WASHINGTON – In a tough new advertisement from the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity, an unnamed woman looks directly into the camera and upbraids Senator Mark Begich, Democrat of Alaska.
“Senator Begich didn’t listen. How can I ever trust him again?” she asks in criticizing Senator Begich’s support for President Obama’s health care law. “It just isn’t fair. Alaska deserves better.”
But there is a slight problem with the commercial. The woman is not from Alaska. She is actually an actress who lives in Maryland. And to some, the elegant kitchen she is standing in, done in French country style with granite countertops, might seem out of place somewhere as rugged and frontierlike as Alaska.
The woman appearing in the ad, Connie Bowman was reached for comment and replied "I'm just an acress". The commercial never states explicitly that she is a real Alaskan voter and clearly she is supposed to represent the prototype Alaskan voter -at least the Koch Brothers' idea of one. Maybe the Koch Brothers couldn't find a real Alaskan with those views who would go on camera? The issue of course goes beyond the woman's residence to special interest outsiders trying to buy local elections. As the senator explains:
But as far as Mr. Begich is concerned, it is an illegitimate attack from outsiders who have no business getting involved in Alaska politics.