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* Press release…
Today, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s campaign released its 11th television ad, “Truth,” which lays out the repeated fact checks of Congressman Rodney Davis’ lies. Multiple independent fact checks have called Davis’ ads and claims false, yet he continues to fill the airwaves with lies about Betsy as well as his disastrous health care record.
The KMOV fact check found Davis’ claim that Betsy Dirksen Londrigan is lying about not taking any money from Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and that Madigan spent nearly $300,000 to elect Dirksen Londrigan is “false.” The $300,000 Davis refers to is from the Democratic Party of Illinois, a group dedicated to electing Democrats to office in Illinois.
Davis also lied about Dirksen Londrigan breaking her promise not to accept corporate dollars, another claim KMOV confirmed is “false.” Unlike Davis, who has accepted more than $3 million in corporate PAC money, Dirksen Londrigan is refusing to accept corporate PAC money, now or when in Congress, so she won’t be beholden to anyone except the Central Illinois families she represents.
A separate fact check from WGLT also confirmed that Davis voted 11 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement despite his repeated false claims to the contrary. Repealing the Affordable Care Act would strip health care coverage from millions, including more than 31,000 in the 13th District, and remove protections from more than 282,500 13th District residents with pre-existing conditions.
“After all the ads, you deserve to know the truth,” said the narrator. “Independent fact checkers say Rodney Davis’ attacks against Betsy Londrigan just aren’t true. … The truth: Mike Madigan is not funding Londrigan’s campaign. Davis is also lying about his record on health care. “Davis voted 11 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act with no replacement.””
“Trump Campaign Co-Chair Rodney Davis is taking a page out of the Trump Playbook by doubling down even after being called out repeatedly for his lies by independent fact checks,” said campaign spokeswoman Eliza Glezer. “Davis doesn’t want to run on his horrible health record so he’s resorting to lying to his constituents about his opponent and his disastrous record. Central Illinois families can’t trust Rodney Davis.”
* Rate it…
* Script…
Betsy: I’m Betsy Londrigan and I approve this message.
Narrator: After all the ads, you deserve to know the truth.
Independent fact checkers say Rodney Davis’ attacks against Betsy Londrigan just aren’t true.
Reporter: That claim is false… That claim is false.
Narrator: The truth: Mike Madigan is not funding Londrigan’s campaign.
Davis is also lying about his record on health care.
“Davis voted 11 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act with no replacement.”
We can’t trust Rodney Davis.
* Meanwhile…
Yet another independent fact checker has confirmed that the false claims in Betsy Londrigan’s attack ad featuring the former owner of the Feed Store are not true. In a tweet, WCIA’s Mark Maxwell said the claims in Londrigan’s “misleading attack ad” are “baseless” and “false.”
From WCIA:
Richardson said the Londrigan campaign “called up and asked if we’d be willing to make that ad, and explained what the subject was, so I thought about it for about a day or so and said, ‘sure, yeah.’”
Londrigan’s campaign did not make a strategist or advertising consultant available for an interview, but the campaign acknowledged the ad’s message was crafted to connect with voters who are frustrated with the economic fallout from the pandemic.
“The PPP loan program was supposed to be a lifeline for small businesses, but we got the run around while political insiders got the money first, and funds ran out,” Richardson said in the ad.
Fact check: PPP funds were quickly replenished, and while the application window has closed, the program still has available funds remaining. The temporary lack of funding did not prevent Richardson from applying for a loan. There’s no evidence Davis ever tipped the scales in favor of his brother’s company or against any other company.
“Rodney Davis’s family got to the front of the line for a million dollar payout, and he voted to keep it secret while businesses like ours suffered,” Richardson says.
Fact check: Several hundred thousand companies successfully applied for wildly popular COVID-19 relief loans within the first few days of the program’s opening. There is no evidence the Congressman’s influence expedited their application or slowed down anyone else’s.
The Londrigan campaign cites a vote on House Resolution 6782 to support their claim that “he voted to keep it secret.”
Fact check: The text of that bill would have only required loans worth more than $2 million to be publicly disclosed, and would not have applied to the loan in question.
The Davis campaign says the political attack ad is “absurd” and “dishonest.”
WCIA video: Fact check: Davis never voted to keep brother’s loan “a secret”
Last week, KMOV called the false claims in a similar TV ad from the Londrigan campaign “misleading” and also said “there is no evidence showing Rep. Rodney Davis had anything to do with his family getting PPP.” The Illinois Times also reported, “There also is no proof that the congressman’s family was treated any differently than anyone else…”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Congressional Leadership Fund is up with a new ad…
*** UPDATE 2 *** Congressman Davis…
Today, Rodney Davis’ campaign for Congress released two new ads, “No Proof” and “Very Best.” The first ad, “No Proof,” highlights independent fact checks of Betsy Londrigan’s lies about Rodney Davis and his family, and also highlights Rodney’s support for the bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program.
The second ad, “Very Best,” highlights Londrigan’s close ties to Mike Madigan and Rodney’s bipartisan work to lower healthcare costs, protect pre-existing condition coverage, and support small business.
I think that could be a mistake. We’ll see.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:25 am
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What’s that line?
If you are explaining, you are losing …
Comment by RNUG Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:34 am
What RNUG said. Call it a dysfunctional “D”. She should have focused on Davis and his record.
Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:44 am
If you are explaining, you are losing
Exactly. Me thinks The Feed Store lie has backfired on BDL.
Comment by Birds on the Bat Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:46 am
The sauce is weak.
Comment by A Guy Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:51 am
The ad is a solid response - say a B. But why did it take this long to do it?
