DCCC wants anti-Kanjo ad removed

Democrats are moving to have a third-party TV ad that attacks Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) taken off the airwaves in northeast Pennsylvania.

Attorneys for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wrote a letter to local TV stations late last week, saying the the 30-second spot by the 60 Plus Association “makes false statements” about Kanjorski’s positions on health care reform. The attorneys cited independent fact-checking organizations that have pushed back against similar claims. In the ad, the group which is seen as a conservative counterweight to the larger AARP, says that “Washington liberals like Paul Kanjorski have betrayed Pennsylvania seniors.” The ad goes on to paint the health care overhaul as a trillion-dollar boondoggle that raises taxes and cuts medicare.

“This advertisement is false, misleading and deceptive,” the DCCC lawyers wrote in the letter. “We ask that you refuse to continue to air this advertisement.”

While pa2010.com has yet to independently fact-check the ad, the 60 Plus Association defended its accuracy.

“They could try to spin this any way they like,” group spokesman Tom Kise told The Times-Tribune, which first reported on the letter. “But the fact remains Kanjorski voted for a health care bill that cost a trillion dollars, raises taxes and cuts Medicare.”

The group aired a similar ad against Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3). It was not immediately clear whether the DCCC is also trying to have that commercial pulled from the airwaves.

Kanjorski’s race against Republican Lou Barletta is currently No. 2 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.