NRSC Weekly Rundown: NRSC’s First TV Ad of 2018, Nelson’s SCOTUS Flip-Flop, Bredesen’s Three Pinocchios and more!

And here’s this week’s edition of the NRSC Weekly Rundown:

#NDSen: The NRSC released its first TV ad of 2018, blasting Heidi Heitkamp for trying to hide her true liberal leanings from North Dakota voters. Heitkamp released a new TV ad of her own, attempting to rewrite her record on border security and illegal immigration. Unfortunately for Heitkamp, no matter how many times she tries, she can’t change the fact that she has repeatedly sided with liberal Democrats instead of cracking down on illegal immigration and protecting North Dakota communities.

#FLSen: Bill Nelson has been doing a lot of avoiding lately. Last week, he avoided reporters’ questions by claiming he lost his voice. And for the past month, Nelson has been avoiding invitations to debate Governor Rick Scott this fall. When he isn’t avoiding questions, Nelson is flip-flopping on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation. In fundraising emails, Bill Nelson is now attacking Judge Kavanaugh as a “right-wing extremist” after initially promising to withhold judgment until meeting with him, which was right after he said he expected to oppose the President’s pick—before anyone was named. The Tampa Bay Times highlighted Nelson’s precarious Supreme Court position in a new report. On top of all this, The Daily Caller reported that Nelson’s liberal friends are running a misleading ad in Florida. The ad, paid for by Chuck Schumer’s super PAC, attempts to attack Governor Rick Scott over Medicaid and prominently features a Florida doctor, Dr. David Woolsey…but this doctor has chosen NOT to accept Medicaid. After rubberstamping Schumer’s agenda 92% of the time, it looks like Bill Nelson’s thank you gift is an ad that is just as phony as he is.

#MOSen: Claire McCaskill is hitting the airwaves with some tough talk about the pharmaceutical industry in her new campaign ad. But while McCaskill talks about getting tough in her TV ad, behind the scenes she’s cashing checks from the pharmaceutical industry to the tune of more than $150,000 in the 2018 election cycle alone. So those rising drug prices McCaskill is grandstanding about? They’re literally paying for her ads.

#WISen: Just days after Tammy Baldwin claimed she wouldn’t vote to dissolve the agency responsible for enforcing immigration laws in the United States, Baldwin proudly flew out Kirsten Gillibrand (the Senate’s ringleader of the abolish ICE movement) to campaign for her in Wisconsin. Senator Baldwin claims she wants ICE to make “targeting violent criminals and drug traffickers” their highest priority, but she has been a consistent vote for the Democrats’ open borders, weak immigration enforcement agenda in Congress. The focus also turned to Tammy Baldwin’s support for Nancy Pelosi as the Democratic leader heads to Wisconsin for a fundraiser. Given Tammy Baldwin helped orchestrate Pelosi’s rise to power and was one of her earliest backers, the question is: will Baldwin show up to campaign with her mentor in Milwaukee, or run for cover from Pelosi’s toxic brand?

#TNSen: Phil Bredesen had a rough week. In an interview with the Washington Post, Bredesen desperately tried to distance himself from Washington liberals, claiming he’s “undecided” on supporting Chuck Schumer, despite being courted personally by the New York liberal. He was then called out for misleading comments on the meth epidemic, with the Washington Post’s fact checker giving him three Pinocchios. He then followed that up by releasing a TV ad, where he completely distorted his record as Governor. In the ad, Bredesen brags that he fixed TennCare and ended the budget crisis without an income tax or raising the sales tax. But instead of fixing TennCare, Bredesen simply scrapped coverage for 450,000 children and adults during his tenure, while raising taxes and fees by nearly $1 billion. Tennesseans are quickly learning they can’t trust a word he says. Bredesen ended his week by having it revealed that he advocated for using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions of children with Down syndrome.

#MTSen: Jon Tester came under serious fire for rubber-stamping President Obama’s judicial nominees while obstructing President Trump’s at all costs.Montana Public Radio reports Matt Rosendale published a new website hammering Jon Tester for supporting 99% of President Obama’s federal judicial nominations while voting against President Trump’s first pick to the Supreme Court and 2/3 of his nominees to the Circuit Courts of Appeals. Tester voted against Justice Neil Gorsuch, but had no problem giving his seal of approval to Justice Sotomayor, an Obama nominee who held that the Second Amendment is “not a fundamental right.” No wonder folks in Montana call him #TwoFacedTester.

