A conservative group is now attacking Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), with a new ad singling him out for having headed up a group for Arab-American supporters of Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign.
As Amanda Terkel reports, the West Virginia Conservative Foundation’s new ad shows video of Rahall, with scary-sounding music in the background. “Now I happen to have been an early supporter of Barack Obama…I campaigned with him in the hills of West Virginia. And I proudly chaired the Arab-Americans for Obama campaign nationwide group, dedicated to mobilizing Arab-Americans and bringing light to those issues we care about.”
An announcer then cuts in: “Call Nick Rahall and tell him what you care about.”
Rahall is a Christian of Lebanese descent, and was born and raised in West Virginia.
The interesting thing about this ad is that it combines two attacks into one: That Rahall is a long-time supporter of President Obama, and that he chaired an Arab-American campaign group.
On the one hand, the Obama-based attack is certainly fair game. According to the TPM Poll Average, Obama’s approval in West Virginia is only 31.6%, with 65.0% disapproving. So linking a Dem to Obama is an obvious way to go for any Republican candidate or organization.
On the other hand, basing an attack on the aforementioned Arab-American group, well…
