The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Tuesday began to air its first attack ad against GOP candidate Mark Greenberg, who is running for the U.S. House seat held by Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District.
The television ad, the first of many expected from the DCCC to bolster Esty’s campaign, hits Greenberg on statements he has made about Social Security.
“Social Security is a failure as far as I’m concerned,” Greenberg says in the ad.
A narrator asks “So what’s Mark Greenberg’s plan?”
It shows Greenberg saying, “If you become old, you gotta rely upon your own system of retirement, your self-retirement system and not the Social Security system.”
The ad says “seniors can’t afford” Greenberg’s plan.
“This tired scare tactic from Elizabeth Esty and her special-interest cronies is as desperate as it is shameful,” said Bill Evans, Greenberg’s campaign manager.
Evans also alluded to a 12-year-old statement by Esty that she now says she regrets. A mother of three, Esty was caught on video speaking at a Cheshire Town Council meeting, saying that people who objected to the town’s property taxes — which help pay for local schools — were “always welcome to move to a neighboring town.”
“These attacks come from the same woman who told seniors to move out of town if they don’t want to pay higher taxes,” Evans said. “Every senior should watch the video to see what the unscripted Esty thinks about them and their very real concerns.”
The campaign for the 5th District race is expected to be very heated. The DCCC has reserved more than nearly $800,000 in air time in Connecticut, and the National Republican Campaign Committee has committed itself to aiding Greenberg, although the organization has not purchased any airtime yet.