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Democratic National Committee

"Underwater-AZ" +
:30 ad run in AZ starting Oct. 25, 2011

[Music] Male Announcer: Almost half of Arizona homeowners...underwater.

Foreclosures everywhere.

And what's Mitt Romney's plan?

Romney clip: "Don't try and stop the foreclosure process.  Let it run its course and hit the bottom."

Male Announcer: Let Arizonans hit the bottom?

[rewind SFX]

Romney clip: "Don't try and stop the foreclosure process.  Let it run its course and hit the bottom."

Male Announcer: Mitt Romney's message to Arizona:  You're on your own.

Romney clip: "Let it...hit the bottom."

Notes: According to the press release:

Arizona is seeing its first ad of the 2012 presidential cycle as the DNC went up today with a 30 second TV ad called “Underwater.”   The ad blasts Mitt Romney for his outrageous position on the housing crisis and foreclosures – an issue that has been particularly hard on Western states like Arizona -  which  he took last week in Nevada.  Romney said his plan for homeowners who have been scammed, cheated or seen their homes’ value plummet because of the risky bets of Wall Street is to not “try to stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom.”  He went on to say that the banks could then come in and scoop up the properties and rent or sell them for a profit.  DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement about the ad:

“Mitt Romney has callously taken the position that homeowners who have been cheated, scammed or simply lost value in their homes as a result of Wall Street’s risky bets should be allowed to ‘hit rock bottom.’  Romney’s position is appalling, but not unexpected from a former financial executive who wants to let Wall Street – the same guys whose recklessness crashed the housing market and our economy – write its own rules, even if it means hanging the middle-class out to dry.  It is irresponsible, but not surprising coming from someone who made a fortune firing workers and sending their jobs overseas.  And what else can we expect from someone who said that ‘corporations are people’ or called tax relief of $1,500 for a typical middle class family ‘little Band Aids.’

“While President Obama is fighting to create jobs and to adopt policies that give underwater homeowners a chance to refinance and stay in their homes, Mitt Romney believes families who work hard and play by the rules should be kicked out of their homes so bankers can get rich.  Mitt Romney’s vision of the American Dream would be a nightmare for America’s homeowners and it would have a devastating impact for the Arizona economy and families in a state which ranks second in the country in the rate of foreclosures.”

The 30-second ad, called “Underwater,” will start airing today in Arizona, on the following stations:

KPNX
KTVK
KPHO
KNXV
KSAZ
CNN
MSNBC