Roy Moore latest ad in the Alabama Senate special election Republican primary follows the insurgent playbook, urging angry voters to "send a message" to the Establishment. But Moore's takes the tack a bit farther than most.
"THEY LIED" the screen blares, as does the narrator, "about repealing Obamacare." A mock newspaper headline blames Republican Sen. John McCain.
(The reference to the Ninth Commandment is in keeping with Moore's penchant for mixing Christianity and politics. The ad's title is "Defeat the Deceivers," an allusion to the Bible's reference to Satan as "the deceiver of the whole world.)
After fingering McConnell, and covering the screen in green slime, the narrator rhetorically asks: "Why? We know why." Though if you don't know why, the ad doesn't explain it to you. The narrator moves toward a summation of Moore's attributes, including that he "fears God" and "believes what we believe."
At this point, a swamp-covered screen is festooned with floating heads of a bipartisan bunch of politicians. Surrounding McConnell in the middle are Democrats Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 2016 Vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine, as well as supposedly ideologically suspect Republicans Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen. McCain, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Jeff Flake and, of course, Sen. Strange.
It's pretty unusual for a ad to target out-of-state congresspeople who are not party leaders, beyond the oddity of targeting your own party's leadership in a party primary. But Moore is betting that the anger among conservative Alabamans is boiling hot and directed widely.
"THEY LIED" the screen blares, as does the narrator, "about repealing Obamacare." A mock newspaper headline blames Republican Sen. John McCain.
Roy Moore Uses Biblical Flourishes
But narrator quickly turns attention to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been supportive of the incumbent interim Sen. Luther Strange: "Now Mitch McConnell's DC slime machine's spending millions spreading lies about Roy Moore, bearing false witness."(The reference to the Ninth Commandment is in keeping with Moore's penchant for mixing Christianity and politics. The ad's title is "Defeat the Deceivers," an allusion to the Bible's reference to Satan as "the deceiver of the whole world.)
After fingering McConnell, and covering the screen in green slime, the narrator rhetorically asks: "Why? We know why." Though if you don't know why, the ad doesn't explain it to you. The narrator moves toward a summation of Moore's attributes, including that he "fears God" and "believes what we believe."
Roy Moore Rips Congresspeople In Both Parties
Implicitly linking himself with Donald Trump, the narrator urges viewers to "Drain the Swamp. Send McConnell a message. Send them all a message."At this point, a swamp-covered screen is festooned with floating heads of a bipartisan bunch of politicians. Surrounding McConnell in the middle are Democrats Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 2016 Vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine, as well as supposedly ideologically suspect Republicans Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen. McCain, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Jeff Flake and, of course, Sen. Strange.
It's pretty unusual for a ad to target out-of-state congresspeople who are not party leaders, beyond the oddity of targeting your own party's leadership in a party primary. But Moore is betting that the anger among conservative Alabamans is boiling hot and directed widely.