| The ad: A 30-second commercial by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee accuses freshman GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris of trading Washington state for “the other Washington” and allowing that to influence her votes. The screen shows images of wheat fields being replaced by the Capitol dome, Social Security cards being shredded, and senior citizens. She “voted twice to raid the Social Security Trust Fund,” an announcer says, “endangering retirement security for future generations. Votes to jeopardize Social Security aren’t our values in this Washington.” |
| McMorris’ reaction: The McMorris campaign calls the ad a “baseless scare tactic” that preys on seniors’ fears about Social Security. The law regulates how the Trust Fund is spent or invested, spokeswoman Jill Strait said, and money that is used for other federal spending is replaced with Treasury bonds backed by the federal government. Democratic congresses and presidents used the same system, she said. | DCCC response: Sarah Feinberg of the DCCC said that group stands by the ad, saying that it accurately portrays votes on the Congressional Budget Resolution in 2005 and 2006. “She’s trying to make excuses for why she took the votes she took. Regular folks believe that the Social Security surplus is supposed to remain where it is.” Television stations wouldn’t run the ad if it weren’t true, Feinberg added. |
| Bottom line: McMorris’ campaign is right: There is no “raid” on Social Security. The money that comes in each year in Social Security taxes is either paid in benefits or invested in government-backed securities. Brooks Jackson of factcheck.org, a national organization that reviews political ads, said similar commercials are running against Republicans in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia, and against a Democrat in Oregon. “It’s political rhetoric. It’s not an accurate description of fiscal policy,” Jackson said. Finally, there is something odd about the line “our values in this Washington,” which comes from a campaign organization based in Washington, D.C. |
