Here we go again, Jesus Christ gets caught in the middle of political issues. Well, the American Issues Project, a conservative third-party group is countering support for President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill on the airwaves with a very provocative new commercial using Jesus Christ to emphasize the scale of the $787 billion package. The ad, entitled “Every Single Day,” is the first television campaign by conservatives in opposition to a bill that won only three Republican votes in the Senate and none in the House.
The TV spot marks the dollars spent with the passage of time.
“Suppose you spent $1 million every single day starting from the day Jesus was born — and kept spending through today,” says the announcer as an image of the three wise men flashes on the screen. “A million dollars a day for more than 2,000 years. You would still have spent less money than Congress just did.”
According to Chris LaCivita, an AIP consultant, they are spending just under $1 million on the ad, which will be aired on national cable. The ad also highlights a mind-boggling statement made by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Senate floor.
“Let me say this, to all of the chattering class that so much focuses on those little tiny, yes, porky amendments — the American people really don’t care,” Schumer said.
It echoes one of President Obama’s signature campaign slogans, the announcer asks: “Is this change you can believe in?”
Folks, the AIP was late to the game. A coalition of liberal groups, led by Americans United for Change, has been airing TV and radio ads on the bill in Washington, D.C., and targeted states for a month in support of the bill. I am sure that it will be considered offensive to many Christians and I guess, they may have a point. What does Jesus Christ have to do with this?
The broader issue for me is the fact that though RNC head Michael Steele has expressed a desire to get more blacks and Latinos into the party, some governors such as Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, South Carolina’s Mark Sanford and Mississippi’s Haley Barbour have decided that they want to play partisan and not accept all the funds from the stimulus package, even though there are many people in dire straits in their states. Once again the Republican Party is turning its backs on the very group it wants to be a part of its movement. There is a serious disconnect here and it is going to backfire in a major way.
Filed under: American Issues Project, Americans United for Change, Anti-Stimulus Ad, Jesus Christ, President Barack H. Obama, Sen. Charles Schumer
Black Political Thought 