August 29, 2006
State Senator asks Chafee Campaign to Renounce NRSC Commercial
The Associated Press reports that State Senator Juan Pichardo has asked the Chafee campaign to renounce the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s latest anti-Laffey ad (available here on YouTube)…
State Sen. Juan Pichardo (D-Providence) sent Chafee a letter dated Friday asking him to renounce the spot.Remember that Mr. Lang’s response is motivated as much by campaign finance anti-coordination regulations as it is by traditional political considerations."The ad's script and imagery are clearly meant to engender fear that, as a group, Hispanic immigrants present a threat to the security of Rhode Island and the nation," wrote Pichardo, a naturalized citizen who emigrated from the Dominican Republic. "I am deeply concerned that as a result, the ad will unfairly create feelings of prejudice and suspicion toward the Hispanic community as a whole."
Chafee described the ad as accurate during a Saturday night debate with Laffey.
But his spokesman Ian Lang referred questions to the NRSC after Pichardo's letter appeared yesterday on a Democratic Web site.
"This is not our ad, we have nothing to do with it," Lang said.
Current campaign law exempts the NRSC’s negative ad from counting as a contribution to the Chafee campaign since it never says "vote for Senator Chafee". If, however, the NRSC had sat down with Senator Chafee to develop a positive ad to help his campaign, the result would have been considered a “coordinated” ad subject to contribution limits. In other words, there’s no limit on how much bad stuff you can throw around about a candidate you oppose, but the resources that you can expend working with a candidate you support are strictly rationed.
That’s our ridiculous system of campaign finance reform. (Of course, since Senator Chafee did vote to implement this system, he probably shouldn’t complain about it too loudly.)
I am disgusted with the way that national Republicans keep attacking Steve Laffey to prop up a worthless RINO such as Lincoln Chafee. Not only has the NRSC spent hundreds of thousands of dollars defaming Laffey, national Republicans are now forcing state parties to send volunteers that are badly needed in their home states to go to Rhode Island to try to save Chafee's foundering primary campaign. See http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/08/72_hour_program.html
"I am deeply concerned that as a result, the ad will unfairly create feelings of prejudice and suspicion toward the Hispanic community as a whole."
Hey Juan, the hispanic community did that on their own when they began their full-scale invasion of the US in an attempt to illegally repopulate land legitimately taken from them by conquest.
Posted by: Greg at August 29, 2006 12:33 PMWhat the Chafee ad by the NRSC does, in my view, is paint a pretty ugly picture of Republicans in general. Regardless of the policy they're criticizing, it just comes off as being against a particular ethnic group.
At the end of the ad, it says explicitly, this ad is paid for by the "National Republican Senatorial Committee," which associates it clearly in the mind of the viewer with "Republicans."
Not good.
I suppose that Chafee, not really being Republican himself, could care less.
Though if I were him, I'd make a public display at criticizing the NRSC and request them to pull the ad.
Posted by: Chuck at August 29, 2006 12:52 PMNice attempt by the Dems to shift attention from Laffey's homophobic remarks to Chafee. Boy, they really want Laffey to win the primary. They're even following Chafee on the campaign trail, but not Laffey. I wonder why that is.
Posted by: Anthony at August 29, 2006 1:36 PMGee, a Republican who's not crazy about gays or a Republican who thinks America is the greatest country in the world because of our social programs...
Which one should I support?
Posted by: Greg at August 29, 2006 2:31 PMAnd where is Chafee on the 'campaign trail'? I've never seen him anywhere.
Must be I'm not enough of a blueblood to get into the country clubs he's campaigning at.
Posted by: Greg at August 29, 2006 2:35 PMAnd I wonder why so many people ask me why I'm a Republican?
This ad is horrible. While it doesn't make the spin claim that Dems charge - equating Mexican Immigrants with terrorists, it does imply quite a bit.
I'm very disappointed in both candidates that they have allowed this campaign to go down the toilet. I know I've maintained I won't vote for Whitehouse, but if I'm considering that as an option consider the rest of the State that is left of my own views.
*shakes head*
Posted by: donroach at August 29, 2006 2:38 PMDear Anthony,
That's because we can only afford batteries for one camera.
Posted by: Bobby Oliveira at August 29, 2006 3:07 PMBobby,
That's not true. From what I hear, Mark Weiner gave enough money specifically to buy TWO sets of batteries.....so I ask you, where did the other $5.95 go?
The other shift of attention is from the illegality of illegal immigration to the hypothetical racism of people who want to go back to doing it legally.
We're not racist, Juan. That's silly; all our grandparents are immigrants. We just want our laws enforced and our borders respected.
Dear Anthony,
Senator Celona requested that we buy stamps with it instead. Something about him having time on his hands.
However, since I continue to hear that he just pinned the Lindbergh kidnapping on one of his buddies, what does he need stamps for since it seems obvious he wants to take everybody with him?
Posted by: Bobby Oliveira at August 29, 2006 4:49 PMBobby,
I though I heard that Celona was spilling the beans on Dominick Ruggerio. Something about trading favorable votes for CVS in exchange for a lifetime supply of Trojans delivered to his door.....