ONLINE• Ball ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVEVxZLoNkE• Alexander ad: http://youtu.be/f4dZJGGyFh0
NASHVILLE -- Democrat Gordon Ball's first TV ad in the general election charges U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is "out of tune" with Tennesseans, and it features a piano-playing Alexander serenely pounding out a mangled version of the "Tennessee Waltz."
The campaign digitally altered a digital clip of Alexander's piano playing to make it sound as if the two-term senator is striking sour notes to better illustrate its point.
As Alexander, who often plays the piano in political settings, plays on, a voiceover slams the two-term incumbent on various votes he's taken as jangled chords fly.
"More than ever Lamar Alexander is out of tune with the voters of Tennessee," the narrator says in the ad, which began airing statewide on Monday. "He voted for Wall Street bailouts. He's opposed term limits. And while everyday families are struggling, he gives tax breaks to corporations that ship our jobs overseas.
"Tired of the same old song and dance?" the narrator continues as the ad shifts to Ball, accompanied by a change of tune. "Gordon Ball. Real. Honest. In step with the values of Tennessee. If you want to change the way Washington is run, then change the people who are running it."
Alexander struck back in a statement, saying, "first, [Ball] copies other senators' statements on his website. Now, he's butchering the Tennessee Waltz. No telling what he'll try to do to 'Rocky Top.'"
The two-term senator's own ad, announced last week, also began airing Monday. In it, Alexander makes the case to voters that the choice on Nov. 4 is between "one more vote for Barack Obama's agenda" and a new Republican Senate majority.
"Obamacare's a failure, border security's a mess, terrorists run rampant and America's drowning in debt," Alexander says directly into the camera and thus viewers. "If that's OK with you then vote for my opponent -- he'll be just one more vote for Barack Obama's agenda.
"But America's better than that," Alexander says. "Your vote can mean a new Senate majority where I can work to fix our broken system and get the right things done."
In a statement, Ball, a successful Knoxville trial lawyer, says, "Our ad highlights the differences between Lamar and myself since he refuses to debate me on the issues."
Ball pointed to Rule 297 in Alexander's "Little Plaid Book: 311 Rules, Reminders, and Lessons About Running for Office and Making a Difference, Whether It's for President of the United States or President of your Senior Class." It was first published in 1998 as Alexander geared up for a second presidential race.
Rule # 297 says: "Serve two terms and get out."
"I guess he changed his tune on that one too," Ball added.
Contact staff writer Andy Sher at 615-255-0550 or asher@timesfreepress.com.