim Cooper as the “No Budget, No Pay Act.” Black is now a co-sponsor, and Cooper is nothing but complimentary of his Republican colleague.
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
A spokesperson from Black’s campaign says “she’ll work with whomever” wants to balance the federal budget. Cooper says if more Republicans get behind his plan, it might actually have a chance of passing.