Veteran from McConnell ad stars in new Lunsford spot, ‘angry’ at ‘out of context’ usage

One of the veterans appearing in a commercial for the campaign of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) is front-and-center again on television screens throughout the state – this time in an ad for McConnell’s opponent, Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville).

Adolfo Pina was briefly featured in the McConnell campaign’s minute-long spot hitting Lunsford on allegations that veteran’s health clinics operated by Valor Healthcare – where Lunsford serves as a director – provided “deficient care” to patients.

“When I saw the advertisement that McConnell did of me and took my words out of context, I was pretty angry, because that was not my intent,” says Pina, in the Lunsford response ad.

Pina’s role in the initial McConnell spot was brief. After a narrator introduces a segment of the ad by stating “veterans and their families recall the poor care at Lunsford’s clinics,” one man declares “it’s not the kind of healthcare that anyone would will upon another person,” ostensibly concerning Valor.

Pina appears next in the McConnell spot, stating “us veterans deserve a hell of a lot better than what we’re getting.”

Pina, a World War II veteran from Texas, indicates a different sentiment towards Valor in the Lunsford response ad.

“I am very happy with Valor clinics,” he states in the spot. “Mitch McConnell used us veterans in a very wrong way.”

“Tricking veterans. Twisting their words,” follows the narrator, concluding the ad. “How low will Mitch McConnell go?”

“McConnell has stooped to a new low,” added Lunsford’s spokesman Cary Stemle, in a statement released announcing the ad. “This is the mother of all McCon jobs: He exploited our veterans for political gain, conning Adolfo Piña into appearing in an ad attacking Valor Healthcare, even though Piña is happy with his care at Valor. What kind of senator exploits our veterans for political gain? McConnell’s desire to hold onto power knows no bounds; 24 years of this is enough.”