Why Mike Bloomberg’s gun control ads backfired – The Week

Mike Bloomberg has never been fond of firearms and after Newtown, the outgoing New York City mayor threw what remains of his national political clout behind gun-control measures.
Now, Mayor Bloomberg is a very bright guy, but no one is ever going to accuse him of modesty. And he’s been extremely vocal about gun control. Bloomberg put $12 million behind an ad buy pushing for tighter regulations. Bloomberg’s ads have run in 13 states and target both Democratic and Republican senators who Bloomberg apparently believes did not listen to their constituents during the gun votes.
The problem? The people Bloomberg is attacking have begun wearing his condemnation as a badge of honor. On Friday, Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas — one of the Democrats the New York City mayor has been targeting with his gun control ads — launched an ad in which he brags about Bloomberg’s condemnation. Yes, that’s right. The fact that Mike Bloomberg does not like Mark Pryor is something that Mark Pryor believes makes him more electable.
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