It appears some Democratic groups are getting a little too cute in this month’s primary election, placing ads that seem to be boosting Republican candidates they view as easier opponents in the general election.
Apparently some Democratically aligned political action committees are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on television ads that purport to oppose these candidates, but go out of their way to highlight their conservative bonafides, which is likely to appeal to Republican primary voters.
The ad spending in the gubernatorial and Senate contests is at least $1.5 million, according to contracts filed with the Federal Communications Commission through Tuesday, which was reported by The Colorado Sun.
“In supposedly ‘blue’ Colorado, Democrats are reportedly dumping 7-figures into the REPUBLICAN Senate primary to try and stir up drama,” a release from the NRSC, which supports GOP Senate candidates, stated. “Just goes to show you how vulnerable Michael Bennet is in a state that Joe Biden won by more than 13 points.”
The Democrats are waving away any criticism of these ads, saying they’re just highlighting why Colorado should not elect a Republican.
“We are an organization committed to ensuring that Colorado does not elect a Republican to the U.S. Senate and giving voters the facts about who’s running to represent them,” the spokeswoman, Democratic operative Alvina Vasquez, wrote in an email.
We don’t buy it. Fighting hard for your candidates is fine, but these primary shenanigans are clearly dirty pool.
Democrats are going to have a tough time this year, as the party that controls the White House often does in the next midterm election. Instead of monkeying around with the Republican primary, these groups should be spending their time earning the support of Colorado voters to their own candidates.
We’d also say to the Democrats that are using these tactics to be careful what you wish for.
It wasn’t that long ago that some Democrats were openly hoping Donald Trump would win the Republican primary in 2016 because he’d be such an easy opponent for Hillary Clinton. How did that turn out?
We have bemoaned the rise of extremism in politics in the past and, by trying to help the more extreme candidates win, these Democratic groups are only making the problem worse. If they are successful, then moderate candidates in the future will have to move further right to try to win their nomination. That’s not something the other party should be enabling.
What this country and state need most out of our politics is a good choice between two reasonable people who want what is best for their constituents. We need candidates with differing perspectives and policy ideas, but who share reality.
This effort by the Democrats is not helping in this regard and could end up blowing up in their faces.
As Nigel famously observed in the “rock- umentary” This Is Spinal Tap: “There is such a fine line between stupid and clever.”
Original source can be found here
