Rep. Andy Kim pulls the race card in NJ congressional campaign (Opinion)

Everyone knows that political ads are open season for the most scathing, denigrating and insulting remarks. You can say almost anything about an opponent and as long as it is either an opinion or a “fact,” it can be spun or exaggerated every which way and used in attack ads.

Even in the rare case that an ad does get taken down because of vociferous complaints from an opponent, the damage is already done and the message is out there.

In the race between Congressman Andy Kim and Republican challenger Tricia Flanagan, the latter calls Andy Kim an “outsider.” And states that he is “not one of us.” This is par for the course for political advertising.

It’s obvious that Flanagan is speaking to her loyal base, the Trump conservative who is anathema to Andy Kim and all he stands for. She uses the term “outsider” to describe him since his political views do not align with theirs. It’s clear from her advertising what she is referring to.

I believe Andy Kim knows this also. But, since Andy Kim is Asian, he picked out the word “outsider,” took it out of context and called it a slur. In an attempt to prove that Andy Kim knows exactly what Flanagan really means, she explains that “Andy Kim is an outsider because he’s a socialist. He’s bad for America because he’ll do whatever his Biden & Pelosi overlords tell him to."

She also points out that the phrase “he is not one of us” was used in advertising by Tom McArthur during the 2018 congressional election and Kim never said a word. But Kim, in an attempt to have the ads removed—but more importantly to paint Flanagan as a racist—pushes on.

This is part of the game and Kim knows it. It’s time for him to understand that when it comes to political advertising everyone is fair game.

Here's the ad, so you can decide for yourself:

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco. Any opinions expressed are Judi Franco’s own.