Ron Paul’s campaign has launched a new ad this week on cable TV, that’s being broadcast in both Iowa and New Hampshire. Called “Big Dog,” the ad accuses the other candidates of being all bark and no bite when it comes to cutting government spending.
Aptly called “testosterone-laden” by the Des Moines Register, the ad pushes the idea that only Ron Paul will “drain the swamp” and reign in government spending. The ad promises that while his opponents whine “like little shih tzus,” Paul will cut federal spending by $1 trillion in the first year as well as eliminate five federal agencies. The ad depicts the Departments of Education, the Interior, Energy, Hud, and Commerce going up in smoke. A spokesman for Paul’s campaign declined to give the size of the ad buy, but noted that “it is quite large.”
Few – if any – pundits talk about Ron Paul winning the Republican nomination, but he should not be counted out in Iowa. According to a Des Moines Register poll out Saturday, Paul is currently polling in second place behind Newt Gingrich with 18% of the vote. Paul’s platform, a combination of anti-government rhetoric and pro-life social conservatism resonates with Iowa’s conservative caucus-goers. A Des Moines Register poll conducted last week showed a majority of likely voters at the caucuses favor closing multiple government agencies all together. According to the Register, “Sixty percent favor shuttering the Department of Housing and Urban Development; 57 percent support extinction of the Environmental Protection Agency; and 54 percent favor expelling the Department of Education.”
Most commenters agree that the Iowa caucuses are up for grabs. No candidate has more than one office open in the state, and with the exception of Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann, the candidates have spent little time there compared to the ground hustle of past years. Paul’s ad joins new ads from Gingrich as well as ads for Perry and Romney. With a weak ground game and less than a month until January 3, the war on the airwaves may play a big role over the next month.
Watch the ad below:
