Fiscal cliff ads pick up where campaign stopped

(AP) Debate over the fiscal cliff has money pouring into television, print, radio and online ads, picking up where the wall-to-wall election campaign left off.

As Republicans and the White House joust over a way around major tax increases and broad spending cuts, outside groups on both sides are weighing in with ad campaigns aimed at politicians and voters alike.

The latest to join the fiscal cliff campaign is Crossroads GPS, the Karl Rove-backed conservative group last seen dropping more than $80 million on ads assailing President Barack Obama in the recent campaign.

Its new $500,000 buy, announced this week, has attributes familiar to viewers acquainted with the campaign attack-ad genre including somber, dread-inducing music.