President Obama delivers remarks during a campaign rally for Gov. Pat Quinn, D-Ill., at Chicago State University on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Find a clip of President Obama saying his policies are on the ballot. Put clip in attack ad. Rinse. Repeat.
That's been the Republican mantra for the last two and a half weeks, ever since Obama voluntarily tied himself to the midterm election in an Oct. 2 economic speech.
"I am not on the ballot this fall. Michelle’s pretty happy about that. But make no mistake: these policies are on the ballot. Every single one of them," Obama said.
Republicans agree. It didn't taken them long to get the line in an attack ad. And they have kept it going in battleground race after battleground race.
The latest offering comes from the Florida Republican Party, which released an ad Monday attacking former governor Charlie Crist (D), who is running for his old job. In addition to the "policies" line, the ad also features images of "the hug" which contributed heavily to Crist's loss in the 2010 Senate race, back when he was a Republican.
Obama won Florida twice. And Crist is trying to win many of the same voters who supported Obama in 2008 and 2012. But the president's approval rating in Florida is hovering around a paltry 40 percent, roughly where it stands nationally.
In short, it's not just conservative territory where Republicans are using Obama's words against his party's candidates. The GOP has also used them in Minnesota:
And New Hampshire:
We've also seen the attack in states Obama lost, like Kentucky:
Georgia:
Texas:
And in Kansas, against an independent:
Republican ad makers may have to start paying the president royalties at some point.
