The pro-civil unions group Fight Back Colorado first entered the HD-29 race with a piercing mailer portraying State Rep. Robert Ramirez as too extreme for the Colorado House. Now, with three weeks left until election day, its taken the same messaging to television.
The strategy motivating this commercial is clear. Although Fight Back Colorado is committed to defeating “the state legislators who killed the civil unions bill in Colorado” neither this ad nor the previous mailer make any reference to civil unions.
That may appear odd on its face, especially considering that a majority of Coloradans favor civil unions legislation, but it’s hard to distill the complexities of marriage equality in 30 seconds. And, unlike attacking Ramirez on, say, abortion, there’s no guarantee that the civil unions issue will motivate the base to turnout and vote against him.
The truth of the matter is that there’s a whole host of issues over which Ramirez can be defeated. Civil unions may indeed be on the list, but it’s not as salient an attack as the standard fare social issues.
No matter the framing, however, consistent and repeated attacks on Ramirez and his political profile do nothing but benefit Democratic challenger Tracy Kraft-Tharp. She’s run such a robust campaign hitherto that Ramirez’s mistakes and outside spending only serve to seal the deal.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
BY: JohnInDenver
IN: Thursday Open Thread
BY: kwtree
IN: Thursday Open Thread
BY: coloradosane
IN: Thursday Open Thread
BY: Duke Cox
IN: Wednesday Open Thread
BY: coloradosane
IN: Wednesday Open Thread
BY: coloradosane
IN: Wednesday Open Thread
BY: coloradosane
IN: So You Like Meat, Do You? Ready To Slaughter It Yourself?
BY: kwtree
IN: So You Like Meat, Do You? Ready To Slaughter It Yourself?
BY: JeffcoBlue
IN: So You Like Meat, Do You? Ready To Slaughter It Yourself?
BY: Ben Folds5
IN: So You Like Meat, Do You? Ready To Slaughter It Yourself?
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!
If a majority of Coloradans really wanted civil unions, Fight Back Colorado would run ads mentioning them in their political ads. However, this slanderous piece of trash willfully misrepresents Representative Ramirez’s views on abortion and birth control without even mentioning civil unions. Fight Back Colorado is comprised of a bunch of hack cowards.
Also, the commercial will be of limited effectiveness. Most people have already tuned out the advertisements for President, and throwing this one in the mix with Congressional races will make it easier for voters to tune it out. In addition, a cable-only ad buy doesn’t reach that many viewers when most people have a DVR and many have Satellite (where the ads will NOT run). It’s a lot of bluster and a lot of wasted money, but a hysterical negative limited-run ad will not turn the electorate against Rep. Ramirez.