Gomez Calls Markey 'Pond Scum' For Image In Campaign Ad
BEDFORD (CBS) – Gabriel Gomez did not apologize Friday for calling Rep. Ed Markey "pond scum."
Gomez, a Republican running against the Democratic congressman for the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts, is upset with Markey's latest campaign ad.
The spot blasts Gomez for criticizing President Obama's release of information about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
An image of Gomez appears next to photos of bin Laden in the commercial.
"I've got four young kids, and they gotta sit there and they gotta see an ad with their dad - who served honorably, talk to anybody I served with - whether as a pilot or as a SEAL, anybody I worked with. And for him to be as dirty and low - pond scum - to like to put me up next to bin Laden, he's just gotta be called what he is," Gomez told a reporter at the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce Thursday.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports
Markey Reponds To Gomez Comment
When asked about Gomez calling him "pond scum," Markey said at an event Friday he was not going to engage in "name calling."
"I'm going to continue to focus on the issues that affect the families of our country. I think that a lot of this is just an attempt to distract," Markey said.
Send: Your Questions For Markey-Gomez Debate
Talking to reporters outside a Chamber of Commerce meeting in Bedford Friday, Gomez didn't back down.
"I guess I could've gone worse and called him 'congressman'," Gomez said while laughing.
"The ad's very offensive and it is a new low."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports
Gomez Calls Markey Pond Scum
Gomez has said he wouldn't go negative in the campaign, but he was asked Friday if the "pond scum" comment changed that.
"I don't have to go negative and if I really wanted to go negative I would have called him 'Congressman," Gomez said.
Markey and Gomez will debate live in the WBZ-TV studios Wednesday June 5 with questions from Jon Keller and a Boston Globe reporter. You can watch it live on WBZ-TV, CBSBoston.com, boston.com, bostonglobe.com, or hear it live on WBZ-AM NewsRadio 1030.
