Crossroads GPS v. Unions

Jonathan Martin writes at Politico:

An arm of American Crossroads, the well-financed Republican super PAC, is going up on the air Wednesday with an ad taking aim at public employee unions and highlighting the aid President Obama got in his campaign from organized labor.

“Why are Democrats shutting down state capitals?” asks a narrator with images of the protesters in Madison, Wis., on the screen. “To protect a system that pays unionized government workers 42 percent more than non-union workers, a system that collects hundreds of millions in mandatory dues to back liberals who support government unions.”

The 60-second spot also captures a fired-up Obama at an SEIU event thanking members of that union – most of which work in the private sector – for their help in getting him elected.

And to drive perceptions of unions as thuggish and selfish, the spot opens with Rep. Michael Capuano’s (R-Mass.) line about getting “out in the streets and … a little bloody when necessary” while closing with a speech by an NEA official who says the teachers’ union has power because of the willingness of members to pay “hundreds of millions of dollars in dues.”

Crossroads GPS is airing the ad on national cable. The buy is $750,000 over one week, with spots running on CNN, CNBC and Fox News.