Harri Anne Smith’s Busy Day - Updated
This post has been updated with more information.
WAKA-TV, Channel 8, the CBS affiliate in Montgomery, has a piece called Talk Back Live where Congressional candidates for AL-02 are on to take calls from the TV audience for 15 minutes at a time. Republican State Sen. Harri Anne Smith was slated to end her busy PR swing through Montgomery today (TV, radio and clubs) with a stint on the show taking calls at 5 p.m. However, because she had a scheduling conflict, her campaign called Tuesday to reschedule her next appearance on the show for next Friday, on Memorial Day Weekend.
Smith’s campaign told the Parlor that she is speaking at the American cancer Society’s Relay for Life event in Dothan tonight at 7:15 p.m.
Smith also has a new TV ad out today.
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Just saw this ad for the first time. If we elect this nutcase to Congress we deserve whatever crap we get. It is an insult to our intelligence to put this mess on tv and have us elect her simply because she is against taxes. Her president, W, supposedly was against taxes to but has skyrocketed our national debt to new highs in a matter of only a few short years. If Harri Anne gets elected it will prove us Alabamians in the 2nd are stupid. Step back for a second and imagine Smith speaking on the House floor! That will be a great economic development imagine for the Wiregrass.
Comment by Seriously — May 16, 2008 @ 6:58 pm
Holy wow. You know, most ads cite sources and put bill numbers on them when they spew nonsense like raising taxes and their own pay. I’m not saying I don’t believe that Congress actually raised taxes last year — I’m saying that Congress DIDN’T raise taxes last year.
If I was one of her Republican opponents, I’d call for her to take these lies off the air. Maybe Jay can stand up to Senator Smith, you know, like he’ll stand up to these nebulous “Liberals” in Congress.
Comment by Real Talk — May 17, 2008 @ 9:03 am
yea u know I was just thinking–not aware Congress raised any taxes in years?
bizarre ad
Comment by dot — May 17, 2008 @ 9:04 am
Her line is actually “Last year Congress raised billions in taxes…”
She doesn’t actually say they raised taxes, she says they collected revenue from taxes.
She’s a joke.
Comment by that's the thing — May 17, 2008 @ 9:09 am
oh, and her “scheduling conflict” is clearly a ploy to keep a weak candidate off of the same stage with her opponents.
Comment by that's the thing — May 17, 2008 @ 9:11 am
It’s funny that she only has conflicts for televised events or events where the audience will be able to ask her questions. I can’t think of another top-tier candidate who’s worked so hard to avoid having to do or say anything during their campaign.
Also, how do you still have this many scheduling conflicts this late in the race. I would think free TV would be a priority. Guess she’s comfortable where she is in the race and doesn’t need to contact all of those voters.
Comment by John Deere — May 17, 2008 @ 10:18 am
Since the original post has become updated with more information, I removed the few comments that were made about the post before the update. If something you still wanted to say was removed, please feel free to say it again.
Comment by Danny — May 17, 2008 @ 10:49 am
say what you will Harri Anne is very popluar in the wiregrass and she has a great campaign team in Montgomery that will dent Love and Grimes. The smart money is on Harri Anne. Love has blown his money and his tying his religious convictions to politics is turning people off. That is one reason with Mike Huckabee endorsed David Grimes.
Comment by Burt — May 17, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
We talked about Love’s ads at church on Wednesday. People don’t like the over emphasis on Christian. Lots of my Methodist friends are also turned off. He’s not running for 2nd congressional district preacher.
Comment by Burt — May 17, 2008 @ 1:30 pm
Burt, you obvisouly don’t know the polling numbers that are floating around out there except for the ones Smith leaks to this site. Smith is not way ahead…if ahead at all and the folks in the Wiregrass that support her - they know it. The ad is bad, and her normal “I have a conflict” when it is a forum where folks can ask questions, or her just flat out walking out on a debate, are all par for the course when you have a fluff candidate with little substance. The ad is awful when it starts by saying Congress “raised” billions in taxes. That is false. That is about as bad as saying Washington DC has an effect on moral values in towns like Slocomb,and all accross America (her first ad said that).
And last, to say her campaign team is more experienced and talented than others….wake up Burt. They have a flawed candidate and know they better keep her out of the public as much as possible. Atleast they know that much.
Comment by Anonymous — May 17, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
Burt, with all due respect, comments that offer a paradigm in which Smith is competing with Love and Grimes for the Montgomery vote are highly outdated. Recent polling confirms that Woods is on the rise, based in large part upon his strength in advertising and his establishing himself as a viable “Montgomery candidate.” In fact, one can argue that the flurry of ads coming from Love and Smith are in response to the intense saturation of Woods ads in the previous weeks and the corresponding increase for Woods in the polls.
The ability of Woods to use his own ties to the WIregrass, particularly Dothan, place Smith in quite a predicament. If her main argument is that Love and Grimes have no ties to the Wiregrass and, thus, she should be the nominee, how does she respond to Woods who enjoys such ties?
Incidentally, I found this ad mind numbingly asinine. A telling sign of Smith’s weakness comes from the devolution of her supporters’ comments on this board. Whereas they formerly explained to us why she SHOULD win, they now explain why she WILL win. Even they accept that she is a weak candidate, but they now explain to us that geography will carry the day. Not exactly the best way to energize the base.
