Sheryl Crow demands big change to GOP attack ad

Sheryl Crow’s lawyer is not amused that the Republican Party of Virginia is using Crow’s 1996 single “A Change Would Do You Good” in its latest attack ad against U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Ivy.

The Web ad, released Thursday morning, is titled “Change” and suggests Perriello’s support of health care reform is a reason that the district should change its congressman.

Throughout the ad, an edited version of Crow’s “Change” is playing in the background, with the chorus rising at the end when the screen says: “CHANGE … the 5th District in November.”

The only problem, says Crow’s lawyer, Jay Cooper, is that the Republican Party of Virginia failed to get permission to use the copyrighted song.

“You can bet it’s not authorized,” Cooper said. “You can bet the whole house on that.”

Crow is a vocal liberal activist and supporter of President Barack Obama. Perriello, a freshman Democrat, has voted in favor of several of Obama’s top domestic priorities, including the health care reform bill that was signed into law in March.

Cooper said the Republican Party of Virginia would be receiving a letter insisting that it immediately remove the song from the ad. He does not plan to sue or seek any damages, he added.

“All we want is for them to take it down,” he said.

After hearing from Crow’s lawyers Thursday afternoon, the Virginia GOP decided to yank the ad, remove the music and re-post it without the song.

“We’re pulling the music, but not the underlying ad,” said Garren Shipley, communications director for the Republican Party of Virginia. “Technically, we have to pull the whole thing, but it will be re-rendered and back up as soon as the computers can manage it.”

Perriello is facing a challenge from Republican Robert Hurt, a state senator and lawyer from Chatham, in the Nov. 2 election. Also in the race is a Tea Party member from the Danville area, Jeffrey Clark, who deemed Hurt insufficiently conservative.

The Republican Party of Virginia’s ad suggests that Perriello changed his position on health care reform, saying at one point that he was opposed to it but then later shifted his stance and voted in favor of the measure.

In fact, Perriello said repeatedly during the run-up to the vote that he was a “no” on the bill but wanted to move to a “yes” so long as it met certain conditions, such as reducing the federal deficit.

The ad, for its part, disagrees with Perriello’s view of the bill’s ability to reduce the deficit and says it will cost more than originally anticipated.

The ad is not the first time the Republican Party of Virginia has gone after Perriello.

A February ad, titled “12 Inches of Global Warming” mocked Perriello and fellow Virginia Democratic Rep. Rick Boucher for voting in favor of climate change legislation by pointing out last winter’s record snowfall. “Call Boucher and Perriello and tell them how much global warming you got this weekend,” the ad concluded.

And in May, the party launched an ad that urges voters to call Perriello and ask if he stood and applauded during Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s speech during a visit to Congress to urge an assault weapons ban.

Perriello was not present during Calderon’s speech and wrote a well-publicized letter to Obama in March 2009 that urged him to resist proposals to reinstate the assault weapons ban.