November 1, 2012

Um, okaaaaay. This ad is now running in Ohio, thanks to the "Empower Citizens Network." Via TalkingPointsMemo:

Cable viewers in several markets across the state are being treated to ads by an obscure self-described “alternative conservative” super PAC called the Empower Citizens Network. One of the group’s ads accuses Obama and Democrats of imploding the economy by forcing mortgage companies to lend to “unqualified borrowers” while the Soviet national anthem plays. Another promises welfare recipients that “Republicans can save your money source” by reducing regulations on business.

And then there’s the ad which one viewer told TPM is airing in the Columbus area on cable. Our source caught it a couple of times on MSNBC. That ad is the Empower Citizens Network spot that tells African Americans it’s a “lie” that Democrats support them and cites the Emancipation Proclamation as evidence.

The Empower Citizens Network ad uses some old Republican rhetoric to try and earn African American support for the GOP. “Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act while Democrats opposed it,” the narrator says at one point in the Empower Citizens Network ad.

Many African American Republicans will say their party still hasn’t figured out how to expand its support among black voters. John Sununu, a prominent surrogate for Mitt Romney, recently posited the Colin Powell only endorsed Obama because he’s black. In Florida, a move by the Republican-led state government to eliminate early voting on the Sunday before Election Day was seen by African American churches as aimed squarely at them.

And they accuse Democrats of playing the race card.

Here's a protip for the GOP: Start respecting people of color first, and then you'll understand how to reach them to "expand your support."

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