Mitt Romney's campaign unveiled a television ad on Tuesday, claiming that "Pennsylvania coal paid the price" for President Obama's policies.
The 30-second spot titled "Crushed By Your Policies" begins by attacking Obama for a comment during the 2008 presidential campaign in which he said a company could still launch a coal-fired power plant, but that his cap-and-trade bill would "bankrupt" them.
The Romney camp released a
similar ad last month, targeting Obama on coal. And earlier this month the American Energy Alliance (AEA) spent $600,000 on a
cable and network TV ad airing in coal-heavy states of Ohio and Virginia that used the same line of attack.
The new Romney ad goes on to tout Republican presidential nominee Romney's energy proposals.
“And, by the way, I like coal. … People in the coal industry feel like it's getting crushed by your policies. I want to get America and North America energy independent so we can create those jobs," Romney says in the ad. The clip uses remarks from the first presidential debate.
During the debate Romney said that as part of his energy plan he would also "double" the number of permits for oil and gas production on government land, as well as "get the oil from offshore in Alaska."
Romney was responding to the president's stated energy proposals during the Oct. 3 match-up.
"On energy, Governor Romney and I, we both agree that we've got to boost American energy production. And oil and natural gas production are higher than they've been in years. But I also believe that we've got to look at the energy sources of the future like wind and solar and biofuels, and make those investments," Obama said.
Polling of Pennsylvania voters has shown Obama's lead shrinking, but most polls continue to show him ahead of Romney. Th president had the support of 49 percent of likely voters, while Romney had 43 percent, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer poll of the state released Saturday. Nine percent of voters remained undecided in the poll.
A super-PAC backing Romney's candidacy, Restore Our Future, is pouring money into the Pennsylvania ad market for the final week for the campaign.
The group announced on Monday a $2.1-million ad buy in the state, according to a Restore Our Future spokesperson.
