NRCC Ad Blowing Up In Bilbray's Face

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is helping convince 50th District voters that Republican candidate Brian Bilbray is not worthy of their votes. The NRCC has stepped into the 50th District campaign with $800,000 of hit piece advertising. Their most recent ad accused Democrat Francine Busby of praising a teacher who was suspected of having pornography on his personal computer. The ad has begun to backfire on the NRCC and Bilbray.

Over the weekend Bilbray refused to respond to questions regarding the ad, speaking only through campaign staff. On Monday, Bilbray refused to repudiate the ad and instead spoke of his disappointment with its negative tone.

Congressional candidate Brian Bilbray expressed mild disappointment yesterday with a Republican attack ad against Democratic opponent Francine Busby but rejected her call to demand that the spot be pulled from the airwaves.

That folks in Republican integrity.

The North County Times editorial staff apparently feels the same way. In an editorial today, they chastise Bilbray for his refusal to take a stand against the ad.

He bobbed and weaved like the veteran politician he is, but Brian Bilbray failed Monday to clearly repudiate the mud slung at his opponent by his friends. Until Bilbray says outright that he opposes a national Republican group's TV ad smearing Democrat Francine Busby ---- not just "hit pieces" in general, but this one in particular ---- he's a winking beneficiary of the worst sort of dirty campaigning.

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if Bilbray won't stop it, who will? After all, the spokesman for the national GOP congressional committee made their position clear: "We have no plan to take the ad down. She is on the record saying what she said."

Be warned, we believe that 50th District voters will rebel against this kind of mudslinging. North County deserves a better, cleaner race. We have two worthy candidates in Brian Bilbray and Francine Busby. Both have ample public records and distinguishable positions. North County is bursting at the seams with important issues.

Brian Bilbray = Republican politics as usual. Nothing more than a slightly less corrupt version Duke Cunningham.