* The NRCC ad which implies that Cheri Bustos used her influence to connect her street to her country club has been pretty much universally panned in local editorials as blatantly misleading. And now Bustos is running her own ad on the subject. Rate it [Fixed link.]…

[The campaign took down the other version and replaced it with the one above.]

It’s a pretty good response ad. Trouble is, Bustos waited about eleven days to respond. Not a great idea. The other side had plenty of time to burn their own message in.

* Meanwhile, PolitiFact has “awarded” its not-so-coveted “Pants on Fire” rating to a recent NRCC ad against Democrat David Gill on Medicare…

Attacks that say a candidate would “end Medicare” have typically come from Democrats. But this one comes from the Republicans. […]

The proposal Gill was referring to was published on Aug. 30, 2003, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and it remains on the physician group’s website. Here’s an excerpt, with some key points in bold:

“We envision a national health insurance program that builds upon the strengths of the current Medicare system. Coverage would be extended to all age groups, and expanded to include prescription medications and long term care. Payment mechanisms would be structured to improve efficiency and assure prompt reimbursement, while reducing bureaucracy and cost shifting. Health planning would be enhanced to improve the availability of resources and minimize wasteful duplication. Finally, investor-owned facilities would be phased out.”

So let’s put this in perspective. The NRCC isn’t merely criticizing Gill’s “plan” — one he praised with some limitations eight years ago, a time well before passage of President Barack Obama’s health care bill, which was intended to solve some of the health care policy challenges Gill perceived in 2004. Instead, the NRCC is also saying it’s Gill’s intention to “end Medicare.”

But that’s true only in an Alice in Wonderland sense. The Physicians for National Health Care plan would “end” Medicare only because it would aim to put everyone — not just senior citizens — in a system designed to run, yes, just like Medicare.

The NRCC ad claims, “David Gill: His plan would end Medicare.”

But we find that’s a ridiculous claim that ignores the sweeping nature of what he supported. He actually supported an expansion of a government-run plan so that everyone would have Medicare-like coverage — including seniors.

The NRCC ad completely distorts the plan in an attempt to scare seniors. Pants on Fire!

* I’ve already showed you the NRCC ad, but here it is again…

* And here’s a new NRCC ad whacking Bill Enyart on Obamacare…

Script…

This is what waiting rooms could look like under ObamaCare.

Yet incredibly Bill Enyart supports cutting Medicare by $700 billion to pay for ObamaCare.

Seniors could lose benefits and government bureaucrats will make important Medicare decisions.

Worse, Enyart’s ObamaCare raises taxes on middle class families and small businesses.

That’s a pill we shouldn’t be forced to swallow.