When Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-9) ran a campaign ad on TV last month that featured the parents of Daniel Somers, an Iraqi War vet who committed suicide, Sinema's GOP challenger, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Wendy Rogers, said this, which you can still find on her website:
"I find it sickening that Kyrsten Sinema would air such an ad. It is revolting that she would attempt to exploit a soldier’s suicide for her own political gain. As a veteran and social worker, I find this ad to be exploitative, offensive, and in poor taste. It is absolutely vile that Kyrsten Sinema and her campaign team would even consider an ad like this, and I hope that she will immediately cease airing this ad and issue an apology."
The campaign ad that Rogers is so steamed about tells the tragedy of Daniel Somers, who suffered from brain injury and PTSD. Before committing suicide, the young combat vet tried to get help from Phoenix's infamous VA hospital, only to be turned away, says Sinema in the ad:
"They told him they didn't have any beds to check him in. They didn't refer him to another hospital. They told him he could lay down on the floor in the corner, and when he felt better, he could drive himself home."
Sadly, his suicide note went viral, the story became part of the Phoenix VA's national black eye, and Sinema, who has two brothers in the military, appeared in the ad with Daniel's parents to talk about fixing the VA, so this story wouldn't be repeated. GOP challenger Wendy Rogers, like some others, said the ad was in poor taste, even though Daniel Somers' parents appeared with the congresswoman, and she was
right that the VA screwed up and needs to be overhauled.
Please read below the fold for more on this story.
So, this week Wendy Rogers kicked off a huge media buy with her own ad, this one featuring the ISIS video of American James Foley's beheading. The ad doesn't show the act itself, just the knife at his throat. The ominous voice-over warns:
"Terrorist threats are growing. Are we secure? Are we protected? Keeping us safe and secure is Congress' job. Kyrsten Sinema hasn't done her job... She's allowed her liberal agenda to get in the way of our safety."
That's right, Foley's death is Kyrsten Sinema's fault! James Harris, a spokesperson for the Rogers' campaign, defended the ad,
saying it was "fair use of current-affairs scenes to highlight differences between the candidates." And that difference
is? What exactly would Rogers have done differently? The ad doesn't mention any
policy differences, other than blame Foley's murder on Sinema's "liberal agenda." Which is a joke, of course; many liberals aren't happy with Sinema's blue dog voting record, and her current "blame both parties" ads are unwatchable.
Wendy Rogers' ad is not the kind of campaign spot you run when you're ahead in the polls. It smacks of desperation. Like a lot of political ads here (remember "headless bodies"?) its sole purpose is to scare the shit outta voters. Happily, that doesn't seem to be working. In the comment section of the Arizona Republic, which isn't exactly known for its liberal bias, not one person of the 20+ writers defended the ad. If Wendy Rogers thought Sinema's use of the Daniel Somers tragedy was "sickening," she should read the Republic's comments to see what people think of her exploitative ad. "Sickening" is just an appetizer.
UPDATE: Clearly the local and even national attention to this ad has gotten to the Rogers campaign. Tonight the Arizona Republic is reporting:
Republican congressional candidate Wendy Rogers has deleted from a controversial TV ad footage of a captured American journalist moments before his beheading, but left the original version online under a new web address.