The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is going on the offensive against Freedom's Watch, alleging that the conservative group is illegally coordinating with the National Republican Congressional Committee and violating its tax-exempt status.

With Republicans facing a dire situation -- a slew of open congressional seats combined with lackluster fundraising for the NRCC -- Freedom's Watch has stepped in to fill a hole, running negative ads against Democratic candidates Don Cazayoux in Louisiana and Travis Childers in Mississippi.

Ads run against Cazayoux in Louisiana's 6th District special election campaign attempted to tie the candidate to Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, and to portray Cazayoux as a tax-and-spend liberal. (Despite these efforts, Cazayoux won the election last week.)

Continue reading "DCCC vs. Freedom's Watch" »

Click here to watch "Health Care."

Barack Obama is becoming a more familiar face for TV viewers in Mississippi and Louisiana, but not by choice; instead, the Illinois senator is the focal point of several new commercials being run by Republican groups ahead of special elections to be held in both states in early May.

Whereas Hillary Rodham Clinton was once considered the Democrat that Republicans would most like to see at the top of the ticket in November, Obama's "bitter" comments and his association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright have helped make him more vulnerable to attack from the right. Now Republicans are using Obama's missteps to target downballot candidates.

In Mississippi's First District, Southaven Mayor Greg Davis (R) is facing off against Democratic businessman Travis Childers in a runoff to replace Rep. Roger Wicker (R), who moved to the Senate after Trent Lott's resignation. While the seat had been considered safe for the GOP, Childers shocked pundits by coming within 400 votes of capturing it in the first round of voting on April 22. Now, the National Republican Congressional Committee and Davis are going on the offense, launching negative ads that link Childers to Obama, John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi.

Continue reading "Obama Targeted In Special Elections" »

Click here to watch "Record On Crime" and "Public Service."

As Louisiana Republicans battle to hold the 1st District seat vacated in January by incoming Gov. Bobby Jindal, the special election primary runoff there has taken a nasty tone on the airwaves going into Saturday's vote.

State Sen. Steve Scalise narrowly missed winning the majority of Republican votes needed to secure the nomination in last month's primary, leading state Rep. Tim Burns 48 percent to 28 percent. But that 20-point margin of victory is in the past, and in recent days both candidates have hurled negative advertisements at each other on issues ranging from crime to the response to Hurricane Katrina.

Continue reading "Attack Ads Prompt Court Intervention In Louisiana" »