Outside groups are making their presences felt in the closing days of the Colorado primaries as two new ad campaigns — one attacking Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, the other praising Republican Jane Norton — hit the airwaves.
One series of ads, sponsored by a 527 group called “New Leadership For Colorado,” slams Bennet for voting to “bail out Wall Street” and for voting against benefits for seniors. The ads (which you can hear on the 527’s website) are made to sound like news reports — and that’s not the only reason they’re misleading:
… and reaction continues to come in after this week’s story that appointed Senator Michael Bennet voted against a cost-of-living increase for senior citizens on fixed incomes.
Mark has our follow-up report.
Well, Susan… it’s pretty simple. Senator Michael Bennet voted against a Social Security cost of living increase and now senior citizens are pretty upset.
“I live on a fixed-income and this guy goes to Washington, votes to bailout Wall Street banks, and also votes to cut a cost of living increase in my Social Security?.”
“Folks need to call Michael Bennet and tell him that senior citizens deserve better leadership.”
As the Colorado Independent points out, the ads are deceptive — Bennet wasn’t in the Senate when the TARP program (the Wall Street “bailout”) passed, and Bennet did, in fact, vote for one version of the Social Security cost of living increase. On its website, “New Leadership for Colorado” posted a clarification explaining that, by “bailout,” the group was referring to “preventing banks from becoming too big to fail.” But this, too, is misleading — as the Colorado Independent explains, the legislation in question (an amendment to the recently passed financial regulation bill) wasn’t a “bailout.”
The Denver Post reports that the group is led by Debbie Wamsley, a former AFL-CIO chief of staff. The AFL-CIO has not endorsed either Democrat in the primary.
The TPM Poll Average shows Bennet barely ahead of Democratic challenger Andrew Romanoff in tomorrow’s primary, 43.0%-41.9%.
A second ad campaign, this one sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, lauds Republican Jane Norton. The ad hails Norton’s fiscal conservatism, slams “the policies of Pelosi,” and includes an endorsement by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R), whose state’s controversial immigration bill polls well among Republicans.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is spending $200,000 on the ad. Watch:
The TPM Poll Average shows Norton trailing Ken Buck in the GOP Senate primary 44.5%-37.3%.
Check out TPMDC’s full coverage of the race here.
