It’s your generic political ad, professionally produced, and it is likely airing only on cable and not over air out of Philadelphia (as that would be prohibitively expensive). Still, airing and producing this ad likely took a good chunk of Barney’s cash on hand.
The ad, though, repeats a false claim that Barney is the only candidate with a plan to protect and expand Social Security. Lisa Blunt Rochester objected to a mailer Barney put out (but that I have not received or seen) that made similar claims:
In a press release objecting to this mailer and claim, Rochester said:
It is certainly appropriate for candidates to highlight their differences on the issues. What’s disappointing is that Sean Barney’s campaign has chosen to ignore the facts. His mailing claims – without any basis in reality – that I oppose his plan on Social Security. Just because Barney’s campaign may not have heard me talk about Social Security doesn’t make his claim accurate.
Democrats in Delaware shouldn’t make false claims about their opponents. I hope he will apologize for his error and send out a mailing to everyone who received the original mailing letting them know the facts.
Furthermore, securing Social Security and Medicare for future generations should be a top priority for every candidate running for Congress. As the only candidate who has directly helped people get their benefits while working for then-Rep. Tom Carper, I have a deep understanding of what programs like Social Security and Medicare mean to families. I support raising the income cap on social security contributions, allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices and finding new ways to raise benefits where possible. In fact, virtually any Democratic candidate running for office today would agree with these principles on Social Security. It’s a no-brainer.
I have not seen Bryan Townsend object to the mailer, but I am sure he agrees with Lisa, since he has been doing town halls up and down the state all summer on strengthening the middle class, and in press releases announcing the town halls, he has said the following:
“Social Security and Medicare are two of the greatest programs ever created by our government,” Townsend said. “While some in Washington want to privatize Social Security and make cuts to Medicare, I pledge to protect and strengthen these critical programs for our seniors.”
He has also produced this white paper on Protecting and Strengthening Social Security and Medicare.
It’s a shame that Barney has to misrepresent his opponents in such a fashion.