AFL-CIO ad blasts Koch brothers: Worst ad of 2014

I had the misfortune of watching a television ad from the AFL-CIO that embodies why Democrats face major danger in the 2014 elections. The ad began with two women called the Koch sisters, a clever concept that had potential. But what issues did the ad discuss? None. What reason did it offer to motivate Democrats to vote in November or persuade swing voters to vote for Democrats? None.

The totality of content for this brain-dead ad, no doubt produced by overpaid Democratic consultants who probably spent six seconds writing the vapid ad copy, was that the Koch brothers are rich, and therefore the Koch brothers are bad.

{mosads}In my column this week I made that case that right now, Republicans are looking strong for November and a Republican victory in November would be a disaster for the interests of women. I cited a list of specific issues that resonate with women voters and a call to action for Democrats. 

The AFL-CIO ad, by contrast, cited nothing except that the Koch brothers have a lot of money and this makes them bad people. This empty gibberish will not motivate one swing voter to vote Democratic and will not motivate one Democratic-leaning voter to vote in November. 

Why didn’t the ad make a hard sell for raising the minimum wage? Or make a strong case for economic patriotism and action against big companies that renounce their American citizenship to lower their taxes? Or pitch pay equity for women?

I won’t be up late at night worrying that Democrats attack the Koch brothers, but with an ad as empty and vapid as saying the Koch brothers are bad because they have a lot of money, and nothing more, I doubt the Koch brothers will be up late at night worry about the ad, either.

What I will be up late at night worrying about is that many Democrats do not understand that voters need to hear about real issues that affect their real lives, and that their votes will make a real diffference. The AFL-CIO ad I criticize here is worth, mathematically, zero, and the well-paid Democratic consultant who wrote it should have been paid, mathematically, zero.

Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was then chief deputy majority whip of the House. He holds an LL.M. degree in international financial law from the London School of Economics. Contact him at brentbbi@webtv.net.