As Star Tribune and MPR Report Attack Ads Backfiring Against Coleman, Franken Campaign Releases New Spot Exposing The Truth

SAINT PAUL [10/09/08] – After media reports revealed that recent ads being run on Norm Coleman’s behalf were misrepresenting Al Franken’s tribute to the late Sen. Paul Wellstone in order to smear Franken, Franken’s campaign today released a new 60-second ad, “Disgrace.”

The ad features un-edited footage of Franken telling the same story about his friend Paul Wellstone that Coleman’s allies robbed of its context to create attack ads that have been called “false” and “among the most misleading” in the race.

Communications Director Andy Barr:

“Minnesotans are sick of Norm Coleman and the disgusting campaign to smear Al Franken. These lies are beneath the dignity of a United States Senator – and Norm Coleman should be ashamed of himself.”

Recent reports suggest that Coleman’s campaign of lies and personal attacks has backfired – with Minnesota Public Radio reporting that, by a 48%-21% margin, voters believe Coleman is primarily responsible for the negative campaign.

You can watch the ad here:
http://www.alfranken.com/Ad_Disgrace/

SCRIPT

Announcer: Paul Wellstone used to run alongside his son, David, when David was running cross country races. Listen to Al Franken tell the story.

Al Franken (from speech at Wellstone Center): And David said, “Yeah, but get this. My dad made me run cross country. And this is like a two-and-a-half- three-mile race every time. And my dad would run alongside me on the edge of the course, off the edge of the course. And I’d get to the last quarter mile, and I’d be behind by, you know, ten or fifteen yards, and I’d be totally out of gas. My dad would see it. And my dad running alongside would start yelling, ‘You can take this guy! You can take him. You can take this guy! You can take him. You can take this guy.”

Announcer: Look familiar? That’s right. Ads for Norm Coleman use this footage of Al Franken telling this story about Paul Wellstone and his son and try to make is seem like he was angry. Minnesota deserves better.

Al Franken: I’m Al Franken and I approve this message.

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KARE 11: “Franken Ad ‘Rant’ Actually A Wellstone Imitation.” In October 2008, KARE 11 reported, “When you watch the clip out of context, or with the volume turned off, it’s easy to assume Al Franken is very mad about something. The DFL senate candidate is seen waving his arms and shouting, so you wouldn’t guess he’s simply getting into character for a story he’s told many times along the campaign trail. That’s exactly why it works so well in a National Republican Senatorial Campaign spot designed to paint Franken as out of control and lacking the temperament required to be a United States Senator. In reality the Democrat’s apparent ‘rant’ is his imitation of the late Senator Paul Wellstone, as he relates a story Wellstone’s son David told him … ‘The first time I saw this ad I assumed it was something he’d done during his Air America days and had been captured on video,’ University of Minnesota advertising and consumer behavior expert Ron Faber told KARE 11. He said voters have come to expect political ads to be filled with exaggerations, lies, half truths and words taken out of context. And yet the use of this particular clip seemed especially misleading to him. ‘But this one would be really hard to imagine the context it really came from,’ Faber remarked, ‘So it’s probably a little worse than most.‘” [KARE 11, 10/7/08 (emphasis added)]

Star Tribune Editor: “Franken Event Stripped Ad Bare.” In October 2008, Star Tribune Commentary Editor Eric Ringham wrote that at his rally with Vice President Gore, “Franken told a story I hadn’t heard, and it speaks at least a slender volume about both Franken and the people opposing him. We’ve all seen the Republicans’ ‘Angry Al’ commercials, showing Franken apparently in mid-coronary. He looks like Mussolini on crack, bouncing and shouting and pumping his fist. He looks deranged. On Saturday, Franken announced that he wanted to tell a story about Paul Wellstone, and cautioned that he’d been filmed telling the story before, and that the film had been used in a commercial to make him seem to be ranting and raving. Even so, he wanted to tell it again. Franken recounted a conversation with Wellstone’s son David. He’d asked if it were true that the energetic Wellstone had actually run up and down the sidelines during his son’s soccer games, to be close to the action. David had replied, not only that: I ran cross country. Dad would run parallel to the course for the entire race. Toward the end of a race, out of gas, David might feel outclassed by a competitor. At that point his dad would erupt with a rhetorical blitz: You can do it! You’ve got him! You can take this guy! Retelling the story, Franken conjured the physical Wellstone, and did indeed look like Mussolini on crack. It was a pretty fair rendition of Wellstone at a certain point in some of his speeches. It was easy to imagine a sprinting Wellstone yelling, ‘You can take this guy! You can take this guy!’ And Franken concluded: ‘I’m gonna take this guy.’ It’s impressive that Franken, having had his likeness appropriated so dishonestly, would open himself to the same appropriation again. And it’s astonishing that Coleman, knowing the context of Franken’s frenetic performance, would have anything to do with something so dishonest.” [Star Tribune, Eric Ringham Column, 10/6/08 (emphasis added)]

