The Arizona Daily Star ran a
stunning Ad Watch that
ripped apart a 30-second TV spot by one of my competitors, Gabby Giffords.
I'll let you go read the
article, but here's the gist of it:
In the ad, Gabby claims she "blocked a late-night vote" that would have cut
health care for thousands of Arizonans. Unfortunately, that's just not true.
The Star says this is what happened:
"Giffords never blocked a vote on the bill she's citing. She missed a vote that would have killed the legislation."
Gabby's basic procedural maneuver simply delayed the bill being sent to the
Appropriations Committee, of which she was a member. When the bill later came
up before the committee, it passed on a 6-5 vote, two members missing.
Who was missing ? Gabby Giffords, for one. Where was she? She left town to go
to a Democratic Leadership Council gathering in Washington. After that, she
stopped by a Young Elected Leaders conference in New Jersey - leaving the
Appropriations Committee without the tying vote that would have killed the bill
she claims to have blocked. In fact, Gabby missed every Appropriations Committee
vote on the Senate omnibus budget bills that year!
It's bad enough that a public servant would miss vital committee votes to go
rub elbows with the DLC. It's even more disappointing that she'd twist the story
around on TV and make a claim that simply isn't true.
I'm sure some people will criticize me for pointing out flaws in my
opponent's record. But this is an issue that's too important for me to sit back
and hold my tongue.
I spent 30 years as a journalist protecting my integrity, because that's the
most important value I have. We can't afford to keep sending career politicians
to Congress who think they can distort the truth and get away with it.
Just this week, I premiered my own TV ads, and I need help getting my message
out. (Here are the ads, called
"Trusted" and
"Your Voice".)
We had a huge kickoff party
to launch the ads, but it's going to be a tough fight between now and the
primary election on September 12th. I'm sure you all know that TV time is
expensive - so I'm asking supporters to buy just one ad for me if you can - it's
as cheap as $50. Please
help me win this election and take back the House!
-Patty
p.s. The kicker to Gabby's ad about the "late-night vote" - she actually
pulled her little maneuver at 6:28 in the evening... almost an hour before sunset!
p.p.s. I'm not a "post and run" candidate - I'll be here to respond to your
comments.