Bennet Slams DC, Wants To Go Back
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) has launched his first ad of his political career, casting himself as a DC outsider as he seeks a full term in the Senate.
Bennet's ad tracks closely with that of his far more conservative colleague, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and it's a theme we're likely to see repeated from incumbents and challengers alike: DC is broken, and I'm the person to fix it.
Lincoln's first ad depicted her surrounded by children fighting over money. In Bennet's, he suggests freezing Congressional pay, stripping members of their health insurance and banning members from ever becoming lobbyists.
"I've been in Washington for only a year, but it didn't take that long to see the whole place is broken," Bennet says in the spot. "It's time to give them a wake up call."
It's little wonder even incumbents are running so hard against DC. A new NBC/WSJ poll out today shows just 17% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, only 5 points above its all-time lowest mark. Even Dems don't like Congress; 69% of all self-ID'd Dems say they disapprove of Congress's job performance, the poll shows (only slightly lower than the 79% of indies and 86% of GOPers who disapprove; special thanks to the NBC political unit for crunching those numbers for us).
Bennet is spending serious money on his first ad, aimed at introducing himself to CO voters. He has purchased a total of $340K in air time, including 775 points in the Denver market and 600 points in more conservative Colorado Springs, according to a source with access to the spending data.
Cable viewers will also see the spots; Bennet is spending $310K on broadcast ads and an additional $30K on cable TV time. The ads are scheduled to run for 2 weeks.
Bennet's first ad, "Wake Up":
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