The Washington Post is reporting that a Republican-linked group called People of Color United has begun buying radio ads on black radio stations attacking Senator Kerry as “rich, white and wishy-washy.” The ads also attack Kerry’s wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry for boasting of her African roots.

One ad states “His wife says she’s an African American. While technically true, I don’t believe a white woman, raised in Africa, surrounded by servants, qualifies.” A Kerry spokesperson criticized the ad saying “First a group of right-wing Swift boat veterans began smearing John Kerry’s military service, and now another group has resorted to playing racial politics.”

The ads are largely funded by a white Republican named Patrick Rooney who founded the firm Medical Savings Insurance which specializes in the type of medical savings accounts created by Bush’s 2003 Medicare prescription drug legislation.