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* She isn’t going down without a fight…
* Script…
NARRATOR: Rodney Davis will tell you he started out small, but Davis hit the big time in Washington. As a congressman, Davis spent forty grand at DC steakhouses. He wined and dined with insiders, and voted to protect tax breaks for millionaires. Davis shut down the government, but kept his own taxpayer funded perks like a private gym and first class flights.
CALLIS: I’m Ann Callis, I approve this message. I’ll do without the perks, so we can do more for middle class families.
* Davis campaign response…
To distract the public from her growing residency scandal, Ann Callis once again throws untruthful bombs in her latest TV commercial. Instead of talking about actual issues, or coming clean on where she lived while serving as an elected official in Illinois, Callis continues her attacks on Congressman Davis.
As we know, Callis’ last ad attacking Congressman Davis was a flat-out lie. In reality, fact checkers called the attacks in the last Callis ad “smarmy.” (Washington Post 5/5/2014). That Callis attack received a Four Pinocchios rating by fact checkers…the worst rating possible.
She continues the pattern in this latest ad:
Callis ad: “Davis shut down the government”
Truth: Congressman Davis actually voted to keep the government up and running. (Roll Call Vote #478, 9/20/2013)Callis ad: “kept his own taxpayer funded perks like a private gym and first class flights”
Truth: Congressman Davis voted to BAN first-class flights by members of Congress and have never flown first-class on the taxpayer’s dime. He voted to stop Members of Congress for receiving taxpayer-funded health care for life. (Roll Call Vote #177, 4/10/14). Davis also pays his own money for his gym membership.“Ann Callis is running a desperate campaign of deceit and untruthfulness,” said Tim Butler, Davis campaign manager. “This ad only continues a dishonest pattern established over many years when she signed multiple documents attesting to her residency in Missouri while serving as an elected judge in Illinois. As an attorney, she should know that her residency in Missouri violated the Illinois Constitution.
“Ann Callis also needs to let the public know about her own gold-plated judicial pension,” Butler continued, “and her free lifetime health care, both courtesy of the taxpayers of Illinois. I doubt she wants to talk about that, but instead she will continue to attack Congressman Davis.”
* But Callis has her own documentation…
Background:
Davis Drops Nearly $40,000 on Washington Steakhouses
In 2013 and 2014, Congressman Davis spent $38,834 in campaign funds at exclusive Washingon steakhouses.
[State Journal-Register, 7/26/14]Davis Twice Voted for the Ryan Budget, Giving the Average Millionaire a Tax Cut of $245,000
Congressman Davis twice voted for a budget that gives Americans with incomes of $1 million or more an average net tax cut of about $245,000.
[House Clerk, H Con Res 96, Vote #177, 4/10/14, H Con Res 25, Vote #88, 3/21/13; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/17/13]Congressman Davis Signed a Letter Urging the House Republican Leadership to only Fund the Government if it Defunded the Affordable Health Care Act
According to Freedom Works, Rodney Davis signed a letter authored by Tea Party Congressman Mark Meadows, “affirming that they will refuse to vote for a CR that contains ObamaCare funding.”
[Freedom Works Website, 8/14/13; Meadows Letter, 8/21/13]Davis Voted for a Continuing Resolution that would “Likely Result” In a Government Shutdown.
In 2013 House Republicans passed a Continuing Resolution that the Associated Press reported would “likely result” in the shutdown of the federal government.
[House Clerk, HJ Res 59, Vote #478, 9/20/13; Associated Press, 8/23/13; New York Times, 9/18/13]Congressman Davis Voted Sixteen Times Against Efforts to Re-Open the Government
Following the government shutdown, Congressman Davis voted sixteen times against efforts to vote on a clean government funding resolution by allowing consideration of the Senate-passed continuing resolution.
[House Clerk, H Res 370, Vote #509, 10/02/13, HJ Res 70, Vote #512, 10/02/13, HR 3230, Vote #515, 10/03/13, HJ Res 72, Vote #517, 10/03/13, H Res 371, Vote #519, 10/04/13, HJ Res 85, Vote #521, 10/04/13, HJ Res 75, Vote #523, 10/04/13, H J Res 77, Vote #527, 10/7/13, HJ Res 84, Vote #529, 10/08/13, H Res 373, Vote #531, 10/08/13, HR 3273, Vote #533, 10/08/13, HJ Res 90, Vote #536, 10/09/13, HJ Res 79, Vote #539, 10/10/13, HJ Res 76, Vote #541, 10/11/13, HJ Res 380, Vote #543, 10/11/13, HJ Res 80, Vote #547, 10/14/13; New York Times, 10/07/13]Congressman Davis Defends Keeping the House Gym for Members of Congress During the Government Shutdown
During the government shutdown the House gym for Members of Congress stayed open despite assurances that it would close and even though employees were furloughed and tours were canceled. Congressman Davis did not sponsor or cosponsor H.R. 3276, The Shutdown Prioritization Act, a bill that would have explicitly banned this activity. Davis’ office defended his continued use of the facility during the shutdown.
