Dems Bank On Social Security And Medicare To Save Them In The South

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, OCT. 1, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Tuesday, May 22, 2012 file photo, Tom Cotton is interviewed before his election night watch party in Hot Springs, Ark. Cotton, the Republican nomin... ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, OCT. 1, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Tuesday, May 22, 2012 file photo, Tom Cotton is interviewed before his election night watch party in Hot Springs, Ark. Cotton, the Republican nominee in Arkansas' 4th Congressional District race, compared his decision to run with his decision to join the Army in 2005. "At that time, it was an attack from a foreign enemy, and we were in an active war. And now we're in a debt crisis that threatens our future prosperity and, therefore, ultimately freedom," says Cotton, 35, who declined a commission as a legal officer to go into the infantry. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston) MORE LESS
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National Democrats are banking on anti-Republican attacks over Social Security and Medicare to save endangered incumbents battling political headwinds in the southern states of Arkansas and Louisiana.

A pair of new TV ads attacks two Republican congressmen aspiring to oust Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA), respectively, with a similar message to voters: They voted to raise the Social Security retirement to 70 and privatize Medicare, so don’t trust them.

The latest ad by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee goes after Arkansas Rep. Tom Cotton’s (R) votes for two budget proposals, one which incrementally hikes the Social Security age and reduces the inflation rate for benefits, and another that replaces Medicare with a voucher system over 10 years.

“Tom Cotton’s record shows we can’t trust him. Cotton voted to end Medicare’s guarantee, making us pay more,” a narrator says in the ad, which splices ominous music with images of seniors voting. “He even voted to cut Social Security benefits and raise the retirement age to 70.”

The ad is similar to one the DSCC unveiled on Thursday against Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy (R), attacking him for voting for the same two budgets — one was by the Republican Study Committee and the other was offered by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI).

“When it comes to seniors, Congressman Bill Cassidy has a plan. Raise the retirement age for Social Security and Medicare to 70,” the narrator says.

Both ads are part of multi-million dollar statewide buys, a DSCC official said.

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