NPR
Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Democrats Roll Out Anti-Romney Videos Online

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party has unveiled two videos targeting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney that are available online immediately.
(Pennsylvania Democratic Party)
The advertisement, now available on YouTube, makes the claim that Mitt Romney frequently changes his position on the issues.

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party has unveiled two videos targeting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney that are available online immediately.

Party chairman Jim Burn says that their 30-second ad shows how Romney has taken different positions on the same issue. The short clip, available on YouTube and on some local cable and broadcast outlets, parodies a movie trailer of “two men trapped in one body,” showing clips of Romney arguing for and against healthcare reform and abortion.

Burn said that candidates won’t please everyone, but they can be respected for at least taking a stand.

Look, I understand, there are many different points of view in a diverse nation. No one candidate should be expected to espouse all of those diverse issues,” Burn said. “That’s the process: you take a position, you stick to it because it’s what you believe in, not because it’s what you think people want to hear in order to get you elected.”

The second release is a four-minute video that will be available exclusively online for the present time. Burn said that he doesn’t expect this one to be aired on television. He says that the longer video includes what Burn called “15 serious flip flops on a variety of critical issues for the future of this country.”

Burn believes that they aren’t wasting time targeting a candidate who has not even received the opposing party’s nomination.

Our concern is that every single one of the Republican candidates — whether it’s Mr. Romney this week, or Mr. Gingrich next week, or Gov. Cain last week — we need to remind the Pennsylvania voters of the inconsistencies with Governor Romney,” Burn said.

The messages are paid for by the Democratic National Committee. Burn said that specific air time purchases for the 30-second ad have yet to be discussed with the DNC.

Burn said that he expects similar message campaigns to begin rolling out at the end of this year and early next year, which he said will expose weaknesses in the Republican party and likely raise support for President Obama.