Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is hitting back against a new campaign ad put out by his Republican opponent, Josh Mandel, charging the ad merely repeats false claims.
In the ad, Mandel accuses Brown of going negative in his own campaign ads because he's trying to hide that he "bailed out Wall Street, gave huge bonuses to executives, sent billions of our tax dollars overseas, and cast the deciding vote on the government takeover of health care." It goes on to praise Mandel's service in Iraq.
The charge about sending federal dollars overseas is based on a report that stimulus funds were spent on a China-based wind farm; PolitiFact has long since dismissed the claim as false.
As for the claim that Brown supported giving huge bonuses to executives, the Brown campaign noted the senator has actually introduced legislation to tax the bonuses of any executives receiving federal funds.
Sadie Weiner, spokesman of Friends of Sherrod Brown, responded in a statement to the Toledo Blade:
Mandel is desperate to distract from the unqualified cronies he hired in the treasurer's office, his record of ignoring his job to raise money, and the FBI investigation he's connected to for $100,000 in questionable campaign cash that he accepted.
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