Comment by Will — May 17, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
Looks like she’s already setting up the contrasts with Love on Amendment One.
Comment by BlueDog — May 17, 2008 @ 1:50 pm
Just to let you know, 95% of the voters in the district have no idea that Harri Anne Smith dodges the media and events in which she appears with other candidates. It’s unfortunate that she does do that, but all of you who think it will be an issue that causes anybody to change their votes, you’re wrong-people aren’t talking about that. They’re talking about things that actually matter.
Comment by Terry — May 17, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
Terry, it has been all over the local newspaper in Dothan. Folks do read the newspaper and I have heard people…not limited to this board…discuss it.
Comment by Anonymous — May 17, 2008 @ 4:04 pm
Which is more important, an easily rescheduled television event or a once a year event in your home area? I believe her campaign made the right call. She was on TV in Montgomery on Friday, but you guys don’t notice things like that.
Also everyone elses ads are starting to run together, hers are different. Instead of presenting this super polished person the commercials instead show a person you could easily picture standing behind you at the grocery store.
Comment by Use your head — May 17, 2008 @ 5:07 pm
Her ads being “folksy” is fine. I thought the first one was pretty good. But the second ad gives the impression that congress increased taxes last year by billions of dollars…that is simply not true. She goes over board to try and show her I HATE TAXES message.
Comment by Anonymous — May 17, 2008 @ 5:37 pm
Well, here in Montgomery no one is talking about it. The Advertiser hasn’t covered that aspect of the campaign. In fact, save one detailed front-page article in the Advertiser a couple of weeks ago, the paper hasn’t covered the race very vigorously.
Then again, it doesn’t matter because Smith is not likely to receive many votes here anyways, with us having Woods, Grimes, and Love running.
Comment by Terry — May 17, 2008 @ 6:23 pm
HAS won’t be elected because she can’t get the job done, simple as that! If she thinks people are ignorant as to how she has skipped out of the debates where it really matters, then she needs to re-think the issue. It’s a proven fact that she can’t carry her own with any of the other candidates. This is why she has been dodging questions and ducking out of forums. She don’t have a clue and it is pretty evident by now to most 02 voters!
Comment by 02 voter — May 17, 2008 @ 7:03 pm
Bobby Bright will eat her alive if she is the GOP nominee. We all know it.
Comment by Anonymous — May 17, 2008 @ 8:18 pm
02 Voter, who do you think can get the job done? I don’t think anyone but HAS can get the job done.
Comment by Haha — May 17, 2008 @ 8:35 pm
Burt, I think you have confused David Grimes with Twinkle. She got the Huckabee endorsement. Grimes was listed consistently as a Romney supporter throughout the GOP presidential primary process. I seriously doubt Mike Huckabee even knows David Grimes exists, and if he did, he would probably not appreciate his work on behalf of Mitt Romney.
Comment by Ray — May 17, 2008 @ 9:46 pm
I got an email from Grimes featuring a picture of the Huckster. Seemed like an endorsement to me.The email came to an address Huck used during the primary. If that wasnt an emdorsement, then please correct me.
Comment by Yo-Gurt — May 18, 2008 @ 9:43 am
I seriously doubt Grimes has an endorsement from Huck. Grimes is bad to make folks believe he is supported by this person and that person. Nice guy, Grimes, but seems to be a little off the wall at times.
Comment by Reality Bites — May 18, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
I’ve gotten mailers before from candidates with pictures of themselves with Bush or Riley or someone like that. Those things are just to catch your eye not to endorse. If David Grimes really had a Huckabee endorsement, I can guarantee he would have sent out a press release and had it in the newspaper.
Comment by Ray — May 18, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
David Grimes was officially NOT endorsed by Mike Huckabee.
Comment by The Huck — May 18, 2008 @ 7:45 pm
I thought the first ad was strong, but now I understand why all the GOPers on this site are worried about their chances if she’s the nominee. That was terrible. Sure, it was disingenuous too, but that’s not an automatic disqualifier in Alabama politics. The bottom line is that sounding folksy and sounding stupid are not the same thing.
Comment by SamfordDem — May 18, 2008 @ 11:19 pm
I never thought I would agree with Samford Dem…but I do.
Comment by Anonymous — May 19, 2008 @ 9:08 am
I think the ad works in Alabama, actually. I think it will be surprisingly effective.
Comment by Anonymous — May 19, 2008 @ 10:46 am
I prefer it to Love and Schmidtke. I have been “Christianed” out and the ad was pretty well photographed. Woods are good but then again he IS a TV guy . . . .
Comment by Anonymous — May 19, 2008 @ 11:08 am
I think the ad that states something to the effect that everybody needs a little Slocomb would make me offended if I lived in another area of District 2. Maybe she forgot that she has to carry the votes in other areas, not just Slocomb. And the comment from the person who states she looks like someone that would be standing with you in the grocery line would be very surprised to know that in the grocery store in Slocomb she is really not that friendly to those of us who live there.
Comment by TLee — May 21, 2008 @ 12:31 am