#INSen: In a fact check segment, ABC 57 verified Republican Senate candidate Mike Braun’s claim that his company pays employees a starting rate of nearly double the minimum wage, putting even more heat on Mexico Joe Donnelly to come clean on how much his Guadalajara factory pays its workers. Since Mexico Joe has taken to falsely attacking Mike Braun’s business record, will he come clean on his own and tell Hoosiers what his family company pays its workers in Mexico?

#AZSen: Joe Biden is headed to Arizona today to campaign for his favorite out-of-touch Arizona liberal, Kyrsten Sinema. Biden will be right at home alongside Sinema, given their mutual support for shutting down Arizona Air Force Bases (lost jobs and economic consequences be damned) and their radical open borders agenda. Biden’s visit casts a bright spotlight on Sinema’s radical efforts to shut down Luke Air Force base and her consistent votes to weaken our borders.

#NVSen: In a stinging column in the Las Vegas Review-JournalJacky Rosen was once again taken to task for lying about her resume and ridiculously claiming she “built a business.” The reality is Rosen is either grossly exaggerating or flat-out lying to Nevadans. Both outcomes are catastrophic for a candidate lacking accomplishments, name ID and a reason for voters to give her a promotion.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Washington Examiner: Jobless claims fall to the lowest level since 1969

New claims for unemployment benefits fell 8,000 to 207,000 in the second week of July, the Department of Labor reported Thursday morning, the lowest such number since 1969. Forecasters had expected new jobless claims to edge up to around 220,000. Instead, fewer people sought unemployment insurance than anytime in 48 years. READ

CNBC: Strong retail sales report suggests robust economic growth in the second quarter

U.S. retail sales rose solidly in June, boosted by increases in purchases of motor vehicles and a range of other goods, cementing expectations for robust economic growth in the second quarter. READ

ABC News: SCOTUS battle highlights red-state Democrats’ 2018 dilemma

The most immediate target for Republicans included a familiar list of names, including North Dakota Democrat Heidi Heitkamp. This week the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) labeled Heitkamp as “hiding Heidi,” saying the senator “is either going to have to vote to support” President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, or “kiss her Senate seat goodbye.” READ

Weekly Standard: Judging Kavanaugh

Do Democrats not understand that a judge’s duty is not to impose his political preference but to interpret the law, whether or not he happens to like the law? The better question is: Do they care? Neither Judge Kavanaugh’s words nor his achievements nor his character will give any fair-minded lawmaker, Democrat or Republican, reason to conclude that he is anything but a first-rate legal mind and a conspicuously qualified nominee. READ

New York Post: Another Sickening Smear Against Kavanaugh From The Left

Democrats are so desperate to torpedo Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the US Supreme Court that they’re resorting to scare tactics, telling Americans that his confirmation would put 130 million people at risk of losing their health insurance. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says Democrats can sink Kavanaugh by showing how his appointment will lead to a court majority that “repeals [the Affordable Care Act] with its protections for pre-existing conditions.” It’s demagoguery. And it’s working, as demagoguery too often does. READ

PennLive: It’s no surprise that Bob Casey chose ‘None of the Above’ for Trump SCOTUS pick

According to the senator himself, the president could have picked anyone to serve on the high court and Casey would have opposed the nominee. He made this promise clear before the president announced his selection earlier this month. This “none of the above” pronouncement from Senator Casey is troubling for Pennsylvania and a complete abandonment of the Senator’s role required of him in the Constitution.READ

Sunshine State News: Nelson’s Doing The Kavanaugh Shuffle

Sen. Nelson, can you finally tell us clueless voters where you stand on Brett Kavanaugh? All but a handful of senators have declared themselves on President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court. Why haven’t you? I know it’s a tough one, Senator, but come on. You’ve turned a simple question into a dance.  READ

Independent Record: Tester stands with the Democrats’ radical open border agenda

Senator Jon Tester tries to present himself as a moderate, but his extreme record on immigration shows he is out of touch with most Montanans. Instead of standing with President Trump and Montanans who want the border secured and the rule of law restored, Senator Tester sides with the open borders agenda of his Democratic colleagues. READ

Make America Stronger

Help us take back the Senate

    By providing your phone number and checking the box, you are consenting to receive texts, including autodialed and automated texts, to that number with campaign notifications from the NRSC (55404). NRSC is happy to help at (202) 675-6000. Reply HELP for help, STOP to end. Msg&DataRatesMayApply. Message frequency may vary. SMS opt-in will not be sold, rented, or shared.Terms and Conditions http://bit.ly/2Xax3XL. Privacy Policy https://www.nrsc.org/privacy-policy

By providing your phone number, you are joining a recurring text messaging program for the NRSC

/// Donate