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Photo courtesy: Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal
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The
lefty websites are squealing in outrage over a campaign ad released yesterday
by Republican senatorial candidate Allen Weh who is seeking to unseat New
Mexico Democrat Tom Udall. Political
opponents are critical of the web-only ad implying it used a tragedy to promote
his campaign.
Coverage of the ad by news
outlets from the Washington Post to CNN quickly brought the New Mexico race
to the national stage.
Weh is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps
Reserve. He began his service as an
enlisted Marine before being selected for Officer Candidates School. He served
two tours in Vietnam and with the British Royal Marines in Malaysia. Colonel
Weh was recalled to active duty during the Persian Gulf War, for the U.S.
expedition into Somalia, and to serve as Chief of Staff of Marine Forces
Pacific prior to retiring in 1997.
Currently, Udall is leading Weh
in the Senate race. The Real
Clear Politics polling average shows Udall leading Weh 53 percent to 37
percent. Perhaps that will change.
All the hub-bub is over a
blistering attack by Weh’s campaign on the lack of leadership of both The
World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer and Udall. An audio clip of Obama promising to be
dedicated to his job is interspersed with images of violence abroad and our
semi-retired president on vacation. A
cropped image of American journalist James Foley’s murderer is part of the
montage.
OBAMA: You, you give me this
office and in turn my fears, doubts, insecurities, foibles, need for sleep,
vacations, leisure is gone.
UDALL: I know as far as I
feel, this diplomatic path that we're on right now is a good one.
OBAMA: I’m giving myself to
you and the American people should have no patience for whatever is going
through your head because you’ve got a job to do.
UDALL: I know as far as I
feel, this diplomatic path that we're on right now is a good one.
The ad concludes with these words flashed on the screen: “To change Washington, you must change your
Senator.”
Udall’s campaign was quick to
criticize the ad saying, "James Foley’s death is a tragedy, and to use his
killer’s horrific image for personal gain in a campaign ad is reprehensible and
appalling."
Udall's campaign manager, Daniel
Sena, said in a statement, "If Allen Weh wants to talk about the issues
with New Mexico voters he should find a way to do it that is respectful and
substantive. Using James Foley’s horrific and tragic death for shock value is
offensive to Mr. Foley's family, New Mexico voters and the rest of our
country."
“Out of respect for the Foley
family, no picture of James Foley was used,” Weh’s campaign manager, Diego
Espinoza, said in an email to Politico’s
Morning Score. “Tom Udall’s feigned outrage over the inclusion of a now
familiar image of this Jihadi terrorist, who is clearly the face of the evil
that threatens our nation. Senator Udall’s comments about our diplomacy being
‘good’ reflect his naiveté and inexperience in matters of national security.”
In a telephone interview with Albuquerque's KRQE
News 13, Weh said he stood by the ad.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. In fact, I think it
serves the greater good. You’ll note
that no picture of Mr. Foley was ever in that film. None, ever.”
Late Monday night, Foley’s
brother Michael, gave KRQE a statement saying his family had “no reaction”
to Weh’s ad. “His decision [to
use the image] doesn’t affect the family.”
If you would like to contribute
to Weh’s campaign to help restore leadership go here.
And here's his "Freedom" ad
