Backers of the proposed amendment to end race- and gender-based affirmative action persuaded two Denver radio stations to pull an ad by their opponents that backers said was a misrepresentation and "racist."

The ad by Vote No on Amendment 46 featured two actors, one of whom was impersonating Ward Connerly, a black California millionaire whose Sacramento organization is the primary financial backer of Amendment 46 and similar measures he's pushing in other states.

In a scripted conversation, the other person tells Connerly he's a "carpetbagger," a term from the Reconstruction period after the Civil War referring to Northerners who entered the South to work with freed slaves against segregationists.

Management of radio stations KOA-AM (850) and KBCO-FM (97.3) asked opponents to change out the ad after the backers, Colorado Civil Rights Initiative, complained.

"The Amendment 46 people asked us about it because it was an impersonation, so we ran it by our attorneys and made the determination we should ask the No on 46 people to run different copy," said Lee Larsen, general manager of the stations, which are owned by Clear Channel.

Opponents complied and are running another ad in the one-minute spots the group had purchased.

"Our policy whenever there's a complaint is to take it to the attorneys and have them look at it," Larsen said.

Amendment 46 would prohibit the state from granting preferential treatment to anyone based on race, sex or ethnicity in hiring, education and contracts. It is aimed at eliminating race- and gender-based affirmative actions for minorities and women.

Backers, led by Jessica Corry of the Golden-based Independence Institute, say such preferences are no longer needed and in fact are discriminatory in themselves. Opponents say passage will prevent equal opportunity programs that are addressing existing discrimination.

In a campaign where both sides accuse the other of misrepresentation, the dust-up Friday over the ad was no exception.

"Our opposition misappropriates the identity of one of our most loyal supporters," Corry said. "And they did so while using racially offensive language and making false claims potentially in violation of Colorado's false impersonation statute. That crosses the line."

Melissa Hart, a University of Colorado law professor who is leading the opposition, called that nonsense, particularly the allegation of racism. Carpetbaggers worked with Southern blacks as opponents of the Southern racists.

"The proponents have been working pretty hard in the last couple of days to come up with a story line to suggest the campaign against 46 is somehow being deceptive," Hart said. "They're trying that line because they want to refocus people's attention away from the deceptive nature of the initiative itself."