Radio spot targets Owens

The National Republican Campaign Committee's new radio spot received a tepid reception Tuesday — including from the campaign of their own congressional candidate, Dierdre K. Scozzafava.

The 60-second ad aimed toward Central New York listeners spends most of its time attacking Democratic candidate William L. Owens for his alleged close ties to other prominent Democrats.

"Owens is ready to back higher taxes and Nancy Pelosi's big spending," the male narrator says. "Owens is lining up behind the big-spending Obama approach to health care. And he says it'll be his job in Congress to support Obama on the economy and on health care."

The ad does not mention Douglas L. Hoffman, the Conservative Party's candidate, but does say Ms. Scozzafava is the "better choice" because she opposed Gov. David A. Paterson's "wasteful" spending in Albany as well as "Pelosi's energy tax."

"To stop Pelosi, Dede's the one," a female narrator says.

Although the ad doesn't say it, Ms. Scozzafava's opposition to "Pelosi's energy tax" actually puts her in disagreement with the man she is trying to replace. Former Rep. John M. McHugh, now Army secretary, was one of eight Republicans who supported the climate change bill.

Matthew A. Burns, Ms. Scozzafava's spokesman, said the ad "misses the most salient issues in the campaign," including his candidate's own positions on health care reform. He added: "It'd be this campaign's preference that all outside entities allow voters to make a decision from what they're hearing from the candidates, not from outside interests."

Shripal Shah, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's spokesman, said his group took issue with the Republicans calling Mr. Owens a tax raiser when Ms. Scozzafava had a record of raising taxes in the Assembly.

The spokesman noted 190 instances of Ms. Scozzafava raising or extending taxes during her 10-year career — although most of the bills he cited were sales tax extenders that were requested by counties.

"Times are tough. Upstate New Yorkers simply can't afford to send Assemblywoman Scozzafava and her 'higher taxes for you, no taxes for me' ways to Washington," said Mr. Shah in a press release.

Although the radio spot was the first NRCC ad to target Mr. Owens, it's not the first to take aim at a Democratic candidate in this race. The national committee ran a television ad in mid-July in Watertown, Syracuse and Plattsburgh that attacked state Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine for supporting a budget "that exploded state spending."

Mr. Aubertine, once considered his party's best candidate, announced he would not seek the congressional seat less than a week later.

ON THE NET

Listen to the ad:

www.watertowndailytimes.

com/audio/NYRA0921.mp3