Anti-Abortion Group Targets Democratic Senate Hopefuls

Enter the conservative values voters. The Susan B. Anthony List has rolled out more radio ads targeting Democratic candidates for Senate in battleground states. The ads run on Christian radio, telling listeners that the Democrats -- in that catchphrase of the social right -- don't "share our values."

An ad lambasting Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO), running for Senate in one of the hottest races in the country, features a mother and daughter getting coffee:

Daughter: I'll have a large, no-foam, triple, skim latte. Mom?
Mother: (chuckles) I don't even know how to order here. (sighs) I feel sick anyway.
Daugher: (impatiently) What now?
Mom: It's that Mark Udall fellow...Do you know he voted to allow partial birth abortions six times?
Daughter: Abortion in the ninth month? That will make you sick.

The mother and daughter also show up for coffee in North Carolina, where the mother is sick about Kay Hagan, who's challenging Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole. That race is surprisingly tight right now.

The List also has new ads against Senate candidates Bruce Lunsford in Kentucky and Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire, plus incumbent Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Listen to them here.

The Susan B. Anthony List exists to promote anti-abortion Republican women candidates. It was formed after the 1992 elections, when EMILY's List helped to elect a large contingent of pro-choice Democratic women to Congress. It stumbled and reorganized in 1997 as 501(c)(4) advocacy group with attached political action committee.

The leadership is thick with political connections and experience. Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president, formerly worked as staff director for the Congressional Pro-life Caucus. The executive committee is chaired by Cesar Conda, a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, and Barbara Comstock, a well-known political consultant whom the Washington Post once called a "one-woman wrecking crew targeting Democratic leaders" when she worked for the Republican National Committee. The committee includes the wives of several GOP lawmakers and consultants.

-- Will Evans

3:51 PM ET | 09-29-2008 | permalink

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