FEINGOLD CHALLENGER OFF THE WALL IN FIRST AD

WALL AD IS FIRST OF SENATE RACE

NEGATIVE SPOT CALLED "MISLEADING" BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

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WEALTHY MADISON DEVELOPER MISSED THREE OF LAST SIX ELECTIONS

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COULD SWIM TO DOYLE'S MANSION IN SEASON -- UNDERWATER!

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com 

By Michael Horne

And The Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team

The first ad has been launched by the current unknown Republican who hopes to become a United States Senator from Wisconsin, and it's ugly.
"Fed Up," from the campaign of Madison developer Terrence Wall, says that "after 28 years, Senator Russ Feingold isn't listening any more!"
The ad goes on to say Feingold proposes to nationalize health care, among other assertions that drew an immediate response from the Feingold campaign, which called it "harsh and negative."
The Feingold folks cited an "Adwatch" analysis of the Wall spot issued by the Associated Press yesterday, Tuesday, February 9th, 2010.
The non-partisan AP analysis by Dinesh Ramde found:

The ad, in both the narration and a graphic, refers to a "government takeover of health care." That's misleading, as neither the House nor Senate bill advocates that government take over health care.

The graphic is also pretty scary, since it shows Russ juxtaposed with an image of himself reminiscent of the Shepard Fairey graphics used in the Obama campaign. Feingold never used such graphics in his own campaign, but Republicans and teabaggers have pounced on the iconography and appropriated it for their own -- and always use it to portray opponents in a negative light.


Although negative ads exist because they work, it is usually a bad sign if they are the only weapon in a candidate's arsenal.


An unknown candidate like Terrence Wall probably should have first introduced himself to the public in a feel-good ad before going absolutely ballistic on his opponent, with inaccuracies and inuendos. For example, while the incumbent indeed has been properly styled as "Senator Russ Feingold" for 28 years, as Wall's advertisement claims, for the first 11 of those years, he was State Senator Russ Feingold, not United States Senator Feingold.


It is not a good sign that the Wall campaign resorts to such petty insults in its first venture out of the box. It strikes me that this is a "one-size-fits-all" campaign orchestrated by Republican National Committee operatives and likely to be reproduced around the country with the same inaccuracies, hyperboles and distorted graphics from sea to shining sea.

The ads began running statewide today, and are slated to appear through the week of February 22nd,2010.

FUN FACT!

Here is Wall's voting history from April 4 2006 to April 7 2009. Wall voted eight times, and missed such important races as the Presidential Primary Election in 2008, the September primary that year, and the all-important February 2009 primary election. That's three out of the last six! (Feingold cast a ballot in all 11 elections.) Wall also voted 30 times between 1986 and 1998 at a previous address. Data from 1998 to 2006 may be missing, or possibly Wall took a voter vacation during that period.
--Michael Horne

WALL IS NEIGHBOR TO GOVERNOR


Although the state voter records cited above show Wall's address at 57 Cambridge Road to be located in the City of Madison, the address is indeed in the Village of Maple Bluff, Wisconsin, and appears to be no more than a boathouse or two down from the Executive Residence of the Governor of Wisconsin at 99 Cambridge Road on the shores of Lake Mendota.
--Michael Horne


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