Christian Smith
INDIANAPOLIS — With the onslaught of political ads heading into next week’s primaries, one ad could result in a law signed in Indiana just a few weeks ago being put to the test soon.
3 from Indianathird The race for the Congressional District is competitive, with eight Republicans vying for Rep. Jim Banks’ seat. With the Indiana primary just days away, one of those candidates says an attack ad against them released this week used not only deceptive but also illegal tactics.
This week, Wendy Davis’ campaign for Congress sent a cease and desist request to the conservative Super PAC Club for Growth Action over an ad the campaign said was misleading.
A statement from the Davis Campaign released Wednesday said the following:
“Today, Wendy Davis’ campaign for Congress issued a Cease and Desist ad for the Club for Growth, released yesterday, that falsely claimed that Judge Davis instituted “agreed upon race-based hiring practices.” The dishonest ad strings together unrelated words and statements over the course of an hour and 14 minute panel to form a sentence that suits her absurd claims.
Judge Davis served on the panel defending religious freedom as a judge in 2020. The Club for Growth PAC supports Davis’ opponent, failed career politician Marlin Stutzman.
It’s ridiculous to call myself a “Liberal Judge” – I lost my position on the court to run because I was too conservative to maintain the neutrality that the job requires. I’m disappointed that the Club for Growth spliced my words to fit their false narrative of supporting a failed career politician who withdrew campaign funds for personal vacations, but I know the people of Northeast Indiana can recognize a dubbed statement when they hear it. and know that I am an unabashed conservative who will work with Donald Trump and fight to bring back a strong America in Congress.”
A spokesperson for the Club for Growth Action acknowledged that the ad contained audio snippets from a religious freedom panel that Judge Davis sat on in 2020. However, the group argues that the spirit of her comments remained the same. An audio clip that was not spliced contained the following quote from Davis:
“When I look at our government today, we don’t have enough inclusion that I believe the Constitution requires me to do, I work in government,” Davis said.
Another clip of Davis from that panel that was not amended showed her saying the Constitution is a “living, breathing document.”
“Wendy Davis has expressed her strong views on diversity and that she believes the Constitution is a ‘living, breathing document,’ but now she is trying to rewrite history to cover up her past left-wing statements,” David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth Action, he said.
This comes just weeks after Indiana passed a law requiring campaign ads to carry a liability disclaimer if they use digitally altered media that “convey a materially inaccurate representation of the individual’s speech…as recorded in the unaltered recording.”
AI/digital media expert Doug Kouns (CEO of Veracity IIR) said he anticipates that claims under this law will increase over time, but that the law as it stands could be extremely difficult to enforce due to constantly evolving technology.
“Normally the burden of proof is that you did something, not that you didn’t do it, but it’s a step back from that,” Kouns said.
A statement from Davis’ campaign manager reads as follows:
“Stitching someone’s words together without their consent to fit your agenda is wrong, but it is also illegal in the state of Indiana. We are taking any and all legal steps to remove this false advertisement from the airwaves.”
