Knowles Stunt Too Little Too Late
Is Tony Knowles Illegally Coordinating with the DSCC?
Anchorage, AK - Realizing, that he could not afford breaking another pledge to Alaska's voters, Tony Knowles finally lived up to one of his promises today. After saying he would not make Senator Murkowski's appointment a campaign issue, in a press release, Knowles announced that he was asking the DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) to stop airing a new television ad focusing on nepotism.
The speed at which this ad appeared and then disappeared at the request of Knowles raises the question of possible illegal coordination at worst and some sort of stunt designed to illustrate an illusion of strength at best.
The question must be asked, was this ad aired on purpose so that Knowles could have the appearance of being effective?
The fact of the matter is that Knowles is all over the map on the issue of 3rd party advertising. In January, Knowles repeatedly denounced all third party advertising. Knowles then welcomed the help of Outsiders as soon as he received it, when the DSCC began airing TV ads in July. Knowles defended this flip-flop with the statement issued by his campaign that "if she is not going to voluntarily forgo assistance permitted under the law then neither are we." The fact that he has decided to stand up to one ad in particular is too little too late.
If Knowles was truly against third party ads he would have kept his original pledge, and would stand up to all ads - favorable or not. To this date, Knowles has benefited from more than $300,000 dollars in advertising from the DSCC. Furthermore, public records indicate that the DSCC will spend upwards of $1 million on TV advertising between now and November - one million opportunities for Knowles to live up to his word.
The Murkowski campaign intends to file a formal complaint with the FEC citing possible coordination between Knowles and the DSCC on Monday morning.