Sen. Patty Murray in Washington, Sept. 14.
Photo:
Tom Williams/Zuma Press
How worried are Democrats about Washington Sen.
Patty Murray’s
re-election? Bothered enough that Seattle’s corporate heavyweights are playing dirty pool on her behalf.
After coasting for five terms, the progressive Ms. Murray is facing a surprisingly spirited challenge from
Tiffany Smiley,
a nurse and entrepreneur. The Republican is pummeling Ms. Murray from every direction and laying out her own detailed reform agenda. While the RealClearPolitics average has Ms. Murray winning by 8 points, one recent poll put Ms. Smiley within 2. It’s close enough that Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer
recently transferred $500,000 of his own campaign cash to Ms. Murray’s campaign.
And close enough that a trio of titans—Starbucks, the Seattle Times and the Seattle Seahawks—are actively attempting to sabotage the Smiley campaign, albeit in a distinctly underhanded fashion. Their targets are two effective Smiley campaign ads.
In “Game Day,” the Republican is in a kitchen preparing to watch a football game, hitting Ms. Murray and Democrats for the spiraling cost of food. In “Cup of Coffee,” she stands in front of a derelict building. Barely visible at the top, and seen backward, is the store’s faded Starbucks sign. Ms. Smiley hits Ms. Murray for rising crime, while the ad flashes two Seattle Times headlines, one of which reads: “Starbucks to Close 5 Seattle Stores Over Safety Concerns.”
“Game Day” hit the airwaves Sept 1. Five days later, according to documents I obtained, the Smiley campaign received a terse email from the Seahawks claiming a trademark violation. The ad briefly shows Ms. Smiley’s husband, Scotty—a retired U.S. Army Ranger who was blinded by shrapnel in Iraq—expressing alarm that “even beer” prices are rising. You only see his shoulders above a tall couch—and if you get a magnifying glass…
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