Linda McMahon has a new ad in the Connecticut Senate race, invoking none other than the late Democratic President John F. Kennedy in support of her proposals for extending tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. And in response, Kennedy’s nephew Ted Kennedy Jr. is calling foul.
The ad uses footage of Kennedy from 1963, touting the benefits of tax cuts to consumer spending, investment, job creation and preventing a recession. The ad’s text then says, “A Good Idea Then. A Better Idea Now.”
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Bringing The Smackdown: Linda McMahon’s Campaign For Senate, And Her Colorful Pro-Wrestling Past]
Ted Kennedy Jr. has sent out a letter calling on McMahon to stop airing the ad, and stating his firm belief that John F. Kennedy would not support McMahon’s position.”Your ad falsely implies that President Kennedy would support tax cuts for the same reasons that you do,” Kennedy wrote, also explaining that there are some key historical differences in the actual facts of the tax cuts: “In 1963 there was virtually no deficit and the top tax rate was 91% percent for income over $400,000. Today, the annual U.S. deficit is nearly $1.5 trillion and the top tax rate is 35% for income over $372,500.”
McMahon spokesman Ed Patru stood by the ad, in a statement to the local NBC station. “Kennedy proposed across-the-board tax cuts because he recognized that a high tax ‘reduces the financial incentives for personal effort, investment and risk-taking,’” said Patru. “That was the case 47 years ago, and it’s the case today.”
The ad is remarkably similar to an ad that Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) used in special Senate election earlier this cycle — and in that ad, the footage of JFK then dissolved to Brown himself, continuing the same words from the speech.
And whatever the facts may be, it didn’t hurt Scott Brown.
The TPM Poll Average gives Democratic nominee Richard Blumenthal a lead of 50.3%-43.0%.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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