UPDATE: Doheny ad ‘goes negative’ against Hoffman

So I’ve watched the new Doheny advertisement and it is, indeed, a go-negative sort of spot.  It begins with Matt Doheny saying that he approves of the messages because “you have the right to know.”

Watch the Doheny Ad

TRANSCRIPT:

The narration plays against a looped slow-mo video of Doug Hoffman rendered in grainy black and white standing close to the camera, looking distracted or nervous.

“Doug Hoffman is personally pocketing thousands in campaign dollars.  Hoffman took over $9,000 for office rent and staff lodging.  Pocketed almost $7,000 for mileage and expenses.  Almost $8,000 for his accounting firm.  Hoffman took over $3,000 in interest for campaign loans.  Money from special interests financing his campaign. Doug Hoffman – taking care of himself.”

Here’s the follow-up question I’ve emailed to the Doheny campaign:

Why would it be peculiar for Doug Hoffman to spend $16,000 on office rent, staff lodging, mileage and expenses?  Isn’t that what campaign money is supposed to pay for?

I’ll let you know how they answer.

Watertown Mayor Jeff Graham was the first to draw attention to the advert.  Here’s his review:

The gloves came off in a television ad I saw tonight on channel 3 in Syracuse…The spot ran in the break before Saturday Night Live.

In the commercial, Hoffman is depicted in a creepy way with a grainy facial close-up looped to play in slow motion.

The copy recites a previous charge that Hoffman has profited from his campaign funds which the Doheny spot says come from special interests.

In particular the spot cites reimbursements for travel expenses charged to the campaign and interest paid to Hoffman on funds lent to the campaign.

As Graham points out, the new ad surfaces at a time when the Doheny camp has been “prodding” Team Hoffman for more debates.

This from the Adirondack Daily Enterprise’s Nate Brown last week:

Doheny campaign spokeswoman Alison Power…criticized Hoffman Thursday, accusing him of ducking debates outside of his “comfort zone” and calling on him to say what his prior commitment is and offer another day for a debate hosted by the Young Republicans.

She said Doheny would clear his schedule to accommodate it.

“If they don’t want to debate except in friendly territory, that’s fine, but stop saying in the media you’re willing to debate,” Power said. “It’s clear that you’re not.”

As Mayor Graham points out in his political blog, Doheny’s more aggressive stance — demanding debates and launching negative TV salvos — isn’t what you see from a politician holding a comfortable lead:

Conventional wisdom is you don’t go negative unless the need is there and this race may be seen as close or with Hoffman having an edge.

Meanwhile, here’s the response from the Hoffman folks:

Hoffman’s campaign spokesperson Rob Ryan said, “Matt Doheny should be ashamed of himself. His new attack ad is filled with lies, half truths and innuendo. It is obviously a desperate attempt by Matt Doheny to save his floundering campaign. The allegations outlined on the ad are somewhere between ridiculous and absurd and that’s why Doheny has not released the sleazy 30 second spot to the media.”

Tags: election10