Okay, so I posted a diary yesterday about the need for us to support distinguished Navy veteran and current Congressman Joe Sestak in his bid to beat out notorious Death Eater and Tea Party Republican Pat Toomey for the U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania.
Seems to me this race isn’t getting enough attention around these parts by a long shot, so I’ve decided that I will use my one diary per day up until the election to shine some light on the incredible importance of this particular contest. (Woohoo! A series!)
Today, I’m going to focus on something that is nothing new, but will hopefully raise your ire enough to volunteer, make phone calls, or throw a couple bucks Sestak’s way --- the blatantly misleading attack ads (yes, plural) that have come out in the last couple of days about him. Help Sestak fight back.
(--and, let's see if we can do better than five comments.)
I found three news articles today about different ads targeting Sestak ---- one from the Rove-sponsored group American Crossroads. I’m not wading through the muck at that site to find the video, or linking. If you want to hear what CNN factchecking had to say, it’s somewhere between Stretching the Truth, and a Tall Tale:
And what about those 850,000 seniors reeling from their Medicare benefits cuts? Kaiser says that is roughly the number of Pennsylvania seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage. That's an extra level of benefits above regular Medicare that seniors can opt into, and yes, Medicare Advantage is being cut back, but they'll still get their full, regular Medicare benefits. This is the closest of all the claims in this ad to pure truth, and it's not really all that close.
The hateful ad from the conservative Club for Growth, which Toomey ran for a while, links Sestak to Obama, Pelosi, and Reid, and ends with the slur(?!) “Just another liberal.” It’s so aggravating to see them try and turn every groundbreaking accomplishment into some kind of black mark. (Or should I say Dark Mark? Okay, enough with the Harry Potter references.) The only good thing that can be said for this ad is that they don’t slander his military service (Sestak attained the rank of 3-star Admiral in the Navy.)
And last, but not least, let’s review the ad that came out from the Toomey campaign itself, which uses a conservative, Palin-adoring doctor from Sestak’s district to try and make the case that Toomey’s health care plan is better. What plan, you ask? … crickets
…
Make sure Sestak can fight back. He is 8 points or so behind in the polls. I am convinced that a concentrated effort from interested Kossacks can push him into true fighting range.
And if you’re a Pennsylvanian, for goodness sakes, make it a point to talk to your neighbors about this race.
Here are some things about Sestak you need to know, in one sentence: He’s been a true progressive on issues from the stimulus, to health care, and is a true champion of the environment.
Here are some things about Toomey you really should know too:
• He has a 0% rating from NARAL (meaning he’s anti-choice) and
• Also has a 0% from the League of Conservation Voters indicating he’s anti-environment (from Toomey: "There's no question that the Earth's surface temperature has increased," he said in a statement. "There is much debate in the scientific community as to the precise sources of global warming." --- so you can guess where his policies would lead. The man supported Bush-Cheney energy policies 100% though.
• Anti-senior, anti-labor… at what point does he just become anti-American?
Other ways to help:
Donate (I set up a new ActBlue page, it seems to me we ought to be able to get at least 50 contributors.)
Canvass or Call
Thanks, all!