Lunsford targets Fischer in latest ad

With the release of a new advertisement today from the campaign of Bruce Lunsford, it appears the Democratic Senate primary will remain combative up until the May 20 election.

Lunsford's new ad targets primary opponent and Louisville businessman Greg Fischer for past Republican donations and workplace safety violations at facilities belonging to the company where he served as CEO.

The new ad - entitled "Trust" - features a narrator stating that Fischer "attacks Democrats for crossing party lines." A video clip of Fischer stating "I invite checking of my references" is then run.

The narrator then says "Fischer and his family have given thousands to Republicans like George Bush and Mitch McConnell."

The narrator in the 30-second spot then claims "Fischer's companies were investigated and fined by the federal government for unsafe working conditions" while a list of eight citations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is displayed on the screen.

"I apologize to any of my supporters who may be disappointed in our decision to respond to Greg Fischer's attacks in a direct fashion," said Lunsford in a statement emailed by his campaign today announcing the ad. "We have tried hard to keep this primary campaign positive."

The charges

The Lunsford claim that Fischer "and his family" support Republicans, including McConnell and Bush is documented in this pdf document (right-click, save as) circulated by the Lunsford campaign.

Lunsford's campaign points to $800 worth of Fischer donations to former 3rd District Congresswoman Anne Northup (R-Louisville) and Rebecca Jackson (R-Louisville), a candidate for Jefferson County Judge/Exeuctive.

They also look towards donations Fischer's father, George, made to Bush and McConnell.

The OSHA violations in question include one 2004 violation at the Dant Clayton corporation, where Fischer is currently CEO. The others date to 1997, 1992, and 1989, during Fischer's tenure at Servend, a corporation he sold in 1997.

The fines levied in the charges referenced by Lunsford against Fischer's companies by OSHA totalled $7,780.

How they got here

The same sentiment is seen in other tactics the Lunsford campaign has tried in response to Fischer's own ads.

Last month, Fischer began running ads referencing Lunsford's past history of supporting Republicans and allegations of business impropriety and patient abuse at Lunsford's Vencor chain of nursing homes.

Since those ads ran, Lunsford's campaign circulated a letter signed by four prominent Kentucky Democrats - including Congressman John Yarmuth (D-Louisville) and Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo (D-Hazard) - asking Fischer to stop. Lunsford's team also ran an ad responding to Fischer's initial charges and circulated a petition asking that the ads be stopped.

That petition currently has 154 signatures, including a collection of Lunsford endorsers, campaign staffers, and other supporters.

Fischer's campaign, however, did not stop the attacks, launching a website and second ad again targeting Lunsford for Vencor-related issues and his endorsment of Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher in 2003.

"It has been nearly three weeks and he continues his attacks. Many of the same people who had urged Greg Fischer to change course have urged our campaign to respond more directly," said Lunsford in today's statement.

Lunsford's campaign earlier lobbed several allegations of "hypocrisy" at Fischer due to Fischer's own campaign contributions to Republicans and some investments in mutual funds with holdings in Vencor's successor companies.

Fischer's campaign subsequently claimed this tactic was reminiscent of those of Mitch McConnell - the Republican incumbent awaiting the Democratic nominee.

The issue of party loyalty and the tone of the campaign also came up during Monday's Democratic Senate debate, when essentially the same charges fired by Lunsford in this most recent of adds were utilized. Fischer responded in the same tact.

The resulting fallout entailed Fischer charging that Lunsford was "distorting" Lunsford's own history of giving to Republicans. During the debate, Lunsford denied he gave "tens of thousands" of dollars to Republicans.

Lunsford apologized today for that denial, claiming he misunderstood Fischer's charge.

The ad comes just six days before the May 20 Democratic primary and with Lunsford the favorite, according to polls released this week. Lunsford sits 20 points over Fischer according to the Lexington Herald-Leader, though Fischer's campaign is claiming "momentum" due to the campaign doubling its poll support in recent weeks.

ALSO on PolitickerKY.com:

• Fischer camp on Lunsford's latest ad: 'baseless, groundless, spurious'