RNC Continues Cory Booker Push with New Web Video - East Idaho News
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RNC Continues Cory Booker Push with New Web Video

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GETTY P 122810 NewarkNJMayorCoryBooker?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1337737008821Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — For the third day in a row, Republicans highlighted Newark mayor and Obama surrogate Cory Booker’s comments calling the Obama campaign attacks on Bain Capital “nauseating.”

The Obama camp has compared Mitt Romney and his private equity firm Bain Capital to a “vulture” that made money by killing off jobs.

On Meet The Press Sunday, Booker assailed negative campaigning of all kinds, including GOP plans to revive quotes from Obama’s controversial ex-pastor Jeremiah Wright and the Obama campaign’s attacks on Bain Capital.

The Republican National Committee is out with a Web video Tuesday that lampoons the Obama campaign for saying they did not approach Booker after his Meet the Press appearance to make a fresh statement supporting the campaign’s criticism of Bain.

Shortly after the show, Booker took to Twitter to clarify the remarks and shot a Web video from behind his desk in Newark saying he encourages the Obama campaign “to examine [Romney’s] record and to discuss it. I have no problem with that.”

The RNC’s newest Web video splices footage of Obama campaign press secretary Ben LaBolt saying the campaign did not reach out to Booker after Meet the Press and contradictory remarks by Booker saying he spoke with “campaign officials.”

“We did not” call Booker, LaBolt is seen telling CNN. “These are his own views in the video.”

The Web video then cuts to Booker on MSNBC saying, “I certainly did talk with campaign officials.”

The CNN anchor then asks LaBolt if he was sure no one with the campaign reached out to Booker to “fix this.”

“He released that video of his own volition,” LaBolt answers. “The campaign did not ask him to do so.”

The video goes back and forth between the two, and Booker describes the conversation as a “good” one and said it was those discussions with “campaign officials” and listening to President Obama talk about Bain Capital that made him realize he had to “clarify” his remarks.

The Obama campaign tells ABC News they did not reach out to Booker, but that a Democratic National Committee official spoke with the mayor.

The video ends by highlighting the RNC’s new fundraising petition “I Stand With Cory,” which they launched Monday.  The RNC has sent out press releases, launched an “I Stand With Cory” website, and sent out lengthy research pieces since Booker first said he disagreed with Obama’s line of attack.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus released a statement with the video saying, “This entire episode demonstrates just how far the Obama campaign will go to punish Democrats who speak out on behalf of job creators and the free enterprise system.”

“If the Obama campaign spent as much time working with job creators instead of demonizing them and their defenders, our economy would be in much better shape. It’s sad to see the candidate of ‘Hope and Change’ descend into the president of dishonest attacks and dishonest cover-ups,” Priebus said.

Earlier Tuesday, both the RNC and the Romney campaign highlighted other Democrats who have criticized the Obama campaign’s attacks on Bain Capital or praised the private equity firm, including Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. and former Obama economic adviser and “auto czar” Steven Rattner.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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