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Republicans Tag Zephyr Teachout as a ‘Zany Professor’

Posted on
October 26, 2016
by Agree Staff
Democratic House candidate in New York's 19th congressional district Zephyr Teachout, who is fiercely contesting a seat currently held by the Republicans, is facing a Republican counterattack accusing her of being a socialist, and worse, attacking her for being a law professor at Fordham University.

Over that plucky music you always hear when political consultants try to be humorous, the narrator says, "Remember that zany professor who always pushed their liberal agenda? That's Professor Zephyr Teachout." We see an actress playing Teachout at a desk holding a book over her face: "Socialism for Beginners."

Are Zephyr Teachout and Bernie Sanders 'Best Friends'?

She opens her laptop, decorated with a "Bernie 2016" sticker, to see a "CNN" headline, "Kerry: Some Money for Iran Will Go To Terrorism" (slightly altered from an actual CNN headline) as the narrator criticizes Teachout's support for the "Obama's dangerous Iran nuclear deal."

The Teachout stand-in writes on a chalkboard: "Prof. Teachout's Agenda: Higher Property Taxes. Higher Energy Taxes. Higher Estate Taxes."

"That's probably why Teachout loves socialist Senator Bernie Sanders," says the narrator, as the camera shows a "Socialists for Bernie Sanders" button and a mousepad picturing Sanders and Teachout along with the caption: "BEST FRIENDS." Then the narrator delivers the harshest blow: "He's from Vermont, just like her."  

Does Zephyr Teachout Wear Birkenstocks?

The ad closes with the narrator concluding, "she's just not one of us," as the camera pans down to her shoes, which are -- *GASP* -- Birkenstock-style sandals.

"Zany Professor" is a descendant of the famous Club for Growth ad labelling 2004 presidential candidate Howard Dean in which an Iowa couple says, "Howard Dean should take his tax-hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show back to Vermont, where it belongs." (Teachout was a top staffer on that campaign.)

But can the same kind of attack work again? Mother Jones, in its analysis of the ad, notes Sanders' poll numbers are arguably the best of any American politician.

Furthermore, New York's 19th district borders Vermont, and probably doesn't seem so zany to its neighbors. For example, in all likelihood, they've seen people wearing Birkenstocks before.
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