The National Republican Congressional Committee has rented a mobile billboard on the side of a truck to schlep around Minnesota's vast Seventh Congressional District, asking residents to contact their United States Representative.
Incumbent congressman Collin Peterson welcomes the attention, telling the Marshall Independent that he views the attention as encouragement to run again.
Editor Per Peterson reports in After Bachmann shake-up, Peterson mum on future:
"There's always speculation about me; they're trying to run a campaign against me to try to get me to retire," he said. "It's actually making me more inclined not to retire. But I never decided until January or February of an election year."
Peterson, who turns 69 next month, said he "needs to see where things are at" in early 2014 before making his final decision on whether or not to run again and whether or not his presence in Washington will be beneficial for the country and his district.
Read the rest at the Independent.
Minnesota Public Radio had more about the NRCC incentive plan in GOP pokes at Peterson on healthcare and the IRS:
The claim requires a lot of context. Peterson was one a small group of Democrats to vote against the health care law in the House in 2010 when it was passed. Peterson has subsequently voted against GOP bills that would repeal the law, including a measure almost two weeks ago that passed the House almost entirely along party lines and faces no chance of passage in the Senate.
Mostly, Peterson's been trying to keep it real and pass a new Farm Bill. In the face of Republican obstructionism and Democratic reluctance to cut food assistance, it's "not out of the woods yet," the Blue Dog told Forum Communications.
This latest campaign against Peterson is part of a long ritual for Republicans in the 7th District. The area has voted for GOP candidates at the top of the ticket for years while returning Peterson to Washington at the same time. . . .
"It's pretty clear that the NRCC is out of touch with the vast majority of Republicans in the 7th District who support Congressman Peterson and who appreciate his work