The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is out with its first independent expenditure ad of the season, taking aim at Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN). The ad, according to Politico, paints Donnelly as "a pawn of Democratic leaders" and is just the first effort in the committee's plan to "invest $22 million in 41 districts across the nation." What's interesting about the ad is that it goes after Donnelly for voting for legislation that many Republicans also supported.
The ad says Donnelly voted with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) 88 percent of the time, including on the "Obama-Pelosi health care plan," Wall Street bailout, and the "$800 billion stimulus that failed."
WATCH:
One hundred seventy-two Democrats, including Donnelly, did vote for the Wall Street bailout. Ninety-one Republicans, however, also voted for it, including House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) and NRCC Chair Pete Sessions (Tex.) In fact, On Sept. 29, Boehner took to the House floor and "became emotional as he urged his party to muster the will to approve the package":
BOEHNER: These are the kind of votes that we have to look into our soul, and understand, and ask ourselves the question, "What is in the best interest of our county?" I believe what's in the best interest of our country, as I stand here today, is to vote for this bill.
WATCH:
Sixty-eight Democrats and 108 Republicans eventually voted against the bill. The New York Times reported, "After his members overwhelmingly voted against it, he [Boehner] tried to shift the blame to a partisan speech delivered on the floor just before the vote by Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker."
The 30-second ad started running yesterday in the South Bend media market and will be on air for a week.
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