Cashman: Jeff McCormick’s ad is politics
– at its worst

Hey, Jeff McCormick, get off my audio cloud.

I was recently surprised to hear my voice in a radio ad paid for by McCormick, an independent gubernatorial candidate. While I am flattered that people are reusing Boston Herald Radio content, I have a big problem with the deceptive advertisement.

This is what you hear me say in the current McCormick ad: “This is Beacon Hill at its worst, and I think Martha Coakley is the star actor.”

I’m not denying I said that statement on-air, but it wasn’t my opinion. I was reading a comment Steve Grossman made about his former primary opponent regarding a questionable settlement between the AG’s office and a lobbying group. While I provided plenty of colorful commentary on the Brennan Group settlement during my Herald Radio show, the line running in McCormick’s advertisement is not one of them.

I see two plausible reasons McCormick’s team would use my quote out of context. First, they, like all the candidates, are fighting for the female vote, and it sounds better to have that line come from me and not Grossman. The defeated gubernatorial candidate in fact has taken back all those nasty things he said about Coakley and is now supporting her candidacy (while spitting nails). Second, it sounds better to have an independent political analyst slam a candidate than someone running in the race. Neither reason is a good one.

Jeff McCormick is a very smart businessman who probably would be a formidable CEO for the commonwealth. However, he’s trailing in the polls due to lack of name recognition, and running as an independent is an uphill battle.

This type of advertisement is politics at its worst. The title of the ad also has some irony considering it’s called, “We can do better.” With 40-something days left in the campaign, McCormick needs to do better and stop running this ad.

McCormick’s spokesman told me last night: “We stand by the facts of our radio ad that Martha Coakley made a bad deal for the people of Massachusetts when she settled with the Brennan Group for deceptive lobbying practices. This is just business as usual on Beacon Hill, and that is why Jeff is running as an independent who will not be tied to the special interests.”

This isn’t the earned media McCormick needs right now, so if he wants to come on my show and give people a reason to vote for him, our studio is always open.

Jaclyn Cashman co-hosts “Morning Meeting” from 9 a.m. to noon on Boston Herald Radio. Follow her on Twitter at @JaclynCashman.