RNCC Attacks Jennings

New TV Commercial Attacks Jennings as “Not a Real Hoosier.”

From the Evansville Courier & Press, October 9:

The commercial, produced and paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee, repeats many of the claims leveled against Jennings since he declared his candidacy. That is, that the Indiana native lost his right to call himself a Hoosier after he left the state and spent a decade working and living in Boston. For much of that time, Jennings worked as an assistant coach and scout for the Boston Celtics. His relatively recent return to Indiana has been a focal point of Hostettler campaign ads. Hostettler supporters point out that Jennings didn’t move back to Indiana until early 2003. The National Republican Congressional Campaign commercial opens with a cartoon image of a basketball-dribbling leprechaun, with Jennings’ face pasted on top of the leprechaun’s body. “The first Hoosier value is honesty,” a voice in the commercial says. “Apparently it’s not one he learned in Boston.”

The article gives plenty of response to the Jennings campaign and 8th Distric Democratic Party chairman Anthony Long.

Most interesting, though, are the comments by Brian Vargas of the Indiana University Public Opinion Laboratory. Among his comments:

“You don’t have the national party coming in and spending money on commercials for a congressional candidate unless they’re concerned,” said Vargas. “(Hostettler’s) lead must be getting soft.”

The article mentions the 30-point lead the Hostettler campaign claimed back in July (in their own survey), but cites Vargas as saying those numbers are “no longer accurate”. Does this mean new polling data are coming soon?

Regardless, let’s get this thing going. Drop a letter to your friendly 8th District newspaper here, and let them know that it’s John Hostettler who doesn’t represent Indiana values.

[Also posted to ourcongress.org; link updated 12 October 04]