http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2011/05/21/first_2012_attack_ad_assails_romney/WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney is the focus of the first attack ad of the 2012 presidential race, with an independent group run by former aides to President Obama tagging Romney as both a flip-flopper and a politician who would not protect Medicare.
“Mitt Romney says he’s ‘on the same page’ as Paul Ryan, who wrote the plan to essentially end Medicare,’’ a narrator says as black-and-white images of the former Massachusetts governor flash across the screen. “But with Mitt Romney, you have to wonder . . . which page is he on today?’’
The ad, which also tweaks Newt Gingrich, will run in South Carolina as Romney makes his first visit of the year to the state tomorrow.
The ad is being run by Priorities USA Action, a political action committee headed by Obama’s former deputy press secretary, Bill Burton. The group can accept unlimited donations and is meant to counter Republican groups that were formed during the 2010 midterm elections. Those groups were criticized at the time by top Democrats, who have filed legislation to curb the influence of outside money in politics.