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The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) continued to roll out its 2008 advertising campaign on Monday, debuting a trio of television attack ads in Colorado, Minnesota and Oregon.
The Oregon ad is particularly harsh, rehashing footage of state House Speaker Jeff Merkley (D) misunderstanding a question about the Russia-Georgia conflict days after it had begun.
The NRSC previously used the footage in a Web ad parodying the Snickers candy bar ads in which the subjects take a bite to buy some time while they think about something. Conservative group Freedom’s Watch has also put together a Web ad using the footage.
In this, the first broadcast ad, Merkley is eating a hot dog as he confuses the question about Georgia the country, instead thinking about Georgia the state. The ad repeatedly shows Merkley chewing in a less-than-flattering manner.
It comes as the ads in that race get particularly harsh. Late last week, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) launched ads featuring a rape victim criticizing Merkley for voting against increasing the statute of limitations on prosecuting sex crimes.
Merkley followed by releasing a pair of ads shaming Smith for his tactics and noting that Merkley voted to double the statute of limitations on a separate occasion.
Merkley spokesman Matt Canter said: “Republicans can’t criticize Jeff Merkley on the economy, healthcare or national security, so they attack his table manners. One hot dog will not dissuade Oregonians that Jeff Merkley will bring more national security experience to the Senate than Gordon Smith ever has.”
The Minnesota ad uses past video of comedian Al Franken (D) advocating for repealing the Bush tax cuts, while the Colorado ad uses some eerie editing to make Rep. Mark Udall (D) appear shady.
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