AdWatch: Labrador’s second TV ad plays it safe, striking conservative theme
Idaho 1st District GOP Rep. Raul Labrador has launched his second TV ad of the campaign, replacing the earlier one that focused on his personal life story. The new ad, which is running throughout the district including on pay TV in North Idaho but not in the Spokane broadcast market, stresses Labrador’s conservative credentials.
“He’s appealing to the conservative, anti-federal government attitudes in many Idahoans,” said Jim Weatherby, Boise State University professor emeritus and longtime observer of Idaho politics. “It’s also boilerplate stuff, nothing new here. You could strike and insert the name and location of most any GOP politician running in this year’s election.”
Labrador is playing it safe in the new ad, Weatherby said. His first commercial was “a far more interesting ad than this one, but this ad reasserts his conservative credentials and willingness to stand against federal incursions into Idaho.”
He added, “We don’t know at this point exactly what all the congressman is looking at: Is he looking at just this election, or a run for governor as well?”
Here’s a look at the ad:
WHAT IT SAYS
“I’m Raul Labrador. I’m a conservative who’s fighting to keep the federal government out of your life. We have too many government bureaucrats who think that they know better than the people back home. What we need to do is have less regulations, not more, less government dependency, not more, and Idahoans want the federal government to stay out of their way. They know better than D.C. bureaucrats. That’s what I’m fighting for in Washington, D.C. I’m Raul Labrador and I approved this message.”
THE CLAIMS:
Labrador makes few factual claims in the ad, Weatherby said, mainly sticking to statements of opinion that reflect some widespread perceptions in Idaho about “bureaucrats far removed from our borders who think they know better than we.” The statement that there’s a need for less regulation and less government dependency, without specifics, is simply “a matter of perspective. … I think it resonates with a lot of Idahoans, even though there is nothing new here or original.”
WATCH THE AD
You can watch the ad online here.
