Below is the Harrisburg WHP CBS-TV21 report by Christina Butler on a recent campaign AD which was pulled because of lies it contained. The Ad was clearly designed to mis-characterize one candidate in the Pennsylvania State Attorney General’s election by lying about past incidents. After the lies were exposed in public the RSLC pulled the AD but has not issued an apology to Kathleen Kane. Nor has an apology been issued by her opponent David Freed. His campaign also refused to ask that the AD be removed.
Should the organization and Freed apologize? Should Freed have called for the AD to be immediately removed? Also, what is a group from outside Pennsylvania trying to accomplish by influencing a state race?
A controversial ad for an Attorney General candidate has been pulled from the airwaves. It was paid for by supporters of Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed and blasts his opponent as weak in punishing rapists. It’s being called the nastiest attack ad of the 2012 cycle. It aired in the Philadelphia market, but many stations there pulled it and now the group responsible says they’ll remove it as well.
“Of Kane’s few cases, a judge rejected a weak plea deal she made because of brutality of crime, and age of the victim,” stated the ad.
Much of the controversy in the ad blasting Kathleen Kane came when the father of that rape victim called the ad a lie and asked Republicans to take it off the air. A group called the Republican State Leadership Committee paid for the ad. Kane, a Democrat, is running for Attorney General against Cumberland County District Attorney Republican David Freed. His camp says the ad was independently produced, saying in a statement,
“David Freed is running his campaign with honesty and integrity,” urged his campaign manager, Tim Kelly.
“It’s our sincere hope that our opponent, as well as any outside groups that are supporting our campaign or our opponent’s campaign, conduct themselves in an honest and ethical manner.”
The RSLC is now backing off the ad.
“Kane also went soft on the rapist of a 16-year-old, who was released and later assaulted 2 more victims,” furthered the ad.
Saying instead of focusing on the specific cases, they’ll focus on other examples of Kane failing to protect victims of abuse. Governor Corbett endorses David Freed, we reached out to him for comment but his campaign declined. The PA Democratic Party Chairman issued the following statement to PA GOP Attorney General candidate David Freed:
“I have a message for David Freed since no one can seem to find him and he has not called on his DC pals at the RSLC to immediately pull down their vicious attack ads still running in Philadelphia against Kathleen Kane, which even they admit are false – Tell your out of state friends to immediately take down their admittedly false and vicious TV attack ads against Kathleen Kane.”
Chairman Burn continued, “David Freed’s inaction right now speaks volumes as to what kind of Attorney General’s Office he would run in our state if his campaign for Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement job doesn’t even care about the truth. Kathleen is a tough prosecutor, tough as nails on crime and the right woman for the job of Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
Schmidt Kramer – Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers. Ph: (717) 888-8888.