Bishop Opponent Hits Airwaves
By Reid Wilson
Businessman Randy Altschuler (R) is up with his first ad slamming Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY).
The straight-to-camera ad has Altschuler seeking to focus voter anger at Bishop. Though Bishop never served in the state legislature, Altschuler cites "shenanigans in Albany" along with DC bailouts.
Altschuler's campaign has paid National Media Inc., Alex Castellanos' media firm, according to FEC reports. Cold Harbor Films, an arm of National Media, produced the ad.
Altschuler is a favorite of the NRCC. A member of the third tier of the Young Guns program, he got in the race against Bishop early and is off to a fast fundraising start. Altschuler raised $663K through Sept., more than the $564K Bishop raised in the same period. Altschuler finished the 3rd quarter with $538K in the bank. Bishop retained $710K CoH.
The seat is one GOPers will have to win if they are going to take back the majority. Bishop beat then-Rep. Felix Grucci (R) by 1 point in '02, then won re-election in '04 even as the district went for Pres. Bush.
And expect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to play a big role in Altschuler's ads. A McLaughlin & Assoc. (R) poll for Altschuler's campaign showed Pelosi with just a 32% fav rating and a 55% unfav rating.
Full script after the jump.
Full script, "The Storm":
RANDY ALTSCHULER: "I think we are at a pivotal time in our country's history." ANNOUNCER: "Randy Altschuler, conservative businessman running for Congress." RANDY ALTSCHULER: "We see the storm coming, we've got higher property taxes, shenanigans in Albany, bailouts in Washington, so do we sail right into that storm or do we try to find a new way to solve these problems. RANDY ALTSCHULER: "Tim Bishop is all about the old way: big government, more taxes, more spending. My top priority is to create a pro-growth environment, lower taxes and more jobs. I'm Randy Altschuler and I approved this message."
I'm all for conservative businessmen, but wasn't Altschuler a member of the ultra-liberal Green Party not too long ago. This conservative won't be fooled.
I am a Conservative Suffolk County Resident. Randy Altschuler has the smarts, the guts and the right instincts. He has my vote as a true Suffolk County Conservative - unlike Comment 1 above, I am not a Tim Bishop supporter claiming to be one. Go Randy Go!
Randy Altschuler is the face of a new Congress that will listen to the American people. I believe that he will hold town hall events and listen to what everyone has to say. I believe that if Americans want to see real change come to Congress, it is time that our district start the trend by sending Randy Altschuler to Washington, DC.
Tim Bishop is another STATIST wannabee.. he didn't listen to his constituents at the town hall meetings. He and those like him are dangerous to our liberty and must be removed from the halls of power,,,,like Malcom said....
Tim Bishop was fired the day he voted with Pelosi on the HCR bill. NO more Big Government, taxes, spending, and the threat of socialism from these progressive democrats. THANKS MA for the Scott Brown victory!! America can't stop what was started with VA, NJ, and MA. All progressives and supporters of progressive democrats agenda's must be voted out in November and that includes that pompus Tim Bishop. I attended 2 of his HCR meetings and he was nasty and then didn't listen to his district to vote no. He went ahead with Pelosi's agenda 97% of the time. Can anyone tell me what Bishop has accomplished for our district since he took office except for getting a walk way put in a Setauket park???? Randy Altshuler is the man to lead us in Congress as we need to get back to the private sector and have businessmen in office to lead us out of this recession. The most important thing is that Randy is not corrupted by the political machine. A new fresh face that knows if he doesn't accomplish what we sent him to do in congress he'll be voted out as fast as he got in. BYE BYE Tim Bishop