A coalition of more than 20 prominent progressive groups and unions are launching a new ad campaign slamming Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., for his response to the Jan. 6 riot and his vote against federal voting rights legislation.
They are spending $800,000 on a 30-second television spot and print ad campaign, which kicks off Sunday.
The coalition includes NAACP, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Working Families Party and the labor union National Education Association. Called Democracy for All 2021 Action, they advocate for federal voting legislation, District of Columbia statehood, and campaign finance reform. Their first major ad campaign, a million-dollar buy in April, promoted the For the People Act in three states and Washington, D.C.
“You’re failing us, Sen. Johnson. Protecting our democracy has never been partisan and yet you refused to investigate the deadly attack on our Capital,” the ad begins.
It contrasts images of rioters smashing windows at the Capitol with a brief clip of Johnson saying “by and large it was peaceful protest.”
His full comments, made on Fox News in May, were, “By and large it was all, it was peaceful protest, except for there were a number of people, basically agitators that whipped the crowd and breached the Capitol. And you know, that's really the truth of what's happening here.”
Wisconsin Democrats are lining up to challenge Johnson for his seat in 2022, though the Republican has not yet said whether he’s running for re-election.
The ad also criticizes him for his role in blocking the For the People Act, Democrats' sweeping elections and campaign overhaul bill that would have required all states to offer early voting.
“Access to the polls matters to all Americans, and yet you blocked voter protections that have the support of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents," the narrator says.
Johnson and other Senate Republicans united to filibuster the legislation last month, keeping it from moving forward in the chamber.
The ad will air on local broadcast news and sports programs, national cable news shows including MSNBC, as well as Fox News Sunday and Face the Nation in Washington, D.C., on July 25.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said in an interview that Johnson was undermining democracy and that his vote against a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot was “unconscionable.”
“This is an existential crisis for this country,” she told NBC News. “As educators we are going to do everything we possibly can to elect leaders who will support and defend our democracy, who will support our system of public education, who will defend our students.”
Johnson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A print version of the ad will run in 10 local newspapers including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“The only thing Ron Johnson is willing to protect is his own power,” the ad reads, urging voters to call the senator’s D.C. office. “Who’s Johnson working for? You or himself?”
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July 18, 2021 at 03:30PM
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New ad hits Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson for 'peaceful' Jan. 6 claim - NBC News
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