Not all independent expenditures come in the form of a slick television ad. Two small independent groups are using relatively inexpensive cell phone text messages and a Google ad to attack Virginia Democratic incumbents.

While much attention has focused on attack ads aired by the new, well-funded 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) groups in this election, other big independent organizations such as the Club for Growth and its political action committee have also been busy.

A reader in Portland, Ore. alerted us to a new American Action Network ad that accuses freshman Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader of stripping the shirts off the backs of his constituents with votes that expanded government spending.

A Skamokawa, Wash., reader alerted us to a statewide robocall by American Crossroads, a conservative group flush with cash that opposes the re-election of Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.

While much of our focus has been independent groups with millions of dollars to invest in campaign ads, today we note a relatively cheap “robocall” message from Michigan political action committee whose most recent filing showed just $4,340.33 in the bank.

More than 20 years ago, a Ridley Scott-directed ad warned of possible “Deficit Trials” in 2017. The controversial spot, paid for by W.R. Grace and Co., offered a 60-second glimpse of a world where the future generation put 1986 leaders on trial for bequeathing a massive national debt obligation. Major networks refused to air the ad, calling it “too controversial.”

A Des Moines TV station is refusing to air an attack ad against Republican Sen. Charles Grassley created by two liberal groups unless they change what the station says is an out-of-context sound bite by the senator.

Crossroads Grassroots Political Strategies (GPS), a conservative group that has poured millions of dollars into attack ads, is airing a new spot mocking the glut of negative advertising as a way to amplify its own attack on Democrat Harry Reid. Backed by Republican strategists Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie, Crossroads GPS is tax-exempt 501(c)(4) advocacy group connected to American Crossroads. The group’s new 30-second ad encourages Nevada voters to defeat the Senate Majority Leader, who is currently seeking a fifth six-year term.

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group with links to the billionaire co-owner of industrial giant Koch Industries, has launched an ad attacking Democratic Rep. Zack Space of Ohio for voting in favor of climate change legislation.