It's happened.

Yesterday, our opponents launched their first TV ad—and not surprisingly, it's full of the same sort of distortion and fear-mongering that was so successful in passing California's Prop 8. They've already bought $700,000 in airtime—that means every voter in the state will see their ad at least 20 times.

Click here to donate today so we can combat the distortions of their TV ad.

This ad takes distortion to a whole new level. As Maine's favorite blogger Gerald Weinand put it:

"As expected, it does not affirm traditional marriage, but uses fear in an attempt to convince voters that same-sex marriage will lead to—well, just watch for yourself."

And he's not the only one using that description. Joe Sudbay of AmericaBlog sees through the ad:

"I have to say, I'm not impressed. It looks like an ad from the 80s. Of course, it's filled with all kinds of errors and inaccurate assertions..."

What errors and inaccuracies?

One glaring inaccuracy Sudbay finds is that the Associated Press headline used in the ad is completely fictional. The Associated Press never actually ran anything with the headline "Homosexual Advocacy Group Accuses Maine Diocese of Violating Tax Law," and it never would. Why? Because the AP does not use the word "homosexual" in any story or headline. Not only is it inflammatory and outdated, but the AP’s own style guide restricts the use of "homosexual."

Secondly, the TV ad references so-called "consequences of homosexual marriage," including the assertion that schools are forced to teach about "homosexual marriage."

Let me make two points: One, there is nothing about schools or education in Question 1. Two, this is simply a cynical page from California’s Prop 8 campaign to change the subject, divert attention, raise fears, and never, ever talk about fairness, equality or marriage for loving, committed same-sex couples.

Here’s what all Maine parents care about: That their kids are safe, secure and accepted. In Maine, we believe that all families matter, and that schools are a welcoming place for learning.

And here’s one lesson we know about Maine: We will not let any distortion, lie or misrepresentation about marriage equality go unanswered. Not one.

That’s why we’re going up soon with a strong rebuttal. On TV and radio.

But we need the netroots support from people like you to get these rebuttal ads up and keep them up. And we need to be nimble so that when the next attack comes, we’re ready and able to answer.

Please donate today so we can fight these distortions.

It's not all bad news though. Markos has announced that he is commissioning a Research 2000 poll for us. The results will come by the end of the week.

In the meantime, donate, donate, donate.