These boots are made for walkin’. Or putting a foot down in Congress.
That’s the message in Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick’s new re-election campaign advertisement, “Boots.” The Arizona Democrat’s first TV spot of this year’s election cycle is her response to a GOP attack ad that depicted her as a pair of legs strutting around in high heels.
The new 30-second video features Kirkpatrick wearing the cowboy boots that she bought as an 18-year-old waitress, and continues to wear.
“To Ann, these boots represent hard work, common sense and her rural roots. And she’ll give Congress a good kick when it’s acting up,” said Nettie Haines, her campaign manager.
The candidate uses the boots in the ad to “put her foot down” on perks congressional leaders have attempted to gain, including earning free taxpayer-funded health care for life and collecting their salaries without passing a budget last year.
The second-term representative, who is running for re-election in Arizona’s First Congressional District, released the spot Monday, just days after the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) published an ad that portrays Kirkpatrick as a pair of legs. In “Baggage,” the NRCC’s narrator criticizes Kirkpatrick for voting to raise the debt limit and supporting the Affordable Care Act, despite the congresswoman’s previous disapproval.
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“The NRCC really blew it. They’ve been in Washington too long — or in the 1950s,” a spokesperson for Kirkpatrick’s campaign told msnbc last week. “Either way, Ann is more likely to be wearing cowboy boots and kicking up dirt.”
Kirkpatrick will face off against her Republican challenger, Arizona House Speaker Andy Tobin, for the House seat in the general election on Nov. 4.
Jane C. Timm contributed reporting.
Michele Richinick