Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Angle And Vitter Use The Same Photo Of ‘Illegal Aliens’ In Racially-Tinged Attack Ads

By Andrea Nill

Last month, Nevada senatorial candidate Sharron Angle (R) released an ad that portrayed opponent Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) as being the “best friend an illegal alien ever had.” This month, Angle’s latest racially-tinged ad goes after Reid and his support of undocumented students. The ad includes offensive footage of menacing men with flashlights walking along a fence that was featured in her first ad in addition to a new image featuring three scowling Latino men as the narrator proclaims, “and now Harry Reid is fighting for a program that would give preferred college tuition rates to none other than illegal aliens.” Watch it:

Reid’s campaign released a fact check and a statement on the ad saying, “despicably, Angle’s new ad ramps up her use of incendiary imagery to appeal to Nevadans’ worst fears, while using the exact same thoroughly-debunked lies from her first two ads — lies that independent analysts and fact-checkers have called out as false.” However, Angle isn’t the only Republican lawmaker to invoke negative anti-Latino stereotypes. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) used the same exact photo in one of his own attack ads:

vitterangle

The Wonk Room puts Angle’s allegations in context and outlines her troubling pattern of racially-tinged ads.

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