New ad against Dalton draws criticism | ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

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By ABC11

Friday, June 22, 2012

RALEIGH

Some see the ad as satire and others as serious commentary. Critics, however, said it's an insidious effort to mislead voters.

Here's just one example of what the ad says: "We don't need more costs and more cuts. We need more taxes. Pat McCrory's mama said I need to do the job, to Pat himself, made a general statement and said, 'I want to move the state forward and you're going backward' and I said, 'I sure am.' You'll find us on Twitter at #BevPart2."

Watch the full ad here.

The ad was put out by the North Carolina Republican Party. They said it's a satirical way of bringing up serious issues and they defend the content even though, of course, Dalton never said anything in the ad.

The ad has many on the left, including Chris Fitzsimon, of N.C. Policy Watch, shaking their heads.

"This is sort of taking the bad political ad to the ridiculous extreme," said Fitzsimon

Fitzsimon said the ad hits below the belt and puts words in Dalton's mouth. He said it could completely mislead voters.

"At some point, this will be seen by people online who don't know the Lieutenant Governor and conceivably could perceive that these are his words," said Fitzsimon.

"It was a lighthearted way to draw attention to serious issues and encourage debate," said Rob Lockwood, with the state Republican Party.

Lockwood, who helped put the spot together at Republican Headquarters in Raleigh, said it's just satire with a serious bent.

"Is this in any way beyond the pale," asked Lockwood. "I think it's funny and those guys on the left whether it's Dalton's campaign or others, have tissue thin skin if they think this is below the belt or any of those."

A spokesperson for Dalton had this to say about the spot, "It marks the third time in as many weeks that McCrory's broken his clean campaign pledge. This is just another tasteless game they're playing to cover up McCrory's support for an agenda to move our state backwards."

A spokesperson for McCrory told ABC11 that the former Charlotte mayor does not like the ad, noting a voice over like this can be deceptive. However, it does not appear that McCrory called on the Republican Party to pull the ad.