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A coalition of more than 20 leading progressive groups and unions is launching a new ad campaign slamming Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., For his response to the January 6 riot and his vote against federal human rights legislation vote.
They’re spending $ 800,000 on a 30-second TV spot and print ad campaign, which begins Sunday.
The coalition includes the NAACP, the Sierra Club, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the Working Families Party, and the National Education Association. Called Democracy for All 2021 Action, they advocate for federal election legislation, a state of the District of Columbia, and campaign finance reform. Their first major ad campaign, a million dollar purchase in April, promoted the For the People Act in three states and Washington, DC.
“You are betraying us, Senator Johnson. Protecting our democracy has never been partisan and yet you refused to investigate the deadly attack on our capital ”, begins the advertisement.
It contrasts footage of rioters smashing windows on Capitol Hill with a brief clip of Johnson saying “overall it was a peaceful protest”.
His full comments, made on Fox News in May, were: “Overall that was it, it was a peaceful protest except that there were a number of people, mostly agitators who whipped the crowd and breaches the Capitol. And you know, that’s really the truth of what’s going on here.
Wisconsin Democrats are lining up to challenge Johnson for his seat in 2022, though the Republican has yet to say whether he is running for reelection.
The announcement also criticizes him for his role in blocking the For the People Act, the Democratic general election and the campaign overhaul bill that would have required all states to offer early voting.
“Access to the polls is important to all Americans, and yet you have blocked the protections of voters who have the support of Democrats, Republicans and Independents,” the narrator said.
Johnson and other Senate Republicans united to obstruct the legislation last month, preventing him from advancing in the chamber.
The ad will air on local news and sports programs, national cable news shows including MSNBC, as well as Fox News Sunday and Face the Nation in Washington, DC on July 25.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said in an interview that Johnson was undermining democracy and that her vote against a commission to investigate the January 6 riot was “unreasonable.”
“It’s an existential crisis for this country,” she told NBC News. “As educators, we will do all we can to elect leaders who will support and defend our democracy, who will support our public education system, who will defend our students.”
Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A print version of the ad will run in 10 local newspapers, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“The only thing Ron Johnson is willing to protect is his own power,” the ad read, urging voters to call the senator’s office in Washington. “Who does Johnson work for? You or himself?
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