Democrats strike back with $80,000 ad buy

On Tuesday, I reported that Gov. Paul LePage’s political arm, Maine People Before Politics, had purchased approximately $35,000 worth of ads to pressure the Legislature to vote against the budget. In true Dennis Bailey fashion (“if they attack you with a fly swatter, come back with a chainsaw“), a national democratic 501(c)4 connected with the Democratic Governor’s Association has purchased an ad buy twice that size to counter the Republican ad campaign.

America Works USA has purchased $80,000 in advertising time over the next week to call on Republicans to support the budget and override the inevitable veto coming from the governor.

The ad shows a number of families talking about how LePage’s budget could have meant “the largest property tax increase in Maine history.” It then pivots to appeal to Republicans to override a veto of the budget by saying “It’s time for Republicans to choose. LePage’s property tax hike or a responsible plan that supports Maine families.”

Finally, like the Maine People Before politics ad, it calls on viewers to “tell your Republican state legislator to support the bipartisan plan to balance Maine’s budget.”

While the ad is not particularly emotional, it gets the job done. It probably won’t generate a ton of calls, but, similar to the LePage team ad, it draws a line in the sand as to who is on the side of working people in Maine. The one big difference, this ad has twice as much money behind it, so it will probably be more effective.