Proof that you can fight back, at least to a degree. Yesterday, I wrote about the massively deceptive ad the American Action Network was running against Chris Murphy in Connecticut. The one that said the Dems were going to send you to jail if you didn't get health insurance.
The local FOX station has pulled the ad.
FOX CT, the local Fox affiliate and broadcasting partner of The Hartford Courant, has pulled the spot because it could not verify the claims it made. The ad is one of two commercials targeting Murphy, a Democrat, from the American Action Network.
"Following a review of the spot titled 'Mess' and the documentation provided by the American Action Network, WTIC-TV, the FOX affiliate in Hartford, Connecticut, believes the commercial's claims are unsubstantiated and has removed it from air,'' FOX CT spokeswoman Andrea Savastra said in an email....
American Action Network has dumped $1 million into its anti-Murphy ad campaign, which is part of a larger effort across the nation to target Democrats. The group has deep connections to the Republican party: Fred Malek, a former Nixon aide and fundraiser for John McCain's presidential big; former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman and former Florida Senator Mel Martinez are among the group's directors.
Likewise, a station in Colorado has pulled the ad being run against Ed Perlmutter. And in Idaho, a false ad from Dick Morris's SuperPAC for America running against Walt Minnick has been rejected.
The AAN is targeting eight other House Dems: Rep. Charlie Wilson (Ohio); Rep. Mark Critz (Pa.); Rep. Steve Kagen (Wis.); Rep. Joe Donnelly (Ind.); Rep. Martin Heinrich (N.M.); Rep. Kurt Schrader (Ore.); Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.); and Rep. Tom Perriello (Va.). Getting these ads off the air is a small way of fighting back against the millions in anonymous money that's being dumped into this election, but it's something.