[ExI] Finally, the atheism smear!

Damien Broderick thespike at satx.rr.com
Wed Oct 29 22:50:06 UTC 2008


North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole's campaign is refusing to take 
down an ad that accuses her Democratic rival, Kay Hagan, of accepting 
money from "godless Americans," after Hagan demanded that the 
Republican incumbent "cease and desist."

The two campaigns are in a nasty dispute over the commercial, which 
began running statewide in North Carolina Tuesday.

Hagan sent Dole a letter Wednesday demanding she take down the ad, 
and held a press conference in the morning at which, according to 
prepared remarks, she called it an attack on her "Christian faith."

The ad accuses Hagan of attending a "secret fundraiser" hosted by the 
Godless Americans PAC last month.

"Godless Americans and Kay Hagan. She hid from cameras. Took godless 
money," the narrator says. "What did Kay Hagan promise in return?"

The ad then plays a clip of a female voice saying, "There is no God."

Hagan complained Wednesday that the final clip is not her voice.

"This entire ad was a deliberate attempt to mislead, and it speaks 
volumes about Ms. Dole's character and conviction and how she feels 
about how she's doing in the polls right now," Hagan spokesman 
Colleen Flanagan told FOXNews.com.

Hagan, a North Carolina state senator, is leading Dole by a few 
points in several state polls. An Associated Press-GfK poll out 
Wednesday showed the Democratic challenger leading by 47 to 43 percent.

Dole's campaign said the ad never implied that the voice at the end 
of the ad was Hagan's.

Dole spokesman Dan McLagan said the "There is no God" line was 
actually a recycled quote from a Godless Americans PAC representative 
played earlier in the commercial.

"She bears no resemblance to Hagan. She's blonde, sounds totally 
different," he said.

He told FOXNews.com the ad is 100 percent accurate and the campaign 
will "absolutely not" take it down.

"Every word in the ad is true," he said. "They know it. They don't 
like it, but it's staying up." 




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