A little bit of a firestorm erupted Thursday after gubernatorial candidate Clay Tippins released a new campaign ad. The ad took aim at two of Tippins’ opponents – Casey Cagle and Hunter Hill. With just a little over a month to go, candidates who may be left out of a possible runoff will have to make some major moves to jump up in the polls and Tippins ad pulls no punches in taking on the leading candidate Cagle and Hill, who is likely fighting Brian Kemp for that runoff slot.
The 30 second ad starts off with the designated Casey Cagle impersonator, wearing the distinctive blue tuxedo – a subtle jab at Cagle’s career background – and dancing with a lady in what appears to be a strip club. The ad knocks Cagle’s support for tax breaks for a strip club. A little research shows the strip club in question is the Clermont Lounge – an Atlanta landmark that was renovated last year with some assistance from a government historic preservation tax credit.
It then shifts to Hill, who it labels as “Benedict Arnold” – even showing a Hill “impersonator” dressed in a British uniform – because of Hill’s brief flirtation with the idea of raising the age to purchase a firearm to 21 and a “C” rating that he had received from the NRA.
The ad prompted a strong response from the Hill campaign. In an email titled “Disgusting Attacks,” the Hill campaign’s Communications Director Cody Hall said “Desperate candidates will make desperate attacks during campaign season – especially if they can’t win voters on their own vision for Georgia.”
Predictably, the response took particular umbrage at the comparison to Benedict Arnold. “This morning, Clay Tippins released a disgusting attack ad calling Hunter a “Benedict Arnold”. Arnold was our nation’s first traitor when he switched sides in the Revolutionary War to fight against his countrymen for the British.”
“I want to let that sink in,” the email continued.
“Hunter led men in battle during three combat tours overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan protecting America and our freedoms. Hunter was also awarded two Bronze Stars for his service. Clay Tippins says Hunter is a “Benedict Arnold”. Politics is politics. People say things to get elected. But, this is simply wrong.”
Clay is running as an ‘outsider’, but he’s campaigning like a slimy politician who will attack the integrity of a combat veteran to try to help his campaign.”
Reached for further comment, Hall added, “My main takeaways: it’s a two man race between us and Cagle – and everyone else knows it.”
For their part, the other target of the ad, the Casey Cagle campaign, were no fans of the ad either. Asked for a statement, Brian Robinson, an adviser to the campaign, said “No wonder this guy is in fifth place. He probably hasn’t had time to study the tax credit for restoring Georgia’s historic buildings because he’s been too busy working for a French company that outsources American jobs. Since he’s a fancy swimmer, let’s say this sounds like the Tippins campaign gurgling under water, gasping for oxygen.”
“Casey HAS taken official action on strip clubs. He helped pass the Safe Harbor constitutional amendment that taxes strip clubs to create a fund that helps people trying to escape the sex trade and enter the recovery process.”
See the full ad below:
