These days, Americans are used to negative campaign commercials, mud-slinging and attack ads from both sides of the political spectrum. However, Wendy Rogers, a Republican running for the House of Representatives in Arizona’s 9th district, has drawn fire for using clips from the video of James Foley’s execution by an Islamic State terrorist in an attack ad against her opponent, Democratic candidate Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.
The ad is now listed as “private” online, and isn’t able to be viewed. But according to the Associated Press , Wendy Rogers’ questionable campaign ad does cut away before footage of Foley’s actual beheading is shown.
In Rogers’ ad, the narrator claims that Sinema is failing at “her job” as she has not protected Americans. The narrator continues, saying, “Terrorist threats are growing. Are we secure? Are we protected? Keeping us safe and secure is Congress’ job. Kyrsten Sinema hasn’t done her job…. She’s allowed her liberal agenda to get in the way of our safety.”
Democrats responded quickly, denouncing Rogers’ ad as “reprehensible,” and demanded that Rogers remove it and issue an apology to the Foley family.
Tyrone Gayle, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, told Fox News in a statement that Rogers’ ad crossed a line. “It is reprehensible and unbecoming of anyone seeking elected office to use the footage of an American tragedy for political gain, and Wendy Rogers should remove this ad immediately and apologize to Mr. Foley’s family,” he said in a statement. “For Wendy Rogers to use such a reprehensible tactic to make baseless claims just to smear Representative Sinema proves how desperate her campaign has become.”
James Harris, a spokesman for Wendy Rogers’ campaign, however, is defending the ad, saying that Rogers is simply using footage of current events to draw a contrast between herself and the other candidate. In a statement, Harris said, “The execution of James Foley was a tragic incident, and the entire nation is in mourning. Our nation is facing a new threat in ISIS, and as our public officials are debating how America will approach this terrorist organization, so should we. To have a productive debate, we must have all the information, and the people should know about Congresswoman Sinema’s actions and anti-defense votes.”
But it isn’t just the Democratic National Committee taking Rogers to task for her usage of the footage of James Foley’s death. The ad has inflamed a lot of social media users who are posting on her Facebook campaign page.
One user wrote, “I guess all our veterans can’t be upstanding citizens. I am so disgusted that a veteran no less would use a family’s dead son for political gain. And that dead son wasn’t a soldier but an innocent person just trying to keep the world informed. Retired Lt. Colonel Rogers you owe Mr Foley’s family a public apology for using their sons tragic appalling beheading for political gain. I can’t even fathom how you would allow something like this in your campaign. Your action in this matter disgusts me.”
Another wrote, “Showing the footage of a journalist being executed /just/ to get ahead in the polls is completely sociopathic behavior. Especially considering that the family of the victim doesn’t want the footage to be publicized.”
Wendy Rogers’ campaign has purchased around $124,000 worth of ad time to air her questionable commercial in the Phoenix area.
Sinema, however, is considered to be a favorite for re-election.
What do you think of Wendy Rogers’ ad choice? Did she cross a line by using footage of Foley’s execution?
[Image via AZCentral.com ]