Digs Self Deeper In Attempt To Cover Up One Misleading Statement With Another
If your name is Jon Tester and you got yourself elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 on an anti-lobbyist platform, the last thing you want is to be held accountable for the fact that the Center for Responsive Politics shows beyond a doubt that you are now the number-one recipient of lobbyist campaign cash in the 2012 election cycle.
Click Here To See The List Of Top Recipients Of
Lobbyist Campaign Cash This Cycle
After all, voters can’t stand it when elected officials like Tester say one thing to them in Montana, and then hypocritically do the opposite when they get back to their friends in Washington, DC.
Perhaps that’s why Tester, in an interview with KRSQ radio in Billings, falsely denied the demonstrable fact that he is now the #1 recipient of lobbyist campaign cash so far in the 2012 election cycle.
Click Here To Hear Audio Of Jon Tester
Falsely Denying This Fact To Montana Voters
So if you’re Jon Tester, and you just falsely denied a demonstrable fact about your record to your state’s voters on the air, what do you do when reporters begin to call and ask you about your dishonesty?
Apparently, Tester’s answer has been to dig himself deeper, attempting to cover up his initial untrue statement by having aides try and spin reporters using a different, completely unrelated and irrelevant report of lobbyist campaign contributions, which in no way refutes, or even comes close to addressing, the very real and relevant facts of the matter.
Bizarrely, Tester and his aides believe they can distract from his hypocrisy by pointing to a list accounting for lobbyist contributions taken years and years ago by long-gone U.S. Senators such as… Al Gore (D-TN, left the Senate in Jan. 1993), Spencer Abraham (R-MI, left the Senate in Jan. 2001), and Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY, left the Senate in Jan. 1999).
To be clear, this list has nothing to do with the fact that – after promising Montanans representation “not encumbered by high-dollared lobbyists,” and claiming, “I won’t sell Montana down the road by cutting deals with K Street lobbyists” – Tester is, and remains, the number-one recipient of lobbyist campaign cash for the 2012 cycle. It also does not justify his decision to falsely deny that fact to his state’s voters on the air.
It is clear that, despite lecturing others on the importance of honesty, saying “[l]et’s stick with the facts. Let’s move forward. Let’s be honest. We do that, the country will be a better place,” Jon Tester refuses to hold himself to the same standard, and is betting that he won’t be held accountable.
“The facts are clear: first Jon Tester got himself elected to the Senate by railing against lobbyists, then he went to Washington and hypocritically took more lobbyist campaign cash than any other member of Congress for his reelection bid, then he falsely denied this fact on the air, and now he is trying to cover it up by misleading reporters and Montanan voters yet again,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond. “Enough is enough. Tester needs to quit playing his Washington games, start telling the truth, and apologize to Montanans for his broken promises, hypocrisy and misleading statements.”
THE FACTS:
Jon Tester Railed Against Lobbyists To Get Himself Elected In 2006:
Jon Tester In 2006: “We’ll Be Back In This State Every Weekend. Because This State Is Where I’m From And This Is The Greatest State, In The Greatest Country In The World. And They Need The Greatest Representation Not Encumbered By High-Dollared Lobbyists.” (Montana Senate Debate, Butte, MT, 9/23/06, http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/MontanaSenateDeb, 39:10)
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 The Center For Responsive Politics Shows Clearly That Tester Is The #1 Recipient Of Lobbyist Campaign Cash In The 2012 Election Cycle (Click The Screenshot To Access Their Database):
Jon Tester Is The #1 Recipient Of Lobbyist Campaign Contributions So Far During The 2012 Cycle, Receiving $201,878 From The Industry. (Center For Responsive Politics, http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?cycle=2012&ind=K02, Accessed 10/6/11)
Tester Falsely Denied This Demonstrable Fact To Montanans:
CLICK HERE for audio:
Host: Something about you not accepting money from lobbyists and turns out that you have accepted more money from lobbyists than any other Senator.
Sen. Tester: Well I mean, that’s, that’s not true. But by the same token we got to raise a bunch of money. That’s the landscape we are on.
Host: I say take it. I am all for it.
Jon Tester Is A Rubber Stamp For President Barack Obama:
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)
