An ad released by Sharron Angle, the Republican Senatorial candidate in Nevada, is being decried as racist and divisive by several groups.
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) said in a statement it is calling for Angle’s campaign to immediately pull the ad which takes aim at Senate Majority Leader Henry Reid, from Nevada broadcast stations.
“This political campaign ad draws upon racist attitudes and stereotypes for campaign expediency,” read a statement from NALEO. “There must be no room in our political discourse for racist acts and stereotypes that exploit a community. Political ads such as this violate basic tenets of our diverse American society.”
In the ad, dark-skinned actors are seen sneaking by a chain link fence, as images of white college students and workers follow with the narrator asking, “What does Harry Reid have against you?”
The ad goes on to criticize Reid for his support of several immigration reform measures, including his recent effort to pass the DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented students to become legalized if they attend college or serve in the military.
“Now Harry Reid is fighting for a program that would give preferred college tuition rates to none other than — illegal aliens. Using your money to pay for it,” the ad says.
The executive director of America’s Voice, Frank Sharry, calls the ad one of the most racist he has seen this campaign season. The group advocates for immigration reform.
“This ad will go down in history as one of the most blatantly racist television ads of the 2010 cycle,” Sharry said. “The parallels between her campaign and that of former California Governor Pete Wilson are striking-and will do irrevocable harm to the Nevada Republican Party with Latinos for generations to come.”
The chair of the Nevada Republican Hispanic Caucus, Tibi Ellis, also condemned the ad.
Ellis, who occasionally acts as a spokeswoman for Angle, said, “I condemned this type of propaganda, no matter who is running them, where they blame Mexicans as the only problem and where they attack them as the only source of illegal immigration. I don’t agree with that.”
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