Yesterday afternoon, I reported that the Ford campaign has rolled out a new television ad which sets the record straight on Congressman Ford's security record.
This new ad is in response to the recent Corker ads which lie about Congressman Ford and his record on securing America. However, we should not be surprised that Corker is once again lying, as he has a durable track record of doing so.
Throughout this entire election, Corker has spent millions trying to defame Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary, now he is doing it to Congressman Ford:
Bob Corker wrote the following checks on these dates to his US Senate campaign:
- $200,000 on July 3
- $445,000 on July 10.
- $1.1 million on July 18
Knoxville News Sentinel, 07/21/06
- $420,000 on July 25
Chattanooga Times Free Press, 07/28/06
- Knoxville News Editor Jack McElroy called Corker ad both a “lie” and “twisted manipulation of facts”: “But, the truth be told, his recent campaign ad does tell a lie. The ad says, in part, that Corker's opponents - former congressmen Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary - "voted to raise their own pay" while in Congress. The accusation is "100 percent true," says Ben Mitchell, Corker's campaign manager. No, it's not. Only by the most twisted manipulation of facts - and certainly not with a straight face - can that assertion be made.” Knoxville News Sentinel, 07/23/06
- Tennessean says Corker should pull the ad and admit it is misleading: “By sticking with the ad, Corker is creating a character issue"… "Corker's original ad claimed that both of his GOP opponents, Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant, voted while in Congress to increase their pay. That's not true."… "Corker should pull the ad and admit it is misleading. Otherwise, all the assertions in his campaign, regardless of how long it lasts, could draw not just scrutiny but skepticism” Tennessean Editorial, 07/28/06
- WKRN Political Commentator Steve Gill chastises Corker for his ad’s dishonesty: “In an editorial commentary today the Tennessean takes U.S. Republican Senate candidate Bob Corker to task for being dishonest in a campaign attack ad that claimed Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant voted to raise their congressional pay. They did not. Corker knows they did not vote for a pay raise. Even the Tennessean knows that Bob Corker lied. Will the Tennessean retract its endorsement of Corker, or was that part of his appeal? Somebody needs to tell Corker's mom that "Corkers lie" when it suits their purposes.” (Gill Report, 07/27/06)
- Annenberg Factcheck calls Corker ad "grossly misleading" and guilty of faulty logic: "Corker ad that started airing July 18 says the other two "voted to raise their own pay," a grossly misleading claim." ..."He argues that because Hilleary and Bryant at times voted for appropriations bills that didn't contain a pay-raise ban, they effectively voted to increase their pay. We find that logic faulty, to put matters charitably" http://www.factcheck.org/article408.html
FACT: Ford Opposed Own Party And Voted For Reauthorization Of The Patriot Act Currently On The Books.
- Ford Voted To Make Patriot Act Permanent. Harold Ford, Jr. voted to make the Patriot Act Permanent. Congressman Ford voted against the majority of his own party to reauthorize the Patriot Act. The final reauthorization bill Congressman Ford supported included the national security provisions of previous piecemeal PATRIOT Act reauthorizations, and included significant improvements in protection of civil liberties for businesses, individuals, and libraries. [Vote 20, 3/7/06]
- Congressional Quarterly reported on this vote, “House Republicans Tuesday stood behind a Senate-negotiated deal with the White House that enabled Congress to break a months-long impasse and reauthorize the 2001 anti-terrorism law.” [S. 2271, House Vote 20, 3/7/06; CQ Legal Affairs, 3/7/06]
- CRS Explains How the Reauthorization Ford Voted For Is The Law That Is Currently On The Books: On March 1, 2006, the Senate passed a separate bill, the USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006 (S. 2271), that provides three civil liberties safeguards not included in the conference report.9 Passage of S. 2271 helped to pave the way for the Senate to invoke cloture on the conference report upon reconsideration, and the Senate agreed to the conference report on March 2. Under suspension of the rules, the House passed S. 2271 on March 7, and both H.R. 3199 and S. 2271 were signed into law by the President on March 9.”
- Ford Voted For Original Patriot Act. Congressman Ford voted for PATRIOT Act of 2001 [Vote 398, 10/24/01]
FACT: Ford has been an Unwavering Supporter of the War on Terror and the Troops Fighting It.
- Ford Voted For $5 Trillion In Defense Spending. Congressman Ford has supported over $5 trillion in funding for the Defense, Homeland Security, and intelligence agencies since 9/11 and introduced legislation to improve our efforts in the war on terror. He has supported every funding and appropriations bill requested by this Administration to fund the War on Terror. [H.R. 1559, 4/3/2003; H.R. 3289, 10/31/2003; H.R. 5122 05/11/06; H.R. 2863, 6/20/2005, Passed 398-19; H.R. 4613, 6/22/2004; H.R. 2360, 10/6/2005; H.R. 3673, 09/08/2005; H.R. 1815, 05/25/2005; H.R. 1817, 05/18/2005; H.R. 2360, 5/17/2005; H.R. 1268, 5/5/2005; H.R. 1268, 03/16/2005; H.R. 4567, 10/9/2004; H.R. 4200, 10/09/2004; H.R. 4567; H.R. 1588, 11/07/2003; H.R. 2658, 9/24/2003; H.R. 2555, 9/24/2003; H.R. 2555, 9/10/2003; H.R. 2555, 6/24/2003; H.R. 5010, 10/10/2002; H.R. 4547, 07/24/02; H.R. 4775, 7/23/2002, Passed 397-32; H.R. 1383, introduced 3/17/2005]
FACT: Ford opposes Amnesty
- “The House bill, which passed on a largely party-line vote last year, is generally limited to border enforcement. It would make all illegal immigrants subject to felony charges. It has no provision for either a new temporary worker program or citizenship for men, women and children unlawfully in the country.” CBS News, 05/26/06
- Harold Ford Jr voted in favor of this piece of legislation, HR 4437: (The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005… also known as the "Sensenbrenner Bill) 12/16/05, Passed by a vote of 239 to 182.
- Opposition for amnesty: “The likely Democratic nominee, U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. of Memphis, has also said the borders need to be more secure and he opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the United States.” Murfreesboro Daily/ AP, 06/24/06
- Ford against amnesty: “’What we will not tolerate is an amnesty program that will financially overwhelm local governments’ social services delivery systems,’ Ford said. ‘Moreover, it is perversely unfair to law-abiding immigrants who come to this country and play by the rules to allow illegals to jump in front of them through an amnesty program.’” Tennessean, 06/02/06
The facts are there and they clearly show that Bob Corker is a liar.
He lied about Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant during the primary and their supporters know it. And he is lying now.
The last thing Tennessee needs is another Senator who can't tell the truth.
Lets send someone to the United States Senate this fall who will make us proud. Lets send a new generation of leadership to Washington.
