In the wake of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s (R) botched Confederate History Month declaration, a new group of Democrats has gone on the air to tell African Americans in the state their new Governor is not the big-tent leader he promised to be.
Though Virginia’s one-term limit means McDonnell can’t run again, the new PAC sponsoring the ads says stoking frustration over the slavery flap will help boost Democratic turnout in the state closer to the levels that helped President Obama win Virgina in 2008.
The ad, currently running on African American radio in Virgina, makes no bones about targeting the tentative ties to the black community McDonnell’s supporters claimed he forged during his all-moderate-all-the-time 2009 campaign.
From the script (which features a man and woman talking having the kind of conversation about politics only a advertising copywriter could dream up):
WIFE: He named April Confederate History Month.HUSBAND: Confederate History? You mean like the Old South and slave ships?
WIFE: Uh huh. Except he didn’t mention slavery - didn’t think it was that important?
HUSBAND: Wasn’t he supposed to be a new kind of Republican?
WIFE: He fooled me - I voted for him!
Listen to the spot here:
A new Democratic PAC, Americans For America, is behind the spot. Co-founder and campaign media strategist Dan Manatt says he and partner Brett DiResta intend to drive up 2010 turnout among the so-called Obama surge vote by pressing home the message with minority and youth voters that the Republicans are not on their side.
In 2009, when McDonnell won the gubernatorial race in a landslide, much of that Obama surge vote sat out the race. The same story has been true in other elections since Obama won. With Republicans holding the enthusiasm advantage in polling heading into November, the continued disinterest in turning out for elections that don’t have Obama on the ballot among surge voters is a major headache for Democrats.
The McDonnell spot is just the first in a campaign of similar ads Manatt said the PAC will roll out across the country this year to turn that trend around. Using inexpensive outlets like local radio and online advertising, Manatt said the PAC will attempt to amp up the negativity toward Republicans among the Democratic-leaning groups whose turnout could be what makes or breaks the Democrats this fall.
In a couple weeks, Mannatt said the PAC will launch a series of spots tied to Cinco De Mayo on Spanish-language radio stations in key districts across the country.
“The message will be ‘Republicans don’t want us to celebrate our holiday,’” Manatt told me. “‘Republicans are not our friends.’”
Manatt said future candidate target could include Republican Sens. John Ensign (NV) and David Vitter (LA) as well as Colorado GOP Senate candidate Gale Norton. Manatt said the PAC is not interested in taking sides on internal Democratic struggles. The focus instead is on attacking Republicans, and attacking them in the communities where they’re weakest, including minority and college student populations. That should help boost turnout and improve Democratic chances in the fall, Mannatt said.
“We have just one agenda,” he told me. “And that is to go after the Republicans.”
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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