North Carolina GOP Congressional candidate Renee Ellmers has released a new attack ad against her opponent, Rep. Bob Etheridge, that attempts to link him to the creation of an Islamic community center -- or "victory mosque," as the ad refers to it -- near Ground Zero.
"After the Muslims conquered Jerusalem, and Cordoba, and Constantinople they built victory mosques," the ad's narrator says. "And, now, they want to build a mosque by Ground Zero. Where does Bob Etheridge stand? He won't say. Won't speak out. Won't take a stand."
An Etheridge spokesman has since told Hotline On Call that the congressman has never come out in support of the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque."
While Etheridge appears not to have supported the Park51 project, Ellmers appears in her ad to issue a harsh rebuke to the Muslims -- or "terrorists," as she refers to them -- who are planning to build the center.
"The terrorists haven't won and we should tell them in plain English, 'no, there will never be a mosque at Ground Zero,'" Ellmers says.
Though Ellmers is running with the powerful endorsement of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, officials from both parties seem to be thinking that the 2nd District seat may be safe for Etheridge. Politico reports that Ellmers "has just over $45,000 in her campaign bank account, and senior GOP campaign officials say the race has largely dropped off their radar."
Etheridge was notoriously documented getting rough with an interviewer on a Washington D.C. street in June, a move that provided Ellmers with some positive momentum.
With the backlash from that stumble now largely forgotten, however, Etheridge spokesman Mike Davis thinks Ellmers is grasping at straws to get a bump in the polls.
"Mrs. Ellmers is desecrating this hallowed ground with her obvious and offensive attempt to raise her profile. No further proof is needed that she will say anything to get elected," Davis told Politico.
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