The extra spin zone

Yesterday, the Steve Westly for governor campaign released the first real negative television ad of the campaign. This after circulating a letter sent to Team Phil Angelides last month asking for a "clean campaign" pledge. Unlike most of Westly's ads, this one has not been immediately posted on his site. The ad attacks Angelides for advocating a litany of tax proposals from income taxes to alcohol taxes. The ad has spurred some strong press releases from both campaigns. From Brian Brokaw, Angelides' press secretary: Steve Westly’s candidacy has been flailing since Phil Angelides won the endorsement of the California Democratic Party. To quote Steve Westly: “Desperate candidates do desperate things.” Westly's negative ad is as bogus as his “positive campaign pledge” and as phony as his school funding plan. This is further evidence that Californians can’t count on Steve Westly. Though, it is the Westly campaign that has launched the television ad, they are, not surprisingly, blaming Angelides for going negative first. But as bad as the last month has been, it pales in comparison to the slash job Angelides pulled during Wednesday’s debate. This was the last straw. Phil Angelides launched a deeply personal and nasty attack on Steve Westly both during and immediately after the debate by comparing Westly to Tom Delay, Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich and Richard Nixon. Folks, if this is not a negative attack in a Democratic Primary, we don’t know what is! That's from Nick Velasquez, Westly's press secretary. With less than a month before E-Day, let's wait and see what happens next.