Democrats Demand Ken Cuccinelli Take Down ‘Deceptive’ Campaign Ad

Gov. Peter Shumlin holds a news conference on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 in Waterbury, Vt. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin says he’s happy to enter into fresh talks with Dodge, a neighbor who is displeased with a real esta... Gov. Peter Shumlin holds a news conference on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 in Waterbury, Vt. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin says he’s happy to enter into fresh talks with Dodge, a neighbor who is displeased with a real estate deal the two struck last year, but no talks have been scheduled yet. Shumlin made the comment Wednesday, a week after media reports quoted Jerry Dodge of East Montpelier as saying he got short-changed when Shumlin, who had just built a house next door, bought his property for about a quarter of what was then its town appraisal. Since then, Dodge’s family and friends have raised questions about whether Shumlin took advantage of a man they describe as being of limited intellect. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot) MORE LESS
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Vermont Gov. Pete Shumlin, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, said Friday the latest campaign ad from Virginia’s GOP gubernatorial candidate, Ken Cuccinelli “opens up a new frontier of slime in American politics” and demanded it be pulled from air.

“Ken Cuccinelli’s campaign has been lobbing desperate and misleading attacks against Terry for months now, but I would argue this new ad has gone over the line and it opens up a new frontier of slime in American politics,” Shumlin said in a conference call with reporters. 

The ad in question features workers who were laid off from Global Crossing, a company in which Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe was an investor. It accuses McAuliffe of having “cashed in” when the company went bankrupt and features the workers discussing how they lost their retirement and severance packages.

However, according to a Mother Jones report published Thursday, two of the three workers who appeared in the commercial were told they were participating in a documentary and did not realize it was an ad attacking McAuliffe. One of the three workers told Mother Jones they would not have taken part in the filming if they had been told it was for and ad aimed at McAuliffe. 

“Assuming that everything that Mother Jones reports is true, I just am absolutely shocked at this unbelievably deceptive practice and call upon Ken Cuccinelli to pull the ad immediately,” said Shumlin.

Shumlin also urged the Republican Governors Association and its chair, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, to push for the ad’s removal. 

“It should be noted that yesterday the Republican Governor’s Association contributed another million to his campaign, so I’m not only calling upon Ken Cuccinelli to pull the ads, I’m also calling upon RGA Chair Gov. Jindal to immediately urge him to do the same,” Shumlin said.

View the ad below. 

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