Smith ups the ante in the television ad wars
By Wally EdgeIt was only a matter of time until incumbent Republican Senator Gordon Smith pulled out the Matthew Shepard ad in his race against Democrat Jeff Merkley. Shepard was an openly gay student at the University of Wyoming who was kidnapped and murdered in 1998 by two youths who opposed Shepard's sexuality.
In his 2002 race against Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, Smith used images of Shepard's parents in an ad talking about his efforts to promote hate crime legislation in the senate. And it worked. It was considered by many to be a pivotal turning point in the race allowing Smith to garner the needed undecided votes in his race and his poll numbers pulled away from that point.
Now, Smith has taken the message one step further by including the very liberal Senator Ted Kennedy in his latest attempt to save his seat. There is certainly never a dull moment in the ad wars for this race. Take a look.
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"One of the great surprises of my career came, however, when I discovered that my new colleague, Gordon Smith, was as thoughtful and kind and decent outside the political arena as he was tough and competitive inside the political arena."
- U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D) during a farewell speech Thursday in praise of U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R), who was defeated by Senator-elect Jeff Merkley (D).
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Pretty damn good ad
Smith has a great record in the Senate - he needs more ads like this highlighting his many accomplishments (despite what the partisan hacks say)
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