RELATED: Brutal New Ad Blames Mitt Romney For Death Of Steelworker's Wife
'Understands' features a steelworker who was laid off, along with many of his colleagues, when the Kansas City steel plant GTS Steel after Bain Capital was brought in to restructure the firm. The worker describes how his life was irrevocably altered for the worse when he lost his job and health coverage. He says that his wife, who was suffering from cancer, passed away shortly after years and years after he lost his job.
The ad pulls on every human's heart strings and the subject's situation is deeply lamentable, but it is nearly certain to backfire. This is not the first or even the second ad that the Obama campaign and loyal PACs have fielded that feature the shutting down of GST Steel, which is a difficult story for the Romney campaign to have to explain away. In the story of creative destruction that is unleashed by venture capitalism, the tale of GST Steel is nearly all destruction and not much creative.
But the Romney camp does not have to waste one minute responding to this ad due to its overreach. By attempting to link Romney to a closed steel plant, then to a worker's lost job, then to that worker's suffering wife, then to her inability to receive cancer treatments and, finally, to her untimely death is' well, it's a stretch. The ad may fire up a few dispirited Obama supporters, but it will not move the needle for average and undecided voters ' in fact, it is far more likely to turn them off to the Obama campaign.
The ad is part of a $20 million web and television campaign, but the ad's 60 second length means that it is probably targeted at the democratic base online and at earned media mentions. The earned media attention the ad is receiving today could be either a blessing or a curse, depending on the audience that consumes the message behind 'Understands.' The Democratic base will eat it up, but swing voters may be more leery of the ad's message. This is why it is in the interest of the Romney camp to see that this ad gets all the media attention that it possibly can. 'Mitt Romney: complicit in criminally negligent homicide' is a message that will do the Obama reelection team few favors.
History is littered with negative ads that backfired on the campaigns that field them. In fact, one does not have to go far back into the archives to find ads that were cited as the near principle reason for the electoral loss of the candidate that mounted them.
In 2010, Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway attempted, in all sincerity, to frame now-Sen. Rand Paul as a worshiper of the lesser-known deity 'Aqua Buddha.'
The attempt to frame Paul as a polytheistic cultist did not go over well among Kentucky's electorate.
Attacks on an opponent's religion are often dangerous to the candidates that mount them. In 2000, Elizabeth Dole lost her bid to become North Carolina's next Republican Senator when she accused her opponent, now-Sen. Kay Hagen, of being 'Godless.'
Sticking with the religious theme, former Rep. Alan Grayson's 2010 ad misquoting his opponent in an attempt to frame him as now-Rep. 'Taliban' Dan Webster is infamous as an example of overreach and a subsequent backlash.
All these ads have common theme apart from the religious angle ' they call into question the motives of the candidate's opponent. The ads accuse the opposition of harboring a secret agenda that masks their true motives, which are invariably base.
The Romney campaign has been sensitive to this truism. In May, the Romney campaign was forced to disavow any knowledge of and publically admonish a loyal PAC which was reportedly preparing to air ads which linked President Obama to his former Pastor Jeremiah Wright. They knew that the attack on Obama's motives and background, suggesting that the President secretly harbored the same antipathy towards American history as his pastor, was a losing proposition. The Romney camp was right to distance themselves from any group that would go that route ' it would likely have led to a backlash.
In this same vein, Priorities has gone too far. Sure, Romney is rich ' voters may reject a wealthy president. Romney has not released an arbitrary number of tax returns as defined by Democrats ' that, too, may trigger some resentment among voters. But the electorate will reject the notion that Romney is complicit in a preventable death.
Voters may distrust politicians, but the persuadable voter (read: swing) does not see their public servants as universally malevolent actors. They will reject a campaign and a candidate that attempts to paint them as such.
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Oh yeah, it'll 'backfire.' People will start thinking of Mitt as a warm human being, and demanding that he NOT release his tax returns.
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The Ad reflects how the uncaring Mitt Romney, hasn't changed since when he ran and hid in France while American soldiers gave their lives in Vietnam.
Mitt Romney the draft dodging traitor has already proven he has no allegiance to the US or respect for our military, when he ran and hid in France while American soldiers were killed in Vietnam.
During the Vietnam war Romney avoided military service at the height of the fighting after high school by seeking and receiving four draft deferments, according to Selective Service records. They included college deferments and a 31-month stretch as a 'minister of religion' in France, a classification for Mormon missionaries that the church at the time feared was being overused. -
The Noah Rothman ' Tommy Christopher games continue.
It's just plain idiotic to compare that Obama ad to the off-the-wall ads of Conway and Grayson.
Childish and juvenile post from Rothman.
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And Noah doesn't even mention that she was diagnosed and died 7 years after Romney left Bain Capital and 5 years after the plant closed.
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Sure, Noah, whatever floats your boat.
Did Romney close the guy's factory and fire the man? Yes. Did he lose his health care as a result? Yes. Did his wife die after losing the insurance? Yes. Is Romney a parasitic worm who prays on working people to make money? Yes.
Do you think The people doing these ads don't know what they are doing? You are such a blatant shill for Romney that you talk some serious rubbish.
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Those ads aren't at all alike. Conway, Dole and Grayson ads are all obviously lying or distorting about their opponents' religious beliefs and background. They use out-of-context quotes to make viewers believe something that isn't true.
While you may not agree with the Obama ad's argument, there is nothing factually incorrect in it. A guy says he doesn't think Romney realizes that his decisions to shut down factories have consequences. The guy isn't lying about having to go without health insurance, and he isn't lying about his wife dying. Now you can argue that maybe his wife would have died anyway. You can argue that Bain did the right thing, if you believe that. Those are disagreements you can have with the ad. But nothing in it is factually incorrect, and obviously when you close down a factory, that negatively impacts a lot of people's lives.
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And Obama's military experience ?
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I love it
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Yup, Dummy, that was the story yesterday,,try to catch up
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Nothing incorrect? So now Romney is a murderer.. frikkin loons
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Burton and his fellow scuzzballs think the ad is great because they are very stupid and they know Obama robots are fools.
But, the American public is not stupid.
Burton is the genius who took one million from dirtbag comic Bill Maher and brought Obama 25 million dollars in bad publicity.
I was an ultra liberal myself recently, but had to quit because my mouth got too dried out.
How do they stand breathing that way?
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His wife passed away in 2006.
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Mencius, get a set,,try to take care of yourself, instead of relying on ' Uncle Sam '.
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The add will stick.
I am starting to get the idea that Tommy and Noah are giving each other reach arounds ?
But it is fun to watch , I think ?
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