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Republican committee pulls ads for Michels
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by Ryan Masse
Friday, October 15, 2004
Republican Senate hopeful Tim Michels will have to do without a million-dollar ad buy from the Republican National Senatorial Committee in Wisconsin.
The committee announced it will suspend a planned $1.23 million television advertising package set to run on behalf of Michels between now and Nov. 2. The group had pledged the ads following Michels’ strong victory in the GOP primary, sensing an opportunity to defeat Democratic U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold.
RNSC spokesman Dan Allen said the move should not serve as an indictment of Michels’ campaign but simply a result of day-to-day decisions made by the committee.
“Decisions [are] made on a daily basis, and the fact we’re not putting money in at this point doesn’t conclude us from going in in the future,” Allen said.
Allen indicated no specific criteria would convince the RNSC to re-pledge the money, but said the committee would continue “paying close attention” to the race.
“Tim Michels draws a very stark contrast with Russ Feingold, who has a very liberal record and does not have a good record on national security,” Allen said. “We are well-positioned to strengthen our majority in the Senate.”
The Michels campaign shrugged off speculation the ad removal reflects a faltering campaign, saying they never expected outside expenditures in the race.
“We didn’t need help from outside groups to win the primary, and we don’t need them to defeat Sen. Feingold,” Michels said in a statement. “We will win this by talking about issues important to voters, aggressively getting our message out through TV and radio and with thousands of active volunteers working all across Wisconsin.”
Feingold press secretary John Kraus said the announcement is a sign of the strength of the Democrat’s campaign. Feingold has consistently edged Michels in polls, including a 15-point lead in the most recent Badger poll.
“After a lot of talk, [the RNSC] decided not to walk the walk,” Kraus said.
The RNSC’s announcement is the latest development in a race in which the candidates have sparred fiercely over each other’s ads. A recent Michels ad claims the senator is shaky on matters of national security, citing Feingold’s lone vote against the USA Patriot Act in the U.S. Senate. The advertisement prompted a strong response from the Feingold campaign, whose own ad features veterans praising Feingold’s vote for protecting civil liberties.
The candidates have also clashed over a Michels ad claiming Feingold has not fought for re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada, something Michels says he would fight for in the Senate. The Feingold campaign has flatly refuted those charges.
“Tim Michels has been running false and misleading ads attacking us,” Kraus said. “There’s been a number of members of the media who have come out and said Michels’ ads are false. He’s not shooting straight and it’s disappointing for the voters.”
Michels spokesman Tim Roby said his campaign’s advertising strategy is “aggressive” and indicated nothing will change without the RNSC running ads on Michels’ behalf.
“We don’t need them. We’ve got our own message and our own advertising plan that has not, and will not, change,” Roby said.
Anonymous (October 15, 2004 @ 9:14am):
Stick a fork in him, he's done. (not that anyone had any doubts from day one)
Anonymous (October 15, 2004 @ 10:43am):
Even the GOP realizes what a tool Michels is!
Anonymous (October 15, 2004 @ 12:59pm):
It's amazing how someone can run on "I'm supporting the Patriot Act" when he admitted to not even having read it. He IS a tool!
Anonymous (October 15, 2004 @ 1:20pm):
Senator Finegold did have the lone vote against the Patriot Act and I felt at the time he was trying to single himself out to be a vice presidential candidate.That didn't work and now he is defending himself against his voting record. I seriously doubt that any of us has lost more than we gained from the bill.
Anonymous (October 16, 2004 @ 1:46am):
Obviously you haven't read the patriot act either, tool.
Anonymous (October 17, 2004 @ 10:24pm):
Anyone who actually read the Patriot Act would know that it unnecessarily restricted the rights of innocent Americans. That's why the rest of the Senate joined Feingold in passing legislation repealing the abuses. What's left helps protect us without taking away our basic freedoms.
Senator Feingold was the only senator to recognize the problems with the Patriot Act from the very beginning. We should be proud that he represents us. Anyone who thinks he voted against the Patriot Act for political gain is rewriting history, because it definitely cost him at the time. So I agree with the poster before me. The person who made that accusation is probably the biggest tool on campus.
