Teachers union launches TV ad blaming GOP for shutdown

Liz Goodwin
·Senior National Affairs Reporter


The nation's largest teachers union has made a six-figure TV and online ad buy blaming "tea party Republicans" for the federal government shutdown that's lasted nearly two weeks.

The National Education Association's ads, which will run in Washington and four states, single out Reps. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, Tom Latham of Iowa and Chris Collins of New York. The ads accuse Republicans of playing a political "game" that's resulting in crippling cuts to education, pointing out that tens of thousands of students have been unable to attend Head Start preschool classes because of the shutdown.

The advertising effort by an outside, left-leaning group is not the first on the issue. The advocacy group Americans United for Change recently announced a six-figure ad buy targeting 10 Republicans. A recent WSJ/NBC News poll found that voters blame Republicans over Democrats for the shutdown by a 20-point margin. The poll also found that only 24 percent of Americans had a favorable view of Republicans as the party enters the 2014 midterm season, compared with 39 percent who said they had a favorable view of Democrats. As the shutdown enters its third week, other groups will most likely also jump into the fray to capitalize on this trend.

Related slide show: U.S. government shutdown