Fighting for Ohio, the conservative super PAC backed by wealthy financiers that's aiding GOP Sen. Rob Portman's re-election campaign, is out with two new spots attacking Democratic ex-Gov. Ted Strickland. The first once again hits Strickland over job losses Ohio suffered while he was governor (conveniently, as always, omitting that whole Great Recession thing). It also ties Strickland to his "longtime friend Hillary Clinton," showing that infamous clip of Clinton saying, "We're gonna put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business." Despite the emotional tug of coal, though, the industry employs fewer than 3,000 workers in the entire state, which has a population of 11.6 million.
The second ad hits Strickland for earning "big bucks" working for a "liberal special interest group" (the Center for American Progress) "that claimed members of the military are paid too much." (That refers to a very sober report that concluded the rise in military personnel costs could harm our readiness—and were due to Congress pushing through pay raises that the Pentagon opposed.) It then features a scratchy, low-quality clip of Strickland saying, "I had a job last year that was a dream job. Paid me more money than I've ever made in my life." According to Politico, Fighting for Ohio is spending $1.5 million to run these ads statewide for two weeks.