UPDATE: AFP says that it has replaced the image in the spot, calling the original use of the photo "an unfortunate oversight."
Their official statement:
"The image used was an unfortunate oversight which was immediately corrected as soon as it was pointed out. The updated spot can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/gAmJ39hA2og. The purpose of the ad is to continue to hold Senator Udall accountable for turning a blind eye to the more than 300,000 Coloradans whose insurance pans were cancelled due to ObamaCare, despite promises from President Obama and Senator Udall that they could keep them."
A helpful reminder for all political TV ad-makers: Don't use an image of tragedies when making an unrelated point.
Democrats have seized on a TV ad that the Koch Brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity is airing in Colorado hitting Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) on the health-care law.
But here's the problem: The ad contains an image of Obama and Udall standing together when the president visited the state after the Aurora, CO theater shooting in 2012.
Here is the statement from Udall campaign manager Adam Dunstone, which calls on Republican opponent Cory Gardner to denounce the ad:
"All Coloradans, regardless of political party, agree that using the Aurora tragedy in political attacks is callous, insensitive and wrong. Congressman Cory Gardner should do the right thing by demanding his friends and allies stop using the Aurora tragedy for political gain."As someone who attended an Aurora memorial alongside Sen. Udall, Gardner surely has the decency to publicly condemn the Koch brothers for this cynical ad."
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also sent out a statement from some of the families of the shooting victims who are demanding the ad be pulled from the air.
"The use of an image taken from the president's visit to Colorado to meet with us after our children were killed in the Aurora Theater shooting is an utter disgrace. And to insinuate the somber expressions were for anything other than their compassionate response to our heartbreak is beyond unconscionable," the statement reads, which is signed by the parents of four victims.