Comment by Chicago Cynic Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:51 am
It’s one thing to make outlandish claims that are hard to verify but in the case of the Feedstore ad it’s pretty easy for just about anyone to see how dishonest it is just on it’s face. Even if she pulls out an election win this will taint her credibility for years to come. Self inflicted injuries in the final days are never a good thing.
Comment by Franklin Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:51 am
They tied her to Madigan and now she is chasing, not a good look.
Comment by NorthSideNoMore Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:53 am
It’s a “Gentleman’s C”
Why?
It’s not going to move any voter one way or another in the last 6 days, and given the early voting volumes seen, those who made up their mind and voted already, it’s not going to matter
“You changed my mind, not my vote” kinda deal.
It’s not helping, “couldn’t hurt”… it’s… whatever.
“Gentleman’s C”
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:53 am
All I know is that if I never see Davis‘ or Londrigan’s faces again, it’ll be too soon. For the love of all that’s holy, both of you please stop appearing on my tv, my internet, and my newspapers.
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:55 am
I just want to reiterate because it has not been said enough on this thread…If you are explaining, you are losing. I have rated Betsy’s ads in the past and she has had some good ones, but this might be a 1/10. Even if she is trying to explain Rodney is lying, this ad does not even get that point across. This is rough.
Comment by HotSauce Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:55 am
===this will taint her credibility for years to come===
lol
lolol
Where are you from?
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 10:56 am
That is a very meh ad. Can’t see how it helps her.
Comment by Responsa Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 11:08 am
This goes for any campaign and any candidate: It’s never a good sign when you’re pivoting from your own program to respond to the opponent’s attack ads at any point in the campaign season, but especially one week out…
Comment by JMR Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 11:09 am
The KMOV fact check found Davis’ claim that Betsy Dirksen Londrigan is lying about not taking any money from Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and that Madigan spent nearly $300,000 to elect Dirksen Londrigan is “false.” The $300,000 Davis refers to is from the Democratic Party of Illinois, a group dedicated to electing Democrats to office in Illinois.
Why is it that fact checkers have so little credibility again?
Zero connection between Chairman Madigan and the Illinois Democratic Party?
https://www.ildems.com/the-chairmans-record
Comment by Lucky Pierre Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 11:22 am
Explaining is bad, but as OW said, it won’t matter. The early voters are voting straight Democratic
Comment by low level Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 11:22 am
She is a Democrat (in a district that could go either way) in a state where Madigan and the Democrats dominate. And for this district that is not a good look.
Unfair attacks? Absolutely.
As the old saying goes “politics ain’t beanbag’
But as of 10-14-20 she slightly outraised Davis in funding and she has plenty of money to counter.
Comment by Unconventionalwisdom Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 11:40 am
“The early voters are voting straight Democratic”
That is my guess also.
And that should mean huge Democrat victories from the national to the state level.
Comment by Unconventionalwisdom Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 11:43 am
I rate it …Bluenami.
Comment by Dotnonymous Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 12:07 pm
Betsy’s ad and the Richardson’s soup were weak. A thin campaign and even thinner soup.
Comment by Joe Schmoe Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 12:18 pm
Speaking from ground zero in the district, the worst thing about the Davis-Londrigan race is we have to elect one of them. It makes me long for Richard Pryor’s ‘None of the Above’ option (Brewster’s Millions 1985).
Comment by The Ford Lawyer Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 12:21 pm
Illinois loves crooked politicians…or they wouldn’t keep electing them?
Comment by Dotnonymous Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 12:21 pm
==Speaking from ground zero in the district, the worst thing about the Davis-Londrigan race is we have to elect one of them. It makes me long for Richard Pryor’s ‘None of the Above’ option (Brewster’s Millions 1985).==
Where’s David Gill when we need him now?
Comment by Chatham Resident Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 12:48 pm
RD must know he’s in trouble if they are muddying up the holy closer with an attack ad.
Comment by ILLannoyed Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 1:13 pm
===All I know is that if I never see Davis‘ or Londrigan’s faces again, it’ll be too soon. For the love of all that’s holy, both of you please stop appearing on my tv, my internet, and my newspapers.===
Yes, please. Also the amendment. Last night I saw back-to-back ads: No, Yes, No.
Comment by thechampaignlife Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 1:25 pm
Rodney Davis: “politicians in Washington have let us down.”
Yeah, that’s why I’m voting for Londrigan.
Did you write that copy?
Comment by Steve Rogers Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 1:29 pm
I think it’s interesting that both chose to respond with counter-ads. Would seen to suggest they’re effective or at least are memorable.
Comment by Nick Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 1:44 pm
I think I would have done the response as soon as the madigan money hits came instead of waiting until six days from the election. Not exactly rapid response.
Comment by west wing Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 2:02 pm
The Feed Store guy caught in a blatant lie. Not sure calling it out hurts Davis. It most certainly paints the Feed Store owner as a dishonest man and Londrigan as willing to say and suggest literally anything. The local nature of the lie can perhaps help Davis frame the entire line of criticism as suspect.
Comment by Go Big Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 2:24 pm
Rodney Davis is my legislator. My experience with him has not been positive; he has voted to repeal the ACA more than once. He held town halls where you could only speak if your questions were vetted in advance. We need a change.
Comment by SouthernGirl Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 2:57 pm
“If you are explaining, you are losing …”
Politically it may be true, but if one spent any of Blago’s / Quinn’s 12 years in the crosshairs of Filan’s / Vaught’s “neat ideas” explaining is an automatic reflex.
Comment by Anyone Remember Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 3:15 pm
Ugh, watching prime time TV in this district and the commercials are wall-to-wall Davis complaining about Madigan.
Comment by Aspects Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 7:51 pm