George Flinn aired a campaign ad several weeks ago that featured three visibly pregnant women who said they were voting for Finn for Congress in West Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District. Flinn is challenging incumbent Congressman David Kustoff in the Republican Primary. The women pointed out that Kustoff had voted for the $1.3 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill that included about $500 million in funding for Planned Parenthood. They noted that Flinn is pro-life, like them, and that his support for unborn life was the reason they and their families were voting for Flinn.
Kustoff responded last week with his own television ad and mail piece featuring a photo of the three women declaring them to be “fake news.” Now, Flinn has counterpunched back with a television commercial featuring one of the three women criticizing Kustoff for attacking “pregnant women.”
FLINN AD “Fake News” transcript:
Clip from Flinn ad: “…and that’s a vote for George Flinn, a true conservative.”
Cecilia M.: “David Kustoff is calling us ‘fake news.’ We aren’t fake. We are real. He’s the one lying about his voting record and about us. I looked at his vote, and I told the truth. Kustoff is so desperate that he attacks pregnant women.
Here’s what I’d like you to know. I’m a real voter. And I’m voting for a real conservative, George Flinn; someone who sticks to facts and not attacks.”
George Flinn: “I’m George Flinn and I approved this message.”
Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill said the Kustoff ad is already producing significant voter backlash, and that the voter response to his attacking pregnant women will be amplified by Cecilia M. defending herself and her friends. “This is a pretty classic case of campaign overreach, and perhaps it should be included in the ‘what not to do’ session at future campaign schools.”
“The Kustoff team could have featured Flinn’s photo in responding to the initial ad,” Gill pointed out, “but attacking the women — and clearly pregnant women at that — was way out of bounds. Kustoff gave the Flinn team a gift, and they have taken full advantage of it. It is a self-inflicted wound for Kustoff, and one that will definitely leave a mark. If Kustoff loses, he can thank his own ad and mailing for it.”
