Mark Amodei, the Republican candidate in Nevada’s special election, released his second television ad on Wednesday, in which he attacks Harry Reid and President Obama and promises not to vote to raise the debt ceiling.
“Are you better off now than you were two years ago?” the ad asks. “Nevada’s not. But Washington is. President Obama and Harry Reid have given us more out of control spending, a huge debt and now they’re pushing for job-killing taxes. They just want a blank check.”
“I’m Mark Amodei and I approve this message because I want you to know that if you elect me to represent you I will vote to cut taxes and not increase the Obama debt limit,” Amodei says. “Obama and Reid have failed us. It’s up to us.”
The ad is significantly less inflammatory than Amodei’s last ad, which featured images of the Chinese army marching through the US Capitol and a newscaster explaining the future scenario in which the United States’ debt to China got so big that China ultimately took over the US.
Amodei’s spokesman Peter DeMarco explained, “this race is going to be about budget and taxes and Obama’s debt ceiling plan … we want to make sure [voters] understand who’s the true fiscal steward.”
“There’s a very strong contrast between Mark and Kate,” DeMarco said, referring to Amodei’s Democratic opponent Kate Marshall. (Amodei, Marshall to face off in Nevada special House election, Supreme Court rules)
“She’s trying to portray herself as an outsider in Washington,” he said, but argued that Marshall cannot make that case, saying that “she is very closely tied to Harry Reid and Obama; she is their candidate.”
The Nevada Democratic Party immediately responded. Communications director Zach Hudson emailed: “Career politician Mark Amodei released another misleading ad this week that doubles down on his pledge to throw Nevada seniors under the bus. In his new ad, Amodei says he would vote against the United States paying its bills, a reckless move that would prevent Nevada seniors from receiving their Social Security, VA benefits and disability checks.”
“The fact remains,” Hudson added, “Mark Amodei has zero credibility on tax cuts or creating jobs, and his latest stunt threatening the health and livelihood of Nevada seniors will not change that position. Thankfully, the voters of CD2 have a clear choice between Kate Marshall, a job creator who has pledged to protect their Social Security and Medicare, and Mark Amodei, a career politician whose reckless agenda would end Medicare and take away senior citizens’ Social Security checks.”
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