SEIU launching major ad buy to shift conversation to jobs

SEIU launching major ad buy to shift conversation to jobs

By Greg Sargent

* First look: I’m told that SEIU is launching a $1.5 million campaign, including TV and radio spots and print ads, that’s designed to shift the conversation to jobs, and away from austerity, in six key swing states where unemployment is running very high.

The campaign, an SEIU official tells me, is meant to counteract ads being run by high profile conservative groups that are pushing an austerity agenda among voters who are struggling economically — and will pressure House Republicans to prioritize job creation over tax breaks for corporations and the rich.

Here’s the TV spot, to run in Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Virginia:

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“Tomorrow we’re launching an expensive campaign to push the issue of jobs back to where it belongs — in the forefront of the public discourse in Congress,” SEIU political director Brandon Davis tells me. “We’ve seen a large investment from Crossroads and other groups trying to frame the debate in key areas where folks are really struggling and looking for answers.”

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“Rather than creating jobs by cutting taxes on the wealthy and hoping that it trickles down to the rest of us, we want to reframe and present an alternative theory that is more likely to create jobs,” he said. “Record low approval ratings for Congress speak to the fact that folks feel like there’s nothing of value going on here. We want to move whatever needs to move to get jobs created.”

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