Yesterday, I received a fundraising email from the Cazayoux campaign decrying the "outrageous ads" attacking Don in this election. Intrigued, I decided to investigate. Sure enough, the National Republican Campaign Committee, a group that Cassidy could publicly ask to stop running the ad, and they would likely comply, is running the following ad:
This ad is so disturbing that even Republicans I know have commented on the tone of it. And these Republicans are allies in the culture wars - pro-life, anti-gay rights, etc. Let's take a look at the claims:
The ad references HB 736, with no mention of what year, or when the vote took place. So I investigated. And I found two bills that refer to human cloning in 2005 in the Louisiana Legislature:
HB 492, introduced by Dan Morrish
HB 736, introduced by Eric LaFleur
So, according to this ad, I would have expected Don to have voted against these bills, as they both called for the prohibition of human cloning in the field of stem cell research.
OH, SNAP! Don voted in FAVOR of BOTH BILLS, which called for the prohibition of human cloning in the State of Louisiana.
But, wait ... the ad references a few newspaper/magazine articles from TIME, San Francisco Chronicle, Daily Advertiser. Might it mention Don's "support for human cloning?"
OH, SNAP! The articles are all about how some scientists found a way to clone a MONKEY embryo. Perhaps the excellent fact-checkers behind the National Republican Campaign Committee ad can tell me what that has to do with a pro-life, anti-human cloning Democratic officeholder by the name of Don Cazayoux?
They can't ... and you know why?
Don Cazayoux voted in FAVOR of PROHIBITING HUMAN CLONING in the State of Louisiana EVERY TIME he voted on the issue in the Louisiana State Legislature!
But, wait ... the ad does reference some Louisiana Family Forum propoganda. Let's check out where that came from:
See the asterisks next to all of Don's "answers"? If you read the NOTE at the bottom of the chart, it states:
Democratic candidate Don Cazayoux .... chose not to respond to LFF's Questionnaire. Responses for Don Cazayoux were taken from the candidate's federal party platform.
Hmmm ... despite Don's lengthy record on these issues in the Louisiana State Legislature, the LFF couldn't be bothered to tell the voters of Louisiana the truth. Instead, they resort to subterfuge and use the Democratic Party Platform to fill in Don's answers.
Hmmm ... here's the platform, folks (pdf alert). I could not find the term "human cloning" in this document at all. Perhaps you can.
So, let's recap: Don voted to prohibit human cloning in the Louisiana Legislature both times he faced the issue. The newspaper/magazine articles talk about how scientists were able to clone monkey embryos, not human embryos. The Louisiana Family Forum is LYING when it comes to Don's position on human cloning, linking to a document that doesn't even mention the issue.
When is Bill Cassidy going to condemn this blatant lie? When will he tell the NRCC to stop lying to the voters of LA-06? Hmmm ... I wouldn't hold my breath on that one, considering that all the Cassidy campaign has done with its' own negative ads attacking Don Cazayoux is LIE.
If you're fed up with the Cassidy/Republican lies, donate to Don so he can fight back with a ground game during the final weekend of the race and turn out the Democratic vote.
