Senator’s ad doesn’t pass the smell test

A RECENT (U.S. Sen. Martin) Heinrich TV ad shows the senator flyfishing and river rafting on the Rio Grande near Pilar and hunting and camping in the forest. He’s shown flyfishing in shorts with no hat, fishing vest or waders. What real flyfishing person doesn’t own this basic gear? The river rafting snippet shows him and his family in a rubber raft — only available to commercial rafting outfits — and nobody is wearing a life jacket — a state law requirement! The next sequence shows him walking through a mountain valley with an unbroken shotgun and no hunting gear in the middle of an obvious mid-summer day. What’s he hunting for under those conditions? I don’t know of any game available to be hunted at that time of year. Lastly, camping with his wife and two children and the only accommodations for the trip is a small tent that can only sleep two.

The whole advertisement is fake, supported by an ad agencyprovided flyfishing rod, rubber raft, shotgun and tent. The river sequences are located on the Rio Grande near Pilar. I doubt if he and his family and all of the supporting film crew paid their day-use fee of $3 per vehicle as do all of us “regular” people who use this federal recreational area.

This is a great example of the fake persona that political advertisers try to create to influence voters. Unfortunately, this ad doesn’t even come close to passing the smell test! And, it reflects poorly on the senator’s credibility. JOSEPH ZMUDA Albuquerque