Ad #12: TV
Ad: "Unbelievable"
by Ken Salazar for U.S. Senate
ADWATCH | "Unbelievable"
Ad sponsor: Salazar for Senate
Producer: Mandy Grunwald
Type: Issue/Attack
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ken Salazar put out an ad last week attacking his opponent, Pete Coors, for the Republican's positions on the death penalty and the Iraq war. The ad also resurrects Salazar's work to fight terrorism at home - actions, which in some cases, are not directly related to protecting Colorado from terrorists.
Claim: "Osama bin Laden. Should he face the death penalty for murdering 3,000 Americans? Pete Coors says no."
Fact: Coors opposes the death penalty and believes in the sanctity of life, said spokeswoman Cinamon Watson. He wants the military to find and root out terrorists but believes that death would be "too great a gift" for bin Laden if captured alive. The terrorist should be jailed for life to think about his crimes, she said.
Claim: "As attorney general, (Salazar has) helped prepare our state's response to terrorism attack ... ."
Fact: Salazar's campaign cites his support for a $1 million fund for training rural police departments as one of his main actions in preparing the state for terrorism. However, the bill does not specify that the training would be terrorism-related. Salazar's campaign maintains it could be used for terrorism. Salazar also cites the sentencing of a terrorist leader and being a member of the Governor's Expert Emergency Epidemic Response Committee, which recommends how to fight bioterrorism and other disease emergencies. The campaign also said Salazar visited Israel to learn about its anti-terrorism tactics. Salazar attended no meetings of the emergency epidemic committee but sent a surrogate to every meeting.
