A fresh slew stimulus-related ads has been rolled out. The highlight is an ad funded by the American Issues Project, a conservative group that also put out an ad during the presidential election.
“Suppose you spent $1 million every single day starting from the day Jesus was born — and kept spending through today,” says the announcer as an image of the three wise men flashes on the screen. “A million dollars a day for more than 2,000 years. You would still have spent less money than Congress just did.”
For the record, AIP spent $1 million themselves on the ad, which will be aired on national cable. Check out the video at Politico. The NRCC, meanwhile, is rolling out stimulus robocalls—despite the fact that some of the congressmen who said ‘no’ to the stimulus bill are saying ‘yes’ to the cash. We’ll have to wait to see whether the Republican’s strategy will look effective in the long run, but it’s already causing trouble for freshmen Rep. Joseph Cao, who was elected in a heavily Democratic district in Louisiana: Papers have been filed for a recall. And while we’re talking about advertising, don’t forget about the impact of direct mail. Though Obama was lauded for his online innovations, he got direct mail right, too. Up in New York, press releases are flying back and forth—”He’s a lobbyists!” says the GOP. “Well he makes six figures,” Dems shoot back—and Murphy has committed to a debate. The NRSC, meanwhile, is looking to former Gov. George Pataki in the 2010 race against Gillibrand.Odds and Ends:
If you want to keep an eye on the Virginia governor race, check out Brad Bannon’s take here at Politics—or head over to RealClearPolitics for an in-depth preview. A McCain speechwriter tells Obama to get back to that “hope” idea. Meghan McCain thinks Republicans “suck” at the Internet. But they’re so good at Twitter! Charges against a Maine RNC official are dropped. He was accused of jamming Democratic phone lines on Election Day ’02 in New Hampshire. And Nate Silver takes a stats-geek look at the effects of the “jungle primary.”