[NBC 4, 10/9/13; Congress.gov, 9/16/14; State Journal-Register, 7/21/14]Davis Refuses to Support Commonsense Ban on Taxpayer Funded First Class Flights for Members of Congress
Congressman Davis voted against a budget that would have explicitly banned first class travel. He also is not a sponsor or cosponsor of H.R. 4632, If Our Military has to Fly Coach then so should Congress Act of 2014, a bill that bans Members of Congress and their staff from using taxpayer dollars to pay for first class tickets for flights.
[House Clerk, H. Con. Res. 96, Vote #176, 4/10/14; Congress.gov, 9/5/14]
I am way too ill today to include any of the dozens of hyperlinks in both those press releases. Sorry. New maladies have befallen me. Gonna be a long day.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 10:41 am
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This ad is what happens when campaigns lose the adult supervision the DCCC provides. Do you really think your $20k ad buy is really going to turn the tide in this race?
And how’s your buddy Don Gerard doing?
Comment by Attn: Big Debbie Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 10:44 am
Rich: Take a break. Your health comes first.
Ad wars like these don’t do much good. They just make the public hate everybody.
Comment by walker Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 10:46 am
You mean to tell me that Rodney Davis spent no tax money on steakhouses?! The nerve! I cannot believe that an elected official had to drop serious campaign (i.e. private) cash on session evenings to help raise $$$ and pay for meals in an uber-expensive restaurant market. Because that never happens in Springfield or D.C.
Tell me, Judge Callis, how often did you or do you host fundraising meetings or events at swank restaurants in St. Louis?!
Comment by Team Sleep Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 10:53 am
Walker is right: Take a few days off. If something earth-shattering happens, that’s one thing, but keeping track of playground rock fights conducted via airwaves doesn’t qualify.
Bed rest, Vitamin C and lots of Sudafed–otherwise, you’re risking something much, much worse than what you’ve already got.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 10:55 am
Out of gas
Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 10:55 am
Only 40 k on steak? What a lightweight!
Comment by William j Kelly Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 10:56 am
Since her entire campaign seems to be “Rodney likes steak”, someone should challenge her to take a “no-steak” pledge in the miraculous off-chance she’s elected.
Also, “wined and dined with” is very poor English.
Comment by DuPage Expat Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 10:59 am
DuPage - from Judge Callis’s perspective, it should be “whined and dined”.
Comment by Team Sleep Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 11:03 am
People hate Congress and feel they are out of touch. Spending $40,000 “on steaks” is exactly what people think of when they think of DC. This is an effective ad because it reinforces what people think is wrong with Congress. It doesn’t matter what you or I think regarding where the money came from, whether it was campaign dollars or not. Someone eating Kraft mac & cheese to stretch their dinner budget knows exactly what this ad means.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 11:17 am
“Frank and Beans: The Official Meal of the Ann Callis Campaign”
Comment by Chicago Dawg PAC Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 11:18 am
Gosh if Anne would have attended medical school she could have been Rodney’s heart surgeon instead! Err…to the post:
Steakhouse vs.Residency? If you plan on beating Rodney you will have to come up with something better than that, esp this cycle. Anne gonna learn the properties of Teflon here…
Comment by Madison Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 11:18 am
Of all the positive Dems that could be running for Congress,
we get the “whiner” Yuk!
Comment by DOWNSTATE DEM Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 11:20 am
Hey! - I posted on the wrong place!
Excuse me!
Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 11:21 am
A candidate who has so many houses she can’t keep track of where she lives on the documents she signs for each property is trying to say Rodney Davis is an out of touch elitist? It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so stupid
Comment by Anonymoiis Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 11:26 am
Hard to believe there’s a worse high profile candidate than Simon, but there you go.
Comment by Toure's Latte Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 11:45 am
Callis= desperation reaching a new level.
Comment by Apocalypse Now Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 12:27 pm
Ann Callis was born into an abundance of wealth and has lived a very privileged life. She owns a half dozen homes and she and her husband are multi-multi millionaires. She’s also set to inherit a boatload of money from her mega-millionaire father. It’s quite humorous that she would attack a member of Congress, who likely has the smallest net worth of anyone in Congress, as an out-of-touch elitist.
Comment by econ prof Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 12:28 pm
Econ Prof,
Is Rodney rich like Ann? No, but you’re statement about his worth relative the rest of Congress is false.
“Rodney Davis (R-Ill) ranks 334th in the House with an estimated net worth* of $245,010 in 2012.”
http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/summary.php?CID=N00034784&year=2012
Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Sep 18, 14 @ 2:35 pm