Hot Ads: Paul calls Santorum a fake while many more sling mud
Ron Paul uses Bigfoot to call Santorum fake
Welcome to Hot Ads of the week - the latest on the wacky, the wild, the bizarre, the negative, the seldom positive and the most unique campaign ads from the world of politics. Check them out on these pages and then vote for your favorite at the end.
We start today with an ad that made a big splash at Wednesday night's debate where Ron Paul called Rick Santorum a fake.
For most of the campaign, Texas Congressman Ron Paul has been winning hearts of viewers with his creatively hard hitting attack ads aimed at his Republican opponents. He is now turning his focus to Rick Santorum in this ad which takes on Santorum's record as a fiscal conservative.
"Is this dude serious?" asks the announcer with an arrow pointing to a cut out of Santorum. "Fiscal conservative? Really?"
With creative graphics reminiscent of a viral web video, (anyone remember jib jab?) -- Paul's ad goes right at Santorum with tiny fine print backing up each claim with vote records and laws.
"Santorum voted to raise the debt ceiling five times, doubled the size of the department of education," says the announcer over a the video of a large bloated man's belly. "Then supported the biggest entitlement expansion since the 60s," it adds. The announcer doesn't say what - but fine print points to the Medicare "Prescription Drug Act" that expanded prescription drug coverage for seniors, and the video shows the Santorum cutout standing with stacks of paper and the number "$727 Billion" splashed across the screen. "Not groovy" says the announcer over Santorum's head floating over a 60s style tie-dyed background.
"Santorum voted to send billions of our tax dollars to dictators in North Korea and Egypt, and even hooked planned parenthood up with a few million bucks. Rick Santorum, a fiscal conservative? FAKE," says the announcer over a picture of big foot holding a sign that simply says "fake."
Paul has been known for his support among young people and his ads are only helping him. This ad is fresh and entertaining and is definitely not the traditional campaign attack ad.
Hot Ads: Paul calls Santorum a fake while many more sling mud
Dick Lugar slings mud at a mudslinger
Senator Dick Lugar of Indiana is facing a tough Republican challenger in his primary to keep his seat. In this ad, Lugar takes the fight to the negative ads run against him, and in turn is running a negative ad against his opponent.
The ad starts with a serious announcer voice and video of Lugar walking. "Dick Lugar a serious leader" says the announcer before mud is thrown at the screen. "Whoa? Mud, really?," says the announcer.
"Mourdock and his DC cronies are attacking Lugar again? Typical desperate,11 time candidate Richard Mourdock is throwing mud to hide his own record, like Mourdock failing to show up for his taxpayer funded job 66% of the time and proposing a budget so irresponsible, one expert called it 'ridiculous' and 'too goofy for words.' Serious times demand serious leaders, that's Dick Lugar," says the announcer.
Like Rick Santorum's ad last week hitting Mitt Romney for mudslinging negative ads and then hitting Romney for his record, Lugar aims to take the high road but then continues the attack. So this is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that negative ads themselves become the basis for more negative ads.
Hot Ads: Paul calls Santorum a fake while many more sling mud
Romney attacks Santorum for earmarks
Here's a Mitt Romney ad that the campaign doesn't want anyone to know about. Its running the ad in Michigan with little fanfare, but it is a campaign sanctioned negative ad hitting Santorum for earmark spending at a time when earmark spending was not a dirty word.
The ad stars with the image of man with briefcase falling in water. "America is drowning in national debt, yet Rick Santorum supported billions in earmarks," says the announcer.
"I have had a lot of earmarks, in fact, I'm very proud of all the earmarks I put in bills," says Santorum himself, in what looks like a local Pennsylvania television interview from his time in office, no doubt taking credit for money and programs he brought back to his state.
The ad then turns to the "Romney difference."
"Let me tell you how I'll restrict the budget," says Romney himself. "I'm going to eliminate some programs. The easy one to get rid of is Obamacare. The test that I'm going to apply is this program so critical that it makes sense to borrow money from china to pay for it."
This is the usual two-fer -- an attack ad that lays out one opponents stance on an issue only to show contrast with the candidate running the ad. Romney is continuing his attack on Santorum's record in Congress, but like many of the attacks, the context of earmark spending and national debt has changed dramatically in the last few years as the debt has skyrocketed after the recession of 2008. Santorum was in office from 1991 to 2007 and did what most congressmen did at that time, bring federal dollars to their districts.
Hot Ads: Paul calls Santorum a fake while many more sling mud
GOP hits a California Democrat over Solyndra
Hitting the airwaves just as the Valentine's day candy was reduced for quick sale, the National Republican Congressional Committee is on the air against a Democratic incumbent in California, Jerry McNerney, for his and President Obama's ties to the now bankrupt energy company, Solyndra.
Over a pink background and employing the simple imagery of red hearts, the female announcer voice sounds sweet but packs a wallop. "They say money can't buy you love, but don't tell Jerry McNerney. McNerney backed Obama's plan feeding half a billion to Solyndra," she said. As the hearts shoot cupid's arrows at each other, the announcer makes the connection clear: "and Solyndra's big investor, also a big investor in McNerney's campaign. The same investor who raised big money for President Obama. McNerney, Obama, Solyndra, apparently money can buy you love"
The NRCC is running ads against Democrats that it thinks it can beat in the fall election. McNerney is a three term congressman from the Sacramento area.
Hot Ads: Paul calls Santorum a fake while many more sling mud
Spencer Bachus hits Obama's health care law in re-election bid
In this ad, 11-term Republican Congressman Spencer Bachus is on the air hitting President Obama's health care reform law. Bachus barely mentions the fact that he is an incumbent congressman, in part possibly to change the subject after he's reportedly become the target of an investigation into insider trading and ethics violations.
The ad consists simply of Bachus speaking to the camera with graphics of doom and gloom headlines and statistics.
"Obamacare is just the government managing and controlling health care, .....making choices that doctors and patients ought to make," he says. As he says it's a socialist policy, plain and simple, the phrase "radical restructuring" pops on the screen. "It's a bad policy for America and we need to repeal it. It's bad for health care and it's bad for individuals. I'm Spencer Bachus and I approved this message," he says.
The ad also shows that the president's health care law will still be front and center in congressional races this year despite Republicans' failed attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act over the last year and a half. Expect numerous ads in the coming months hitting the same notes as this ad.
Hot Ads: Paul calls Santorum a fake while many more sling mud
Republican colleagues attack each other
Welcome to the consequences of redistricting. In Illinois' newly drawn 16th district, one of the young GOP Representatives elected in 2010 is taking on a 10-term GOP incumbent. The two colleagues Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-IL) are competing for the chance to stay in Congress and this new ad from Kinzinger hits on the familiar reformer versus the Washington insider themes that seem to be effective every cycle, especially during the 2010 election.
"I came to Congress with a new way of doing things," Kinzinger says looking boyish, but confident, as he looks into the camera. "Instead of saying what are we going to spend? I'm part of the new breed of Congressman asking what are we going to cut."
Kinzinger then goes in for the hit linking Manzullo to wasteful Washington spending and President Obama. "Some like my opponent Don Manzullo was a king of earmarks and he voted for failed programs like Obama's Cash for Clunkers."
Illinois Republicans will choose which candidate they prefer on March 20th.
Vote for your favorite of these "Hot Ads" below:
Last week: Santorum and Romney battle on the Michigan airwaves