On Monday, a Roanoke-based television station started broadcasting a Republican Party group’s ad that targets Rep. Tom Perriello, the station’s general manager said Thursday.
Last week, WDBJ-TV did not run the original version of the ad, which was sponsored by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Perriello, D-5th District, was the only congressman for whom the NRCC bought TV time to attack his vote in favor of the Clean Energy and Security Act, also known as the cap-and-trade bill.
Jeffrey Marks, president and general manager of WDBJ Television Inc., said the NRCC revised the ad after the station relayed to it some concerns Perriello’s office had raised.
“They revised the ad, it dealt with those issues and it’s on the air,” Marks said Monday.
“There were issues the Perriello camp raised that we thought were legitimate about the source of the information and what it referred to.
“We passed those on to the Republican group that was sponsoring the ad. They revised the ad, and it seemed to address those issues,” Marks said.
Perriello said the original version of the ad was inaccurate because it cited a Washington Times editorial about the bill’s cost to consumers.
The cost analysis, one of several that emanated from Washington sources last week, was done by the Heritage Foundation, and that data was used incorrectly, Perriello said.
Marks said WDBJ didn’t take sides in the dispute. The actual argument was between Perriello’s office and the NRCC, he said.
“This came off as being very adversarial,” Marks said. “It wasn’t, as far as we were concerned. The parties may be adversaries,” but the station wasn’t, he said.
Also on Monday, a Democrat-leaning interest group said it would broadcast a TV ad in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market supporting Perriello’s vote on the energy bill.
Americans United for Change said it was praising members of Congress in 15 districts for voting for the bill, which the group said would help establish America as a leader in clean energy and create millions of American jobs.
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