Attack ad accuses GOP candidate of choosing ‘prostitutes over patriots’
And you thought Donald Trump’s attacks were vicious. (John Bel Edwards/YouTube)
There have been some harsh words exchanged so far in the 2016 Republican presidential campaign — but none as harsh as those included in a new attack ad in the Louisiana governor’s race.
The ad, released by Democrat John Bel Edwards, accuses Republican Sen. David Vitter of abandoning a vote honoring U.S. war veterans while carrying on extramarital relations.
“The choice for governor couldn’t be more clear: John Bel Edwards, who answered our country’s call and served as a Ranger in the 82nd Airborne Division,” a voiceover begins. “Or David Vitter, who answered a prostitute’s call minutes after he skipped a vote honoring 28 soldiers who gave their lives in defense of our freedom. David Vitter chose prostitutes over patriots. Now the choice is yours.”
In 2007, Vitter’s phone number appeared on a list kept by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called D.C. Madam, who was later convicted of running a prostitution ring in Washington. (Vitter subsequently apologized, saying he had committed a “very serious sin.”)
According to the Louisiana News-Star, the vote in question — House Concurrent Resolution 39, which honored soldiers killed by an Iraqi missile attack during Operation Desert Storm — occurred on Feb. 27, 2001, when Vitter was a U.S. representative. Records show Vitter missed the vote.
The Edwards campaign “provided a previously published list of alleged ‘D.C. Madam’ calls, one of which was to Vitter that day, although the call didn’t come during the vote.”
The Louisiana gubernatorial election is scheduled for a runoff on Nov. 21, and recent polls show Edwards holding a double-digit lead — a surprising cushion considering Louisiana has no Democrats in statewide offices.
On Friday, a day before the ad was scheduled to air, Vitter’s campaign fired back, accusing Edwards of “resorting to gutter personal attacks.”
“He does not want anyone to know his liberal record — raising taxes, supporting Obamacare, opposing oil and gas industry, opposing school choice and on and on,” Vitter spokesman Luke Bolar told USA Today. “David Vitter, a Louisiana conservative, is completely focused on leading and building a brighter future for Louisiana, and he’s done more to help veterans in Louisiana than anyone.”
Vitter will have a chance to prove that on Tuesday, when the Republican senator faces off with Edwards in the first of two televised debates in Louisiana. The second is scheduled for Nov. 16.
It’s not the first time prostitution allegations have dogged Vitter’s gubernatorial aspirations. In 2002, Vitter was poised to run for Louisiana governor but pulled out shortly before his alleged relationship with a New Orleans call girl surfaced, saying he and his wife were dealing with marital problems.
Vitter heads to a closed-door Senate session in 2010. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
