Highlights Hypocrisy, Broken Promises, Rubber-Stamp Support For Obama
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) today released a new web ad, “Jon Tester: #1 in Lobbyist Money,” to highlight the incumbent’s hypocritical rhetoric, broken promises, and rubber-stamp support for President Barack Obama’s unpopular agenda in Washington.
As a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006, Tester presented himself as a different sort of politician, telling Montanans they deserved representation “not encumbered by high-dollared lobbyists,” and promised he wouldn’t “sell Montana down the road by cutting deals with K Street lobbyists.”
But as non-partisan watchdog OpenSecrets.org shows, five years later Tester has taken more lobbyist campaign cash than any other Member of Congress during the 2012 election cycle.
Earlier this month, Tester asserted in an interview with KGVO’s Janette McDonald that he is not heavily involved with lobbyists. But despite promising voters he would return to Montana “every weekend,” Tester was recently caught raising money from liberal trial lawyers in New York City during a swanky weekend event.
In addition to his hypocrisy and broken promises when it comes to his dealings with high-powered lobbyists, Tester has consistently stood against Montanans’ best interest by voting 97 percent of the time to rubber-stamp President Obama’s liberal agenda – including his crucial 60th vote to ram ObamaCare into law.
“Senator Tester is staking his reelection bid on the hope that Montanans will forget that he says one thing when he’s asking for their vote, then does the opposite when he’s back in Washington with President Obama and his lobbyist friends,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond. “But whether it’s his status as the #1 recipient of lobbyist cash or his deciding 60th vote to pass ObamaCare, it’s clear that Senator Tester will be held accountable for his long string of broken promises and hypocritical rhetoric when he faces voters at the polls next year.”
Background Information:
Tester In 2006: “You’ve Got To Have Somebody Who Will Go To Washington, D.C. And Fight For You. Somebody Who Will Bring Montana Values Back To Washington, D.C. . . . I Will Do That. And In The Process, I Won’t Sell Montana Down The Road By Cutting Deals With K Street Lobbyists . . . .” (Montana Senate Debate, Butte, MT, 9/23/06, http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/MontanaSenateDeb. 4:15)
But Jon Tester Is The #1 Recipient Of Lobbyist Campaign Contributions So Far During The 2012 Cycle, Receiving $179,128 From The Industry. (Center For Responsive Politics, http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?cycle=2012&ind=K02, Accessed 9/26/11)
In Both 2009 And 2010, Tester Voted In Support Of President Obama’s Position 97% Of The Time. (Congressional Quarterly Website, www.cq.com, Accessed 8/4/11)
When Senator Tester Was Sworn-In To The Senate In January Of 2007, The Debt Was Over $8.67 Trillion. (U.S. Department Of Treasury, www.treasurydirect.gov, Accessed 8/4/11)
- As Of September 27, 2011, The Debt Was Over $14.7 Trillion. (U.S. Department Of Treasury, www.treasurydirect.gov, Accessed 9/27/11)
Tester Has Voted To Increase The Debt Ceiling. (H. J. Res. 45, CQ Vote #14: Passed 60-39: R 0-39; D 58-0; I 2-0, 1/28/10, Tester Voted Yea; H.R. 4314, CQ Vote #397: Passed 60-39: R 1-38; D 57-1; I 2-0, 12/24/09, Tester Voted Yea; H.R. 1, CQ Vote #64: Adopted 60-38; R 3-38; D 55-0; I 2-0, 2/13/09, Tester Voted Yea)
Tester Provided The 60th Vote To Pass The Senate Version Of The Obama-Reid Health Care Bill. (H.R. 3590, CQ Vote #396: Passed 60-39: R 0-39; D 58-0; I 2-0, 12/24/09, Tester Voted Yea)
