Cardin Invents "Real People"?

Richard Mintner of PoliticsCentral says that one of Ben Cardin's new TV spots is populated with "supporters" who are paid campaign staff:

Benjamin Cardin, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat open in Maryland, apparently paid campaign staffers to pose as students, workers and other “real people” in a campaign advertisement.

In contrast with other commercials, it is considered unethical to fail to identify paid spokesmen or to have them pose as random members of the public in political advertisements.

Cardin’s campaign did not disclose the links between these “real people” and his campaign.

In Cardin’s ad, a number of Marylanders endorse Cardin. Ashley Peddicord, apparently a college student, says “Thanks to Ben, I can afford college.” In reality, Peddicord works for the campaign. Her campaign email is: Ashley@bencardin.com.

Kelton Anderson, posing as an ordinary working man, is in fact a high-ranking official with United Auto Workers union, which has endorsed Cardin. The UAW gave $9,258,308 during 2006 election season, virtually all of it to Democrats, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.

And there’s Carl Tuvin, who tells the camera “And he’s fighting for better health care.” What he does not say is that he is a paid Democratic party organizer, who has long worked with Cardin.

Somehow if this is true, I'm not be terribly surprised. But it also goes back to the point I made last week; if the Cardin camp is that confident, why do they have to go to the extremes on things like voter turnout and inventing "real people"?

The blogger incident; the credit report scandal, Hoyer's racist remark, and now this. Is this a Senate campaign or the "Ben Cardin Comedy of Errors?"