North Country Republican House candidate Matt Doheny released two TV ads, both of which answer attacks from Democratic Rep. Bill Owens and seek to go on the offensive against the incumbent.

In one ad, Doheny deploys his mother — just like Rep. Chris Gibson did earlier — to criticize Owens on Medicare. Doheny’s mother asks out loud how mean old Bill Owens can say such mean things about her son, a move that was pioneered by “Mama” D’Amato in an ad designed to smooth over Al D’Amato’s rougher edges.

The second spot responds to Owens’ claim that Doheny took advantage of Cayman Islands tax shelters. Doheny then flips that knock around on Owens, referencing the Democrat’s trip to Taiwan that was arranged by the country’s lobbying firm (After ProPublica broke the story, Owens paid the $22,000 for the cost of the trip).

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