If the nastiest TV ads of the year are to be believed, California candidates for office are child molester-aiding, narcoleptic, greedy, self-serving politicians bent on helping illegal immigrants and not American troops abroad.
They're not fit for the Legislature or Congress, either.
The most common theme in the ads is politicians fattening themselves at public expense. The concept appears in no less than five of our top 10 attack ads.
Voters, in survey after survey, say they hate negative ads. But, in election after election, results show they work.
"No one likes negative ads," said Tim Clark, a Republican strategist involved in multiple primary campaigns this year. "No likes the idea of having a car accident either, but everybody slows down to see it. It has an impact."
While such ads have the potential to incite public backlash, many of the toughest ads are aired by independent expenditure campaigns, which have no direct ties to the candidates in the race.
By no means are we endorsing the accuracy or fairness of the content in any of the ads. Without further ado, here's the list.
1. Meryvn Dymally
Modeled after a Jeopardy segment, this ad attacks Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally in his bid for state Senate.
"He supports shortening prison sentences for convicted crack cocaine dealers," is the answer. "Who is Mervyn Dymally" is the question.
The ad was paid for by the Alliance for California's Tomorrow, a business-backed independent expenditure campaign.
2. Jeff Denham
This ad aired in the Central Valley, an early TV gambit in the since-abandoned bid to recall Sen. Jeff Denham.
"If the new ads are to be believed, Sen. Jeff Denham is a narcoleptic, massage-loving gambler who's hurting schools and taking secret pay raises on the job," is how The Bee's Amy Chance described this ad.
3. Tom McClintock
In his bid for Congress, Sen. Tom McClintock has weathered a blizzard of negative TV commercials courtesy of his GOP opponent, former Rep. Doug Ose.
In an AdWatch, The Bee's David Whitney said the ad "accuses McClintock of wrongly accepting tax-free living expenses while voting against the interests of soldiers defending the country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Message: Veterans are having a hard time while hypocrite McClintock is living large."
This ad is not on YouTube, but you can watch it here. It is the fourth ad down (the one with images of soldiers).
4. John Benoit
This ad goes after Assemblyman John Benoit, R-Palm Desert, who is running for state Senate against former Assemblyman Russ Bogh.
It accuses Benoit of playing softball and collecting his Assembly salary all while suing California for permanent disability. A political nonprofit called Desert Taxpayers for Truth paid for the ad:
5. Isadore Hall
Not the most professional-looking spot, this ad attacks Democratic Assembly candidate Isadore Hall, a Compton City Council member, trying to tie him to his brother's child molestation conviction.
"How can we trust him to protect our children?" the ad asks.
It was paid for by an Independent expenditure committee called California Voters against Corrupt Politicians, according to the disclaimer at the end of the ad. But there has been no reported spending on the ad, according to campaign filings with the secretary of state's office.
8. Mark Leno
This late-airing ad attacking Senate candidate Mark Leno drew the ire of the California Teachers Association, which has endorsed the San Francisco assemblyman.
Leno, who is in a three-way race against Sen. Carole Migden and former Assemblyman Joe Nation, is blasted for voting to cut money to education.
"Cutting the schools' money was the best deal we could get and I didn't lose my committee chairmanship," the ad quotes Leno as saying. It was paid for by an independent expenditure committee funded by the San Francisco Police Officers Association and another committee funded largely by PG&E.
7. Harry Sidhu
"Wrong on illegal immigration. Wrong for Senate." concludes this ad, which blasts Anaheim City Council member Harry Sidhu.
The spot, paid for by Assemblywoman Mimi Walters' campaign, features grainy black and white photos of Sidhu looking menacing.
8. Mimi Walters
The Mimi Walters vs. Harry Sidhu Senate contest is the only race on this list with ads aired against both candidates.
Sidhu fired the first on-air shot, accusing Walters of missing votes in the Assembly, "taking a big pay raise" and voting for Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez.
9. Mariko Yamada
Like many of the other attack ads, this one was paid for by an independent expenditure campaign, funded by EdVoice. The ad basically takes Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada to task for accepting pay raises and then tries to link her with every imaginable problem in California, from budget cuts to health care access to high gas prices.
10. Brian Nestande
This ad criticizes Republican Assembly candidate Brian Nestande, who is running in the Inland Empire against Kelly McCarty, who paid for the TV spot. The ad attacks Nestande on a number of fronts, from his past donating to Democrats to unpaid tax bills.
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