More Lying Attack Ads; Boyda Sets the Reocrd Straight

Really, Republicans, enough already! A new ad on the airwaves now telling the world Congresswoman Nancy Boyda voted for "the largest tax increase in history" even though she never did any such thing.

Here's the ad from "Republicans Who Care" (gag, retch)

The awful, awful thing about this horrible, horrible claim is that IT ISN'T EVEN KIND OF TRUE. No truth. It's not that it's just partially true and we're quibbling about details, no, this claim is TOTALLY FALSE! Boyda hasn't voted to increase taxes on everyday, average Kansans even once. Gah! (We're nearing the Bounce Boyda freakout stage on this one, kids- watch out...)

If the claim even sounded remotely reasonable, the people of the district might respond to it, but the very idea Boyda voted for "the largest tax increase in history" sounds ludicrous, it sounds outlandish, and because of that, no one believes it. Doesn't stop the Republicans for repeating their favorite lie- Jenkins has now used the false claim in two of her four TV ads, it's the center piece of the NRCC's ad, and it's the basis of this new ad. So much money spent pushing a lie.

Anyway, Boyda responded today with a new radio ad:

"Hi, I'm Nancy Boyda. You know, I've heard it said there are only three sure things in this world: death, taxes, and attack ads.

"This campaign season, you're getting all three in one package: attack ads about taxes meant to scare you to death.

"These ads are paid for by D.C. attack groups, spending almost a half-million dollars to tell Kansans how to vote. And in case you were wondering, they're lying.

"Let's set the record straight. Congress has never voted for the so-called 'largest tax increase in history.' Check for yourself! The Journal-World reported these 'tax increase claims... are not true.'

"Here's the truth. I support renewing every single one of the middle-class Bush tax cuts – tax cuts for workers, for families, and yes, for extending the exemption on the death tax.

"These are tough economic times, and you'd better believe I'll keep fighting for middle-class tax relief.

"I'm Nancy Boyda, I'm running for Congress, and I approved this message because democracy requires a thoughtful and informed debate."

It's horrible the Republicans are willing to lie to steal a seat- but that's Karl Rove politics. It's too bad Lynn Jenkins thinks it's ok here.

Cook Political Report Upgrades KS-02 to "Leans Democratic"

Brand new on The Cook Political Report today- this race has been officially upgraded from "Toss-up" to "Leans Democratic."

Why? The NRCC pulled hundreds of thousands in ads for Lynn Jenkins, Jenkins has been plagued by two weeks of horrible news stories locally pointing out she's really, really just not a competent state treasurer...oh, and, even though she raised a huge amount of money, Boyda still has more cash on hand going into the final stretch.

Saw the CULAC ad on TV last night- reminds us all Jenkins is good with money. Is that sound we hear the district laughing?

Ryun Drops $30K on New TV Spot

We've just learned the Jim Ryun campaign has purchased another round of TV, spending almost $30K on 276 spots in the Topeka and Joplin markets.

Indicators point to this buy being a new ad, but we don't yet have confirmation on that.

UPDATE: Make that 294 ads- he also bought 10 spots on KTMJ, the Topeka FOX affiliate. The ad will be up July 8.

Analysis: Ryun's Ad Filled with Deep Metaphor Missed by Most

For those who missed it, Washburn University Political Science professor Dr. Bob Beatty was on Topeka NBC affiliate KSNT yesterday with his take on Jim Ryun's first ad the of the primary season, which is called by the Ryun campaign, "Duckling."

We don't disagree with Beatty's interperation of the ad, metaphors and all, but we're also quite certain the casual TV viewing audience isn't nearly as engage or paying nearly as much attention as neccessary to even begin to fathom that level of obliqueness.

We've all heard just one thing about this ad, "We all said we didn't know enough about Jim Ryun to vote for him again, and the first thing you tell us in your ads is the ONLY THING WE ALL ALREADY KNOW!"

Ryun's Media Buy Expands into New Markets

We still aren't sure if Frm. Congressman Jim Ryun is keeping his same "introduction" ad up or if this buy is going to be something new, but he has expanded his TV ad buy into the Joplin, MO market (which covers the southern portion of the district including Pittsburg), and also onto the Topeka ABC affiliate. That puts him up on the big three in Topeka (still not on FOX). Nothin' in the St. Joseph market still.

Buy for this week totals $28,300.

Still nothing from Jenkins- if you do see an ad for Jenkins, or any kind of independent expenditure, e-mail us at boydabloc@gmail.com

Memo to Ryun; Find a New Campaign Manager

In today's AP story about Jim Ryun's worthless new TV commercial, Ryun's Campaign Manager Kyle Robertson tries to explain why they went with it's particular message.

"A lot of what we're seeing and hearing from people is they didn't know enough about Jim when he was in Congress," Robertson said.

Yep, that's probably true- because Jim never ever talks about anything he might have accomplished when he was in Congress. So, how exactly does this ad fix that problem?