Star Tribune: “Coleman Loser In Bad Ad Competition.” In October 2008, the Star Tribune reported, “And the loser in the bad ad competition, according to a new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll, is Republican Sen. Norm Coleman… The poll shows that 45 percent of likely voters say the ads don’t make a difference to them, one way or the other. But 20 percent said the ads made them more likely to vote for Franken, while 12 percent said they were more likely to back Coleman.” [Star Tribune, 10/3/08]

MPR/Humphrey Institute Poll Showed Minnesotans Blaming Coleman For Negative Ads At A Two To One Ratio. In October 2008, MPR reported, “According to the two polls, likely Minnesota voters by a more than two-to-one margin blame Coleman more than Franken for the negative tone of the ads in the Senate race.” 48% of respondents said Coleman was running more negative ads, while only 21% said Franken and that four in ten surveyed said they were less likely to support the negative candidate. [MPR, 10/8/08]

KSTP: New Republican Ad Attacking Franken Is “Among The Most Misleading” On The Air.” Last night, KSTP anchor Tom Hauser showed a clip of the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s latest ad attacking Al Franken and said, “This ad, produced by the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee hitting ads on the air. It’s also among the most misleading … Franken did work on a comedy sketch about rape for ‘Saturday Night Live’ that never aired. He did not write about committing rape himself, which the ad could lead you to believeis among the most ominous and hard.” Hauser later added, “It’s true, there are many video clips of Franken losing his temper and swearing. But the charge he physically assaulted a protestor appears to be false.” Finally, Hauser showed a clip saying Franken had “$70,000 in unpaid taxes,” and said, “This statement is misleading. Franken did owe back taxes in 17 states and has since paid them all. There’s no evidence he has any unpaid taxes now. Due to several misleading statements, and this closing graphic that almost makes it look like Franken is behind bars, this ad gets a D-. I’m Tom Hauser with the Truth Test.” [KSTP, 9/24/08 (emphasis added)]

Pioneer Press Blog: NRSC Ad “Exaggerates To Leave The Wrong Impression.” In September 2008, Pioneer Press political reporter Rachel Stassen-Berger, assessed an NRSC ad for her blog. She wrote, “The ad exaggerates to leave the wrong impression, as almost all ads with scary music, grainy photos, ominous voices do. David Brauer, over on MinnPost, does a good job of breaking the ad down here. He doesn’t note the odd grammar in this sentence, ‘Franken writes about committing rape,’ which could read that Franken committed rape, which is false, rather than suggested a joke that included a rape, which is true.” [Pioneer Press, "Political Animal," 9/22/08 (emphasis added)]

Star Tribune: “Ads On Franken Tax Errors Mislead And Omit Key Facts.” According to the Star Tribune, “A recurring theme of the ad war in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race has been the claim of Sen. Norm Coleman and his allies that Democratic challenger Al Franken didn’t pay taxes … How do the ads stand up to an audit? The phrases accurately describe Franken’s tax problem only in the most literal sense. They’re misleading for what they don’t say and the implication they leave … Other ads from the Coleman campaign or the National Republican Senatorial Committee merely say that Franken hasn’t paid taxes. There’s no hint in those ads of him having paid taxes, only to the wrong jurisdictions, or to his unchallenged claim that it was a mistake he corrected. Given the months that have passed since the tax story broke, the omissions could confuse viewers about what really happened.” [Star Tribune, 9/25/08 (emphasis added)]

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 9th, 2008 at 9:19 and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.