DNC Markey Memo on Gomez

7/30/2019 DNC Markey Memo on Gomez

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MEMORANDUM

TO: Interested Parties

FROM: Brad Woodhouse, DNC Communications Director

DATE: May 24, 2013

RE: Flailing and Failing: Gabriel Gomez’ Desperate Campaign for Senate

“Republican Gabriel Gomez falsely claims his opponent in the Massachusetts Senate race

blamed him for the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., and compared him to Osama bin

Laden.” – Factcheck.org

“So what we have here is a group that is in the active process of ‘violating the pledge’ on behalf

of the candidate who prevented the pledge from being in effect, berating the other candidate for

allegedly violating the pledge.” – Boston Magazine

Ed Markey Is “Dirty and Low…Pond Scum” – Gabriel Gomez, GOP Candidate for United States Senate

There is a good rule of thumb in life and in politics: If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

Gabriel Gomez’ campaign for Senate just can’t stop digging this week. A series of missteps have

revealed a candidate who isn’t ready for prime time and a campaign that is turning to desperate,

false and malicious smears a month out from Election Day. It’s a tactic that is the last resort of

campaigns that have nothing to say on the issues that are important to voters and it’s clear from

this last week that Gabriel Gomez has nothing of substance to say to the people of

Massachusetts.

Act of Desperation #1: False Ads Slammed by Fact Checkers

On Tuesday, the Gomez campaign released an ad called “Something New” that claimed Ed

Markey has compared Gabriel Gomez to Osama Bin Laden and blamed Gabriel Gomez for the

tragic school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Before the ad was even released, the Boston Globe pre-emptively dismissed the Newtown claim

saying:

“Despite what the ad says, Markey has not blamed Gomez for the Newtown shooting.

Markey has released an ad that highlights Gomez’s opposition to an assault weapons ban

and to limits on high-capacity magazines, ‘like the ones used in the Newtown school

shooting.”

FactCheck.org followed suit and completely dismantled the Gomez ad that “falsely claims his

opponent in the Massachusetts Senate race… compared him to Osama bin Laden.” In reality, the

Markey campaign used footage from a Republican Super PAC ad that Gomez appeared in during



2012. The Super PAC was dedicated to bringing down President Barack Obama with Swift Boat

style attacks.

Act of Desperation #2: Absurd Attacks from National Republicans

On Thursday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee broke out their fainting couches

and released a statement: Markey First to Violate the People's Pledge.

The only problem is that the People’s Pledge was rejected by Gabriel Gomez, who wanted to

reserve his right to rely on millions in outside group spending to bombard Massachusetts with

more false ads. Ed Markey was the only candidate who wanted to keep outside groups out.

Boston Magazine labeled the attack the “Eye Roller of the Day.”

Gabriel Gomez and the NRSC thought it was a brilliant bit of political strategy to have an

outside group attack Ed Markey over a pledge to keep outside groups out of the race that Ed

Markey agreed to and Gabriel Gomez did not.

Good luck with that.

Act of Desperation #3: Gabriel Gomez Starts Slinging Mud

On Thursday, Gabriel Gomez showed once again that he is not ready for prime time. In response

to a reporter’s question about his discredited ad, Gabriel Gomez called Ed Markey “dirty and

low” and referred to the Congressman as “pond scum.”

Gabriel Gomez called Ed Markey “pond scum” for highlighting Gabriel Gomez’ own positions

on the issues. It makes you wonder what Gabriel Gomez finds more objectionable about his own positions. Is it that he actively campaigned for a Republican Super PAC that employed Swift

Boat style attacks on the President over the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden? Or is it Gabriel

Gomez’ opposition to an assault weapons ban and limits on high capacity magazines? Maybe it’s

Gabriel Gomez’ disinterest in learning about the Blunt Amendment and why women don’t want

their employer involved in personal medical decisions?

Gabriel Gomez is trying to distract from his own positions, which are out of step with

Massachusetts voters, by attacking Ed Markey’s character. It’s a classic desperate move from a

flailing campaign and it’s unbecoming of someone who is asking Massachusetts voters to send

him to the United States Senate.

Conclusion: Voters Can Smell a Desperate Campaign

There is still one month to go in this campaign and already Gabriel Gomez is out of ideas.

Gomez can’t defend his own out of touch positions, so he invents attacks to rebut that Ed Markey

hasn’t made. Gomez knows his campaign will need big spending Republican outside groups to

prop up his campaign, so he tried to distract from that by attacking Ed Markey over a pledge he



himself didn’t take. Gomez is resorting to name calling because when confronted with his own

positions, he has nothing to say to Massachusetts voters.

After this week, there is only one way to describe the Gomez campaign: flailing and failing.

Documents

DNC Markey Memo on Gomez