Dole still keeping the faith

Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s latest advertisement suggests her Democratic opponent, Kay Hagan, is a godless heathen.

“A leader of the Godless Americans PAC recently held a secret fundraiser for Kay Hagan,” the 30-second spot says, showing footage of the group’s members talking about their atheist beliefs on cable news.

“Godless Americans and Kay Hagan. She hid from cameras. Took godless money,” the ad concludes. “What did Kay Hagan promise in return?”

At the very end of the ad, a voice sounding like Hagan's says: "There is no God."

The ad is airing across North Carolina.

The ad bases the charge on Hagan’s attendance at a netroots fundraiser on her behalf that was hosted by two advisers of the Godless Americans’ political action committee. According to its website, the group advocates for atheists' rights.

Hagan is holding a press conference  with her pastor and family this afternoon to rebut the charges.  Hagan is an member (and elder) at the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro.

UPDATE: Hagan just held a conference call, where she said she was "appalled by Elizabeth Dole's vile tactics" with the ad, and threatened a lawsuit against the Dole campaign to force them to take the ad down.

“This is politics of the worst kind. It is so unbecoming of a woman like Elizabeth Dole," Hagan said.  "This is a fabricated, pathetic ad... Is Elizabeth Dole that desperate to keep this Senate seat?”

Hagan added that the voice saying "there is no God" at the end of the ad was not hers, and was a voice impersonator.

UPDATE 2: At a pen-and-pad briefing this afternoon, DSCC Chairman Chuck Schumer called Dole's campaign "desperate" for airing the ads.

"Liddy Dole is getting a little desperate, if you've seen the ad she put out yesterday," Schumer said.

Schumer added that Hagan still holds a comfortable lead in the committe's internal polling, even though several public polls show Dole gaining a little momentum.