AD SLAMS FEINSTEIN FOR WAR ON DRUGS Rival Campbell Says She's Backing A Losing Cause. Rep. Tom Campbell, challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, has begun running a TV ad criticizing Feinstein for her support of the war on drugs, the first major ad of the fall campaign. The Campbell ad, running on network television affiliates in. Southern California, the Central Valley and the Sacramento region, features Campbell, R-San Jose, speaking directly to the camera over a somber musical track. In the ad, he says Feinstein, D- Calif., is ``in denial'' over his record on American drug policies, ``just like drug users deny they have a habit. Dianne can't admit the war on drugs has failed.'' The ad chides Feinstein for voting to spend ``billions more to send American troops to Colombia. Everyone wants the drug dealers in jail. But for the victims of dealers, let's rehabilitate, not incarcerate. Drugs are a health problem. ``Treat the victims of dealers at public health clinics under a doctor's supervision. After all, what would you want for your child?'' The ad began running Sunday during network morning talk shows and will run through this week, Campbell campaign officials said. They said the campaign spent $400,000 to purchase TV time. Campbell has made drug policy a central issue of his campaign, calling for major shift of resources toward treatment of addicts. Shifting the focus to treatment, from incarcerating addicts, would eventually result in the elimination of the drug market and the profits that make it so attractive, Campbell says. Campbell would even allow local treatment centers to distribute heroin to addicts under a medically supervised program. Feinstein ``vehemently disagrees with Congressman Campbell over this experiment he wants to allow to happen,'' said Kuwata. ``She's not in denial about his record. She just thinks it's a bad idea,'' he said. Feinstein voted for $1.3 billion in American military aid to Colombia to help that nation fight drug production and trafficking, a commitment that includes sending U.S. helicopters and providing military training. But she has been vigilant in assuring that all money in the drug war has been well spent, even as she supports local treatment programs, Kuwata said. ``She believes you have to deal with both the so-called supply side, as well as the demand side. He believes it's either/or.'' Even as Campbell fired the first salvo in the final weeks of the campaign, the latest spending reports by the two candidates show Feinstein with substantially more resources to wage a TV war. The latest Federal Election Commission reports filed by both candidates show Feinstein with $3.3 million on hand entering October to Campbell's $802,000 -- an advantage of better than 4 to 1. The Feinstein campaign, meanwhile, can be expected to start airing its ads ``in the near future,'' said Feinstein campaign manager Kam Kuwata. FIGHT OVER WAR ON DRUGS The Chronicle's Ad Watch provides an occasional look at the truth behind the claims, charges and political statements made in the campaign spots that run on television and radio in California. Today: South Bay Rep. Tom Campbell's campaign for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Dianne Feinstein. MAIN CLAIMS: TV ads in Southern California, Sacramento and the Central Valley assert that Feinstein is ``in denial'' over the failure of America's war on drugs, voting to spend ``billions of dollars'' to send American troops to Colombia to wage the war. Campbell says the real answer is to ``rehabilitate, not incarcerate'' drug users by treating them at public health clinics under a doctor's supervision. BOTTOM LINE: There are some slight exaggerations and some politically meaningful ommissions. Feinstein voted to spend $1.3 billion on a drug interdiction program in Colombia, not billions, and the measure sends military advisers, not combat troops to the South American country. Campbell has openly opposed the expenditure and commitment of American military. He has said the war on drugs has failed and the money should be spent on treatment, including locally managed health clinics to treat drug users. Further, he has said drug users should be treated, not sent to jail or prison. The ad does not mention his own position that would allow local clinics to distribute heroin to drug users if that is deemed an effective medical treatment. The ad gives an incomplete picture of Feinstein's position, which also includes local treatment of users and effective oversight of the war on drugs.
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