"What Kansans want to know is what makes the man himself, what drives him."

Um, WRONG. What Kansans want to know is exactly what you just said they wanted to know- they don't want to know about him personally, they want to know what he did when he was there. Does the Ryun campaign really believe Kansans don't know anything about him? Please.

The AP piece also says:

Nor does it mention any specific issues or even that he's running as a Republican.

What is it your running from, Mr. Ryun?

Ryun On TV: "Ducking" His Record

Tuesday marks the first day of the televised leg of the 2008 Republican primary in the Kansas 2nd Congressional District- with our first ad coming in from Frm. Congressman Jim Ryun:

Talk about an ad without worthwhile content. After a decade in Congress and one would have hoped, for his sake, a laundry list of accomplishments, the only thing Jim Ryun wants to tell the Republican primary voters in his former district is that he used to be a runner and he participated in the Olympics 30 years ago?

Biographical ads are all well and good- if no one has ever heard of you. But Jim Ryun is basically the incumbent Republican in this race- how could a man who received the Republican nomination in five separate cycles not be- so he has absolutely no business trying to bowl voters voter with shiny happy "I used to be a track hero" ads.

Ryun's made this mistake before, of course- focusing on everything but what people really care about- what he has done for them. Maybe he never, ever talks about his time in Congress because he'd really rather people forget he ever even was in Congress- and that he took money from Tom Delay and that he got a sweetheart deal on a townhouse in DC from friends of Jack Abramhoff, and maybe he'd like everyone to forget he sat on his hands while budgets ballooned and illegal immigrants entered the country unabated.

Or maybe he just didn't do anything at all while he was in Washington. Either way...he'd rather talk about running thank you very much.

Regardless of why he's made the bad choice he has made, if Ryun honestly wants people to trust him again, he's going to have to do a lot more than just smile and warm-fuzzy them to the polls.

As a side note: Does anyone else get the sense the ad is indirectly referring to Ryun's loss to Congresswoman Nancy Boyda when it says he has the "determination to get back up, even after a fall," and then to Lynn Jenkins when the announcer says Jim never allows "obstacles to stand in his way"? Just a thought...that's how it struck us.

BREAKING: Ryun Up on TV Tomorrow

Frm. Congressman Jim Ryun will take to the airwaves tomorrow in a very limited ad buy (just under $13,000 and just on Topeka CBS affiliate WIBW), making him the first Kansas in the 2nd Congressional District race to bring the campaign to television.

UPDATE: Ryun has also purchased another $6,500 worth of ads on the Topeka NBC affiliate KSNT.

UPDATE II: Click here to view Ryun's ad (it is in .wmv format)

AP Analysis: Clean Campaign Only Benefits Ryun

A wonderful little bit of political analysis was provided by AP reporter John Hanna over the weekend regarding Jim Ryun's request Lynn Jenkins hobble her primary campaign against him with a pledge to never mention him.

We've already made the same point, but it's always nice to have your sense of things re-enforced by outside forces.

Ryun, the congressman ousted in 2006, and his GOP rival, State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, filed for office hours apart last week. In between, Ryun issued his call for a campaign free of the negative attacks that he said tend to alienate voters.

[...]

Jenkins shows no signs of accepting the pledge, but if she did, it could limit her campaign against Ryun. If she rejects the pledge, Ryun is almost certain to point that fact out to voters in a bid for their support.

It's an unfortunate lose-lose for Jenkins. If she doesn't mention Ryun in her TV buys, she can't draw the distinctions between them that are going to be necessary in order for her to beat him. And, if she doesn't sign the "clean campaign pledge," Ryun's going to make sure every single person in the district knows she plays dirty. Neither place are places Jenkins should want to be. Hanna agrees:

Not mentioning Ryun by name would make it difficult to contrast Ryun's voting record with her positions. Ryun's clean campaign means one devoid of the criticism of him that needs to take root in voters' minds for her to win.

[...]

Thus, Ryun has reasons to call for a clean campaign outside of any desire to respect voters' sensitivities. He has the potential to gain an advantage over Jenkins, regardless of how she responds.

We also just love the false sentiment from Jim Ryun- he's just doing this for the voters! No, Jim, you're doing this in an attempt to save your own ass.

And, really, this is an interesting pivot for Ryun to make. After all, just like Hanna says when he cited a 2004 ad Ryun ran against now-Congresswoman Nancy Boyda featuring a picture of Osama Bin Laden, Ryun has been known for playing particularly dirty- which is certainly something Lynn Jenkins is willing to point out:

Jenkins was skeptical. She noted that last year, she was the target of ads by national groups, describing them as "buddies" of Ryun's. Ryun's campaign has said there was no coordination.

And, suggesting she wouldn't take the pledge, she said: "Unfortunately, everybody knows that Jim Ryun didn't do a lot for us in Washington, D.C."

After months of trading jabs up and down the 2nd District, we can't expect anything different now that they're official candidates. We just can't wait for their pre-primary TV!