Louisiana Sen. David Vitter and Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle must be using the same campaign advisors and TV ad director.
Louisiana Sen. David Vitter and Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle must be using the same campaign advisors and TV ad director. Both are running similarly themed ads attacking their opponents on the issue of illegal immigration. Along with the racially tinged message, the ads share the same, very stereotyped photos and video footage of illegal immigrants. An article on the blog Think Progress points to two identical images from their campaigns showing three rough looking Latinos in hoodies. Then there are these two campaign ads that seem to share the same dramatized enactment of illegals creeping along what one would assume is a border fence. In Vitter's ad, they are greeted by a group of people holding a "Charlie Melancon welcomes you to the USA" sign. Another group holds up a poster-size check made out to "all illegal aliens" for "a lot of taxpayer money."
Vitter's ad has already drawn the ire of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana. Its executive director, Darlene Kattan, called the ad "abhorrent, shocking and racist" in an interview with WDSU in New Orleans. The Vitter campaign also sent a statement to the station standing by the ad and emphasizing the importance of good immigration policy.
Several news organizations, including this analysis from The Shreveport Times, have pointed out the ad's distortions. Melancon campaign spokesman Jeff Giertz says: "Louisiana newspapers have already called David Vitter's ads distorted,' misleading' and untrue, and this latest ad is just plain dishonest. Truth is, Charlie Melancon has fought to stop illegal immigration, supporting a border fence, opposing amnesty, and cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants."