David Vitter invokes Paris terrorist attacks in brutal anti-refugee campaign ad
Never mind that all of the identified attackers from Friday's Paris massacre have so far been identified as European Union nationals; the struggle to keep Syrian refugees out of the U.S. is now a full-blown tussle, with some GOP lawmakers arguing they might even try to shut the government down over the issue.
Others have made it a central point in their campaigns. In addition to Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, and Jeb Bush, all of whom have spoken out against accepting Muslim refugees, Louisiana senator and gubernatorial candidate David Vitter (R) has now aired an entire campaign ad on that very point.
Over footage of Paris during last week's terrorist attacks, a voiceover in Vitter's ad intones: "One of the Paris ISIS terrorists entered France posing as a Syrian refugee. Now, Obama's sending Syrian refugees to Louisiana." Vitter vows that no Syrian refugees will enter Louisiana if he is governor — a dubious claim at best since he likely couldn't enforce it. Vitter then slams his Democratic opponent, Louisiana state Rep. John Bel Edwards, for agreeing to help Obama relocate Syrian refugees.
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While the ad is dirty, we should note that both sides have been stooping pretty low in this race — Edwards recently ran an attack ad that accused Vitter of answering a prostitute's phone call instead of participating in a vote supporting veterans.
Vitter currently trails Edwards in the polls.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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