A new $7 million ad buy from a prominent conservative group accuses President Obama of "reckless spending" and will air across key swing states in the November election.
The commercial, funded by the Karl Rove-backed Crossroads GPS, notes that in the 30 seconds it takes to watch the commercial, $1.4 million will be added to the federal debt.
The ad goes on to accuse Obama of "growing our debt faster than our economy" and uses footage of the president on the campaign trail in 2008 to depict him as hypocritical on spending.
According to The Washington Post, the ad will run in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The ad's $7 million cost is part of a planned $25 million blitz from the group.
Bill Burton, the former White House staffer who now heads the super-PAC supporting Obama's reelection effort, sought to rebut the ad, arguing it "highlighted one of Gov. Romney’s key weaknesses."
"As CEO, Romney often made millions by loading up companies with unsustainable debt to pay himself fees. As governor, Romney increased state debt by $2.6 billion — leaving the state with the highest debt per capita in the country. Now Romney is proposing to add $3.4 trillion to our debt with new tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans," Burton said. "In business and government, Romney has always been for more debt at the expense of the middle class, especially when it stood to make the wealthy wealthier."
Crossroads GPS is expected to be one of the major players this November, having raised at least $77 million since its inception in 2010. Unlike super-PACs, Crossroads GPS is categorized as a "social welfare" issue advocacy organization by the IRS, and thus not obligated to disclose donors.
