Following a televised debate on Sunday, former Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz acknowledged that certain aspects of her latest attack ad against the frontrunner candidate, Rep. Chris Murphy, were “inaccurate.”
The ad has sparked a back-and-forth spat between the Democratic candidates, who are both the subjects of an Aug. 14 political primary in Connecticut.
In the 30-second ad, which is viewable here, Bysiewicz takes aim at Murphy’s campaign contributions that he’s received since first being elected to Congress in 2006. Bysiewicz makes a claim that Murphy has received more hedge fund donations compared to any other Democrat in Congress.
This claim, as her campaign acknowledged, was inaccurate, however, as reported by CTNewsJunkie.com, Bysiewicz says the overall message stands true: Murphy has received significant financial backing from Wall Street entities.
From 2006 to 2001, Murphy has gottten over $700,000 in financial contributions since, although not all of that was straight Wall Street cash, according to OpenSecrets.org. In fact, as CTMirror.org points out, the category is broad because it includes many Connecticut-based financial houses as well as other and insurers within Hartford.
"Here's the larger point," Bysiewicz’ spokesman Jonathan Ducote told CTMirror.org. "There is a whole series of data points we were trying to demonstrate. He has benefitted from Wall Street cash to the detriment of the middle class."
Murphy’s campaign has argued that the ad should come down, citing the fact that it contains the inaccuracies.
The candidate told CTNewsJunkie.com the following:
“If Susan is continuing to insist on running the ad it reflects a denial of reality that is both sad and a little frightening.”
What is your take on this ad? Should Bysiewicz remove it and apologize because a portion of it is incorrect? Or should she continue to run the ad because, as her campaign puts it, the overall message of the ad is accurate? Take our poll and share your thoughts in the comments.
