Campaign ads

A progressive group is adding to the advertising war over gun control, launching a 30-second ad that features a gun owner warning of electoral consequences to inaction on guns.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's (I) super-PAC is out with a new ad attacking both former Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.) and Illinois State Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D) on gun control. 

The Independence USA ad released Friday, instead, praises former Cook County Administrator Robin Kelly (D). All three are running for the Chicago congressional seat vacated with the resignation last November of former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D).

"In the race for Congress, the big issue: fighting gun violence. Debbie Halvorson and Toi Hutchinson both earned an 'A' from the NRA. They can't be trusted," the ad's narrator says. "The clear choice: Robin Kelly."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's (I) pro-gun-control super-PAC on Monday released a new ad against former Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.) — and will top $1 million in total spending against her by the end of the week.

The new ad from Independence USA, like others before it, attacks Halvorson for opposing new gun control laws. Halvorson is seeking the Democratic nomination in Illinois's 2nd Congressional District, the seat left open with the resignation last November of former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D).

Gun control is a major issue in the district rooted in Chicago's South Side, an area that has been racked with gang crime.

"Gun violence — it's out of control. Debbie Halvorson will make it worse. Halvorson opposed a ban on deadly assault weapons. She co-sponsored legislation to allow some criminals to carry loaded hidden guns across state lines," the narrator says in the ad, which is airing on cable and broadcast channels. 

"No wonder Halvorson received an A+ rating from the NRA, the special interest lobby against effective background checks. Debbie Halvorson's record: more guns in the hands of criminals."

When the Senate minority leader launched his reelection campaign, he warned supporters that Democrats “want to take me out."

A progressive group is issuing the first television ad in Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) reelection campaign, attacking McConnell for his opposition to gun control — an issue the group believes, due to new polling, could be a winner even in red Kentucky.

Halvorson, a former congresswoman with an "A" rating from the NRA, is seeking former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s seat.

Crossroads GPS, the nonprofit arm of GOP strategist Karl Rove's American Crossroads, unveiled a video Tuesday blasting President Obama's second inauguration speech as revealing his "liberal" agenda.

The ad features clips of reporters and pundits, whom Crossroads GPS dubs the "mainstream media," describing Obama's speech as a liberal rallying cry. In the clips, the address is described as "the most liberal speech Barack Obama has ever given," "much more radical than the speech he gave four years ago," and as "laying out his real agenda."

"If the media is calling Obama's policies liberal, what can we expect in the next four years?" the video asks at the end.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is releasing a video highlighting Republican dissension throughout the "fiscal cliff" and Hurricane Sandy aid bills in advance of the GOP's annual retreat, asking if House Republicans can come together this weekend.

"House Republicans are coming together today for a retreat in Williamsburg," the video opens, over audio of the song "Kumbaya."

"But can they actually come together?" it asks.

Unions are attacking Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a new national television ad that likens him to the penny-pinching Mr. Potter of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

In a clip that pays homage to the Christmas favorite, the ads say Boehner’s plan to stop the tax increases and budget cuts of the “fiscal cliff” would sacrifice entitlement programs while protecting the wealthy. 

“Welcome to Boehnerville — where the rich won’t pay their fair share; our children’s educations will be cut; Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will be put at risk; and the economic recovery would falter,” the ad says before encouraging people to contact Congress.

Two progressive outside spending groups are pushing the House GOP to pass an extended version of the Violence Against Women Act that's currently stalled in Congress with a new, graphic television ad calling for viewers to demand action.