Actors in New Whalen Ad Are as Phony As Charges Leveled

By Jeff Giertz

 Waterloo, Iowa– Today the campaign of First District Democrat Bruce Braley released the following statement in response to another false attack ad from Bush-Republican CEO Mike Whalen.

 “Mike Whalen can’t find real Iowans to attack Bruce Braley, so he has to use actors,” Braley campaign spokesman Jeff Giertz said.  “It’s no surprise that a George Bush Republican would use these tried and true Washington tactics to attack a political opponent.

 “Now that these facts have come to light, can Mike Whalen be trusted to level with the people of Iowa?”

 Whalen’s new ad features “Ann,” a pregnant woman who cannot find a doctor because of Bruce Braley.  The ad also features “Dave,” a man who can’t find a job because of Bruce Braley.

 But “Ann” and “Dave” are both actors; footage used in the Whalen ad can be found at Getty Images’ online film database, http://creative.gettyimages.com.

 It seems like history is repeating itself.  In 2002, Republican US Senate candidate Greg Ganske was widely criticized after using an actress in an attack ad who falsely claimed to be an Iowan

 The Iowa City Press-Citizen called the Ganske ad “an intentional deception of Iowa voters.”  Columnist Rekha Basu called the Ganske ad “fraud.”  [Press Citizen, 9/20/02; Register, 9/15/02]

 The Whalen ad featuring actors can be viewed at the following link:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8XbsZnT7eE

 The stock footage of “Ann” from the Getty Images database can be viewed at:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMKMAdaY3Mg

 The stock footage of “Dave” from the Getty Images database can be viewed at:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POFiaCOdh3E