Caught in a deeply difficult race, Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Tex.) went up on air Friday with what is perhaps the most intense ad yet from a Democrat trying to distance himself from President Obama.
The Texas Democrat, who was once considered a potential vice presidential choice by the Obama campaign, touts not only his opposition to health care reform, cap-and-trade legislation and the like in the new spot. He also actively declares that he withstood pressure from Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in doing so.
When President Obama and Nancy Pelosi pressured Chet Edwards,
Chet stood up to them and voted no against their trillion dollar health care bill, and no to Cap and Trade.
Chet votes with the conservative Chamber of Commerce sixty-seven percent of the time.
And when Washington liberals wanted to take away our guns, Chet said no.
That's why the National Rifle Association has endorsed Chet Edwards over Bill Flores.
I'm Chet Edwards, and I approve this message.
The mentioning of his endorsement by the NRA and his ideological symmetry with the Chamber of Commerce is the coup de grace in the spot, which sets a new standard for beleaguered lawmakers running away from the White House in this tough political climate.
Edwards may very well not end up retaining his seat come November. But the danger for the party at large is that ads like these feed into the narrative of a party dissatisfied with the agenda it has pursued.