Amodei focuses on national debt in run for Congress
WASHINGTON -- Mark Amodei staked out the national debt as an opening issue Monday in his campaign to fill a vacant seat representing Nevada in Congress.
The former chairman of the Nevada Republican Party, who is from Carson City, focused on the debt limit in his first television ad after being picked Saturday by the state's GOP Central Committee to run in the 2nd Congressional District.
The 30-second spot opens with a fake Chinese news anchor relating how "our great empire rose again" when the United States kept borrowing money from China to feed its spending until "their independence became a new dependence."
The narration plays over images of padlocked factory gates, President Barack Obama signing presumed debt bills into law, the dollar sign turning into the yuan symbol, the Chinese flag flying over skyscrapers, and, in the end, Obama bowing to Chinese leader Hu Jintao as the Chinese army marches on the U.S. Capitol grounds.
Said Amodei at the end of the commercial: "I'll never vote to raise Obama's debt limit."
Vice President Joe Biden and leaders of both parties are negotiating to allow the $14.3 trillion ceiling to be increased this summer.
Amodei's campaign said the ad was to start running Monday in Reno. It did not say how much airtime was bought and for how long the ad would run.
Zach Hudson, communications director for the Nevada State Democratic Party, said, "I did not see anything in that ad that mentioned jobs and nothing that mentioned Nevada."
Andrew Davey, a progressive blogger from Henderson, called the ad "xenophobic."
Davey said Amodei "clearly hasn't received the memo from the great titans of Nevada industry" such as Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson who operate casinos in the Chinese territory of Macau, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which plans to open an office in China.
Democrats are set to nominate their candidate for the 2nd District seat Saturday, with party leaders backing state Treasurer Kate Marshall.
A special election scheduled for Sept. 13 would fill the vacancy created when Dean Heller was appointed to the Senate.
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.
