LEWISTON – The ad is silent. It says not a word.

But it still manages to scream its message loud and clear.

“Only one candidate for governor has vowed to stand up to Washington and stop sending Maine soldiers to die in Iraq.”

Gubernatorial candidate Pat LaMarche, who’s running as a Green Independent, began running the silent, black-and-white television commercial Friday. The 30-second spot will run statewide, eight to 10 times a day for at least 10 days, she said.

But whether a Gov. LaMarche, or any governor for that matter, could deliver on what the ad promises is unclear.

Maine Army National Guard Col. Gerald Dunlap described the intersection of federal and state authority for the guard.

The governor of a state has the authority to control the National Guard’s deployment within their own state and, in certain circumstances, within the United States. But that authority transfers to the president if he issues an order to nationalize guard units, Dunlap said.

In those cases, the federal authority takes precedent over state authority.

“The definitive answer is no,” Dunlap said. “A governor can’t trump federal law.”

Deployments in places like Iraq and Afghanistan are federal missions, Dunlap said.

LaMarche, however, said the answer is far from definitive.

“I think it’s a constitutional question,” LaMarche said. “The governor has certain responsibilities. The premier responsibility is the governor has to make sure she has the ability to protect the state.”

LaMarche used as an example the Ice Storm of 1998, when the National Guard was deployed to protect the state’s residents.

“I think this is a constitutional question,” LaMarche said. “There is the possibility of the governor standing up to the president.”

The advertisement veers away from the typical commercial by forfeiting one of the senses: hearing. Without dialogue, music or an announcer reading a script, the ad is counting on silence to grab viewers’ attention and the sparse graphics to deliver home the message.

Words appear on the screen in concise paragraphs:

“Thousands of Maine National Guard Troops have been sent to fight in Iraq.”

“Many of our brave soldiers have not come home.”

“Dozens more have been wounded and received Purple Hearts.”

“Maine taxpayers have paid more than $900 million for the war.”

“Only one candidate for governor has vowed to stand up to Washington and stop sending Maine soldiers to die in Iraq.”

“Pat LaMarche for Governor.”

“Common Sense for Maine.”

The drama of the ad, LaMarche said, is its simplicity.

The advertisement carries a clear anti-war message to a public that has grown increasingly skeptical about the U.S. military’s role in Iraq. According to a national CNN poll from Sept. 6, 58 percent of respondents said they are opposed to the war. Thirty-nine percent said they approve of it.

“We’re in an odd time,” LaMarche said. “The country is so divided. We’re facing a decision about the courage of a governor. If the governor stands up and said no and forced it to go to the Supreme Court, that courage might spread.”

That confrontation, LaMarche said, could spread a wave of courage and build the momentum to end the fighting.

Nineteen soldiers with Maine ties have died while deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq, including seven members of the Maine Army National Guard. More than 1,700 members of the Guard have been deployed along with more than 750 airmen and women of the Maine Air National Guard. There are 367 Maine guardsmen and 199 members of the Air National Guard currently deployed.

LaMarche said she deployed with Maine National Guard soldiers to Fort Drum in New York and broadcast their messages from Iraq on her radio show.

“I love these guys,” LaMarche said. “They go to war because they promised that they would go. But the government has a promise to keep to – not to send them off to an unjust war.”