Denies Demonstrable Facts In Effort To Distract Montanans From His Record
As he continued his revisionist history tour of Montana last week, liberal U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) lectured, “[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.”
We could not agree more – which is why it is so troubling that Senator Tester is not telling Montanans the truth about his record. In fact, he is going out of his way to deny demonstrable facts about his hypocrisy and broken promises.
In a radio interview Thursday on KRSQ in Billings, Tester falsely denied that – after campaigning in 2006 as the scourge of Washington lobbyists – he is now the #1 recipient of lobbyist campaign cash in Washington for the 2012 election cycle, saying “that’s not true.”
The Center for Responsive Politics – an independent watchdog accepted by both parties and the news media as the gold standard in campaign finance reporting – shows beyond a doubt that Tester is, in fact, the #1 recipient of lobbyist campaign cash in the 2012 cycle.
“Why is Senator Tester deliberately misleading Montanans about his record? Independent watchdogs have proven that, after railing against lobbyists to get himself elected, he is now the top recipient of those lobbyists’ campaign cash in his re-election bid, so why does he falsely say it’s ‘not true?’ Is he calling these independent watchdogs liars?” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond. “Clearly, Washington has changed Senator Tester for the worse, because not only has he voted with President Obama 97 percent of the time, he also has a big problem when it comes to telling Montanans the truth.”
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:
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)
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)
