Richard Painter hates dumpster fires more than you do, and he should be a U.S. Senator because of it.
That appears to be the message of the new ad released by Painter, the Trump administration critic challenging Sen. Tina Smith (D., Minn.) for the Democratic Senate nomination in Minnesota. Smith was appointed to her position after former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken (D.) resigned last year following accusations of sexual harassment.
Standing in front of an actual dumpster fire—the overused symbol for bad news—Painter talks about how others don't have the courage or character to stand up to dumpster fires.
"Some people see a dumpster fire and do nothing but watch the spectacle," he says sternly. "Some are too scared to face the danger, or they think it will benefit them if they just let it keep on burning."
"Others shrug and say, 'All this talk about a dumpster fire, it's just fake news!'" Painter goes on. "There is an inferno raging in Washington, but here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, we know how to put out a fire."
As Painter speaks, a rush of water falls from the sky to extinguish the dumpster fire. Because lakes have water? And water has fire-suffocating abilities. Just like Painter.
Before his Senate campaign, Painter was a ubiquitous presence on CNN and MSNBC. Often introduced only by his title of former chief ethics lawyer for the George W. Bush administration, Painter serves as vice-chairman of Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW). CREW is an approved funding group of the left-wing donor network Democracy Alliance.
Painter sued President Donald Trump last year over perceived ethics violations, and he has modeled his campaign around standing up to Trump and government corruption.