While Attempting to Defend Latest Ad, Rep. Mike Turner Makes Racist and Classist Comment Toward Desiree Tims
In an attempt to distract from his own corrupt record amid the toughest re-election of his career, Congressman Mike Turner’s latest ad tries and fails to connect Desiree Tims to the Republican Householder Corruption Scandal.
While attempting to defend this latest flop of an ad, Turner made a racist and classist comment toward Desiree saying, “Absent her lobbyist connections and outside money, she doesn’t have enough money to run for office.”
Desiree Tims, who rejects corporate PAC money, was inspired by her grandfather’s life as a sharecropper in the Deep South and went on to become the first in her family to graduate from four-year college and eventually work in the U.S. Senate making progress on issues impacting Ohio families. Meanwhile, Turner has taken over $2.3 million from corporate PACs over the course of his career and benefited their bottom line in Congress.
“It’s obvious that Mike Turner is getting desperate to save his career if he’s lying through his teeth this willingly,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Throughout his time in Washington, Turner has been bought and paid for by corporate special interests. Instead of fighting to protect Ohions’ voting rights or for a bill to lower the cost of prescription drugs, he’s defended Big Money at every turn. Meanwhile, Desiree Tims is proving she’ll put Ohioans’ interests first by running a people-powered campaign and supporting critical reform legislation like the For the People Act. Voters aren’t fooled by this phony and repugnant attack.”
“Mike Turner’s pathetic dog whistle isn’t convincing anyone. Less than nine weeks from election day, Turner is resorting to false and divisive attacks,” said Stefanie Brown James, Co-Founder & Executive Director of The Collective PAC. “African Americans are underrepresented in public office, in part due to the role Big Money plays as a barrier to entrance in Congress. The good old boys and corporate PAC dollars that Mike Turner relies on to fund his campaigns have historically kept qualified candidates like Desiree from being able to break through. With support from thousands of small dollar donors and organizations like The Collective PAC, we can begin to level the playing field and elect leaders that care about their constituents and not their corporate connections.”
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