Nebraska's Republican Attorney General Jon Bruning kicked off his 2012 campaign against Democratic Senator Ben Nelson less than 48 hours after the polls had closed in the 2010 election. He's widely-considered the front-runner for the Republican nomination and has even been shown defeating Nelson in early polling.
But, before anyone goes and hands this race to Bruning and the GOP, they'd better take a look at Bruning's slick new campaign ad that was just released online. While trying to attack Ben Nelson over his health care reform vote, the Bruning campaign has created an accidental celebration of the gullibility of voters they're counting on carrying their candidate through this election.
See for yourself:
This ad must have cost a pretty penny and is clearly intended to make a splash online. But, that doesn't hide just how weak a campaign and empty a message it really represents.
While trying to capitalize on some sense of moral outrage over the original "Cornhusker Kickback" deal that would have covered the full costs of Nebraska's Medicaid expansion, the real message at the heart of this ad has nothing at all to do with Ben Nelson. Rather, it's a plea to every gullible voters who believes whatever they hear on Fox News that Jon Bruning is their kind of guy. Well, duh!
The simple fact of the matter is that Bruning is an untested campaigner who's deeply distrusted by voters who only know him for a shameless ambition that hasn't rubbed people the right way. Yes, he has won three terms as the state's Attorney General without having ever faced a serious challenger. But, that only speaks to Nebraska's complete lack of a Democratic bench rather than any real strength on the part of Bruning.
Of course, Bruning is still sitting on close to a million dollars left over from the 2008 Senate campaign he abandoned to clear the way for Mike Johanns. However, this ad can't inspire a whole lot of confidence in how those or any future funds are going to be spent.
Failing in his attempt at cleverness, Bruning's first big message right out of the gate could just as easily - and probably more effectively - serve as an ad FOR Ben Nelson's reelection campaign. Think whatever you will of its intended target, but Nelson knows how to win. He's never faced a challenge like the one he'd face in 2012, but nor has Bruning if Nelson commits himself fully to reelection. At this point, I like his chances.