An ad linked to Justice Democrats, a political action committee famous for catapulting members of the left-wing “Squad” to stardom, mistakenly pictured Ohio Republican Rep. Anthony Gonzalez in an attack ad rather than centrist Texas Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez.
The ad takes aim at nine centrist Democrats publicly pushing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pass the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act before moving to consider Democrats’ $3.5 trillion go-it-alone reconciliation bill that includes measures like a pathway to citizenship for millions and free preschool.
“These nine conservative Democrats are sabotaging Biden’s agenda because it would make billionaires and corporations pay their fair share,” the ad says, showing grayscale images of nine lawmakers.
But it had a key mistake: Instead of picturing Texas Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, one of the signers of the letter who was elected to his seat in 2016, it showed Ohio Republican Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, who is notable for voting in favor of impeaching former President Donald Trump earlier this year.
CENTRIST GOTTHEIMER BECOMING PRIME HOUSE TARGET OF PROGRESSIVE WRATH
NEW: Progressives (@WorkingFamilies, @IndivisibleTeam, @sunrisemvmt, and Organize For Justice) launch six figure ad-buy targeting nine obstructionist Democrats blocking Biden infrastructure deal pic.twitter.com/hV8TIiNlox
— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) August 23, 2021
Punchbowl News’s Jake Sherman first pointed out the mistake, which was corrected later in the day.
Update here — @justicedems have the correct Gonzalez in this ad now. pic.twitter.com/o9174HpYKm
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) August 23, 2021
A dark money 501(c)4 group called Organize for Justice is named as the sponsor for the ad. It is a sister organization of Justice Democrats.
Justice Democrats said other backers of the ad include the Sunrise Movement, a group that advocates for a Green New Deal; Indivisible, a grassroots progressive group that sprung out of backlash to former President Donald Trump’s election; and the Working Families Party, a minor political party.
A campaign spokesperson for one of the other centrist Democrats pictures in the ad, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, called Justice Democrats “grifters.”
“The ad in question just goes to show that it’s amateur hour over there, and they don’t really know what they’re talking about or believe it. They will just do and say anything to try and raise money to line their own pockets. They are a toxic influence in Democratic politics,” said Colin Strother, a spokesman for Cuellar, Fox News reported.
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Justice Democrats has supported the campaigns of many firebrand House Democrats who unseated moderates in the party, including New York Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, as well as other prominent progressives like Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar.
