A super political action committee supporting President Obama is running the first television advertisement using Republican Mitt Romney’s words from a closed-door fundraiser.
The ad from Priorities USA Action shows clips of Mr. Romney telling wealthy donors that 47 percent of Americans “believe that they are victims.” Mr. Romney goes on to say he’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility.
The ad closes with a narrator saying Mr. Romney will never convince middle-class voters he’s on their side.
The liberal magazine Mother Jones released the Romney video clips Monday.
The ad is part of a $30 million project by Priorities that focuses on how it believes Mr. Romney’s proposals would hurt the middle class. The ad will run in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.
CAMPAIGN
Poll: Obama, Baldwin take Wisconsin leads
Wisconsin Democrats are making a hard charge at keeping the state blue in this year’s presidential election and holding onto one of its two U.S. Senate seats, according to a poll released Wednesday afternoon.
A Marquette University poll shows President Obama with a surprisingly large lead of 54 percent to 40 percent over Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and also shows Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin with a 50-41 lead in her Senate race against former GOP Gov. Tommy Thompson.
The presidential race had tightened in Wisconsin since Mr. Romney’s selection of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate last month, but recent polls have suggested that the resulting GOP bump has begun to dissipate as Democrats are experiencing a post-convention surge in support.
COURTS
Ginsburg: Gay marriage headed to Supreme Court
BOULDER, Colo. — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Wednesday that she believes the Defense of Marriage Act will likely go to the U.S. Supreme Court within the next year.
“I think it’s most likely that we will have that issue before the court toward the end of the current term,” the justice told a questioner at a University of Colorado speaking appearance.
The 1996 law has been declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in New York and is awaiting arguments this month before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
MEDICARE
Insurance premiums rising $1.47 next year
Obama administration officials say they have some good election-year news for seniors.
Monthly premiums for popular Medicare Advantage insurance plans are rising by only $1.47 next year, to an average of $32.59.
The private plans often can provide the same services as traditional Medicare for a lower out-of-pocket cost, but seniors have to accept some restrictions on choice.
About 12 million Medicare recipients are in private plans. Enrollment is projected to rise by more than 1 million next year.
The news follows a recent announcement that prescription drug premiums would remain stable for the third year in a row, about $30 a month.
Because the premium numbers are averages, some people may see their costs go up. They can shop for a lower cost plan.
CAMPAIGN
Akin’s camp says new website launch a mistake
A spokesman for Rep. W. Todd Akin, a Missouri Republican running for a Senate seat, said that Tuesday’s launch of a website targeting women voters was a mistake. The campaign quickly removed the site when it was found to contain an embarrassing gaffe.
The website featured a photo with three women standing next to Mr. Akin, but one of them is a “tracker” for the Missouri Democratic Party who has been shadowing his public events for more than a year.
The mistake is especially embarrassing for the campaign, which has found itself defending the Republican lawmaker’s views on women after he prompted national outrage last month by claiming that victims of “legitimate” rape rarely become pregnant.
CAMPAIGN
Christie: Media’s focus exposes liberal bias
Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie struck back Wednesday at critics of GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, arguing that the furor over his statement that nearly half of Americans are “dependent upon government” is a media-generated distraction designed to take away from the true issues in this year’s campaign.
During a radio interview Wednesday morning with WKXW-FM in New Jersey, Mr. Christie accused news organizations of jumping on Mr. Romney’s comments made at a May private fundraiser in an effort to help the Obama campaign by shifting focus away from what he considers the president’s “poor performance” and “lack of a plan for the next four years.”
“Some people in the media should just turn in their media credential and get an ’Obama for president’ credential, the way they focus on things that people said back last May,” the outspoken governor said.
• From wire dispatches and staff reports
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