New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is taking his anti-gun message on the road in an effort to undermine a Democratic congressional primary candidate running on a Second Amendment platform. And he’s doing it by flooding the market with a highly deceptive TV ad.

The seat that Jesse Jackson Jr. gave up amid allegations of ethical violations is up for grabs, and over a dozen Democrats in that liberal district have launched their own campaigns for the position. One of them is Debbie Halvorson.

Halvorson is attempting to distinguish herself from the rest of the pack with her support for concealed weapons permits and by opposing an assault weapons ban. Those are fighting words to Bloomberg. She may as well have said she also routinely drinks 20-ounce sodas and smokes cigarettes.

Not content to limit the boundaries of his private anti-gun gulag to New York City, Bloomberg “is using his vast wealth” — $2.2 million to be exact — to make sure Halvorson is soon forgotten as an “also-ran,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Washington Post, not exactly a breeding ground of conservatism, examined the Bloomberg ad and gave it two Pinocchios.

The Post’s Glenn Kessler reported:

As is typical with negative ads, there is a big difference between the literal text of the ad and the images and messages that it sends. For instance, the ad notes that as a member of Congress, Halvorson received an A rating from the NRA. Then the ad describes some of the NRA’s positions on proposed gun laws, while displaying a photograph of Halvorson.

The implication, particularly to a casual viewer watching the ad, is that these NRA positions are also Halvorson’s current positions. But her stand on guns has evolved, particularly on background checks.

Halvorson’s campaign Web site says she backs: “Stiff penalties for straw buyers; universal background checks and registration of all firearms; making sure that background checks work so people do not fall through the cracks in the national database; ending the gun show loophole.”

Bloomberg’s campaign is reminiscent of one of those old traveling medicine shows that used to tour the Wild West. The barker sold his elixir with the promise that it would cure everything from gout to gonorrhea. By the time the townspeople discovered it was all a lie, the scoundrel was long gone.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. The ad follows.

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