Jerry Brown is out with a devastating new ad that shows Meg Whitman and Arnold Schwarzenegger are, word for word, offering the same kind of failed policies and solutions for California’s problems.
Here’s what the Brown campaign said about the ad:
Pointing to the familiar echo voters are hearing from billionaire Meg Whitman on the campaign trail, the Jerry Brown for Governor Campaign today released a new television ad that features a montage of video clips in which the candidate repeats, rehashes and repackages the same talking points and utterances as our current Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“Meg Whitman said it herself, ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for different results,'” said Brown for Governor Campaign Manager Steven Glazer. “Yet, the Long Island native has had no qualms about recycling the same platitudes, repackaging the same campaign events and rehiring the same high priced consultants as the state’s current Governor.”
The Brown Campaign’s television ad began airing statewide today.
This ad is devastating not just because it shows Whitman has no new ideas and inexperienced, but also because it ties her directly to one of the most unpopular governors in state history. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s approval rating is at or below the lows reached by Gray Davis before his recall.
So for Whitman to be shown to be a clone of the unpopular incumbent is a huge blow to her flailing campaign, and in a statewide buy, should help solidify Brown’s lead as we head into the final two weeks of the campaign.
UPDATE: The ad aired in the Bay Area during the Giants-Phillies playoff game this afternoon, so that’s a significant – and not cheap – buy for this ad.
The Whitman campaign announced its new ad on Twitter today.
Here’s what the short URL pointed to:
While I think it’s her best ad of the campaign, I’m not sure if her campaign is going to agree about that.
I have been bloviating for quite a while that an ad like this is exactly what was necessary. After all, it is relevant and accurate.
I have also been bloviating for quite a while that an ad like this, with George W. Bush, should have run national with prominent Republican candidates. They say the same shit every time and it doesn’t work out to anyone’s benefit but the very rich. Everyone knows this at some level, but needs to be reminded of it at election time.
I hope not, but hammering Whitman by way of Arnold while he’s also the principal anti-23 spokes (true as far as I can tell) has the potential for bad synergy. But it’s a non-problem unless 23 is close.
I have concerns about this ad. There are still a lot of people who LIKE Arnold Schwarzenegger. In fact, one of our precinct walkers told me a few days ago that he encountered a couple registered Democrats that they were probably voting for Meg because they liked Arnold. I don’t think linking Meg with a moderate like Arnold is a good strategy for undecided voters.
is that a direct refutation of a lot of those echoed slogans of eMeg and Aaarnold would make a pretty decent liberal platform for California:
– government is not a business. try to run your government like a business, you end up with business running your government.
– we have a revenue problem, not a spending problem. the best thing we can do for revenue is get the state’s economy back in shape. the next best thing is to make sure everyone is paying their fair share of the taxes we need to do what we need to do.
– we kind of liked the old California – you know, the one with working governments, stable tax bases, cheap high-quality colleges and universities open to any student that qualified, big public works investing in the future. it wasn’t all great but it had a lot going for it.
– we’re not corporate executives, we’re public servants. you don’t work for us, we work for you.
etc. probably we won’t hear that so blatantly from Brown this time around, but maybe it’s a start.