Fisher's 1st TV ads hits Portman on overseas job losses

9/7/2010

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lee Fisher Tuesday previewed his first television ad of the general election campaign, to start running statewide on Wednesday.

The 30-second TV spot accuses Republican candidate Rob Portman of advocating and supporting policies that encouraged businesses to ship jobs overseas to China and increased the federal budget.

It's Mr. Fisher's standard stump speech, but a campaign official said the message hasn't been heard by many Ohio voters just beginning to pay attention after Labor Day.

"Ohioans can't afford to go back to Congressman Portman's failed economic and trade policies that have cost Ohio more than 100,000 jobs." said Lynne Bowman, Fisher campaign manager.

With a hint of sarcasm, the ad says "Congressman Portman knows how to grow the economy — in China."

Mr. Portman was a congressman from the Cincinnati area for 12 years and served one year each as President George W. Bush's budget director and trade representative.

The Portman campaign has already been airing TV ads for weeks, thanks to its huge advantage in fund-raising.

In response, Portman campaign spokesman Jeff Sadosky called the ad a "false negative attack," and accused Mr. Fisher of being "asleep at the switch" as Ohio development director "while Ohio lost nearly 400,000 jobs."

The Portman camp said Mr. Portman was the first person to sue China in the World Trade Court and win and that Mr. Portman proposed a budget that cut the deficit in half.

The ad can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VUf0kB6Ct0.