AdWatch: RGA again goes after Idaho guv hopeful Balukoff

The Republican Governors Association launched a new anti-A.J. Balukoff ad in Idaho on Tuesday, this one using a video clip from the governors’ debate in Coeur d’Alene debate where Balukoff momentarily lost his place in his opening remarks. The ad suggests Balukoff “needs a script,” and repeats several claims from an earlier RGA ad attempting to tie Balukoff, a Democrat, to President Barack Obama, while adding several new ones as well. Balukoff actually voted for Mitt Romney in the last presidential election. “Tying Balukoff again to Obama and to gun control could be hurtful,” said Jim Weatherby, emeritus professor at Boise State University and a longtime observer of Idaho politics. “Those are two hot-button issues. But as to losing his place in his presentation, that’s pretty shallow stuff.” The video clip is from Balukoff’s two-minute opening remarks at the Coeur Group’s Oct. 3 debate at the Coeur d’Alene Library. Otter visibly read from prepared remarks during his opening comments, while Balukoff largely spoke without looking at his text – except when he lost his place. Among the two other candidates in the debate, Libertarian John Bujak spoke to the audience without referring to prepared remarks, while independent candidate “Pro-Life” occasionally looked down at his notes. “It’s a rather cheap shot,” said Mike Lanza, spokesman for Balukoff’s campaign. “Anybody speaking publicly has moments where they’re trying to collect their thoughts.” He said with Otter’s long political history, the campaign could easily put together “a two-hour commercial of his stumbling through speeches, but that’s not A.J. Balukoff’s style.” He called the commercial “just a rehash of the same distortions and misrepresentations of A.J.’s positions that we’ve … seen from supporters of Gov. Otter.” Weatherby said, “The difference between the Otter and the Balukoff campaigns is the Otter campaign either has or is benefiting from attack ads, and Balukoff is not using them.” The new RGA ad comes on the heels of three new commercials from the candidates themselves, all positive ads focusing on the candidates’ positions. All three of those ads – two from Balukoff, and one from GOP Gov. Butch Otter – are airing in the Spokane broadcast TV market. The new RGA ad isn’t, but it is running statewide in Idaho, including on cable TV in North Idaho. Here’s a look at the claims in the RGA ad: Incorrect: The ad again cites an April editorial from the Idaho State Journal newspaper to support its claim that Balukoff wants to raise taxes, but the editorial is incorrect and misstates his position when it calls for a “statewide property tax.” That’s actually barred by Idaho law. A stretch: The RGA again cites the fact that Balukoff was on the board of a group that considered pushing a public-financing initiative for campaigns in 1999, but the group dropped the idea. It cites Balukoff’s opposition to a controversial guns-on-campus bill that Idaho passed and Otter signed this year, and his “C-minus” rating from the National Rifle Association, which sponsored the bill, as proof that he supports restricting gun rights. Balukoff says he favors gun rights, but refused to fill out an NRA candidate survey, saying it was slanted on such measures as the guns-on-campus bill. Accurate: Balukoff supports expanding Medicaid in Idaho, which is optional for states under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Weatherby said, “In comparative ads, or attack ads, you’re less concerned about what is completely true, and more concerned about what works. And negative ads, people hate, but often are influenced by.” The three ads the candidates now have running: School superintendent ad: Starting a week and a half ago, Balukoff began airing an ad featuring Shoshone School District Superintendent Rob Waite, who says he’s never voted for a Democrat before, but he’s supporting Balukoff in November due to concerns about cuts in school funding under Otter. Movie trailer ad: Balukoff’s newest ad is a spoof of movie trailers, with dramatic swelling music and images initially suggesting Balukoff will come out as a superhero, but then identifying him as “the accountant,” and touting his qualifications for governor, including his business experience and service as a school board president. Jobs and education ad: Otter’s newest ad features the two-term governor touting his state’s friendliness to small businesses and his three initiatives on education: Restoring $35 million this year that earlier had been cut from the state’s schools; extending a broadband network to all Idaho high schools; and the 20-point school reform plan put forth by his stakeholders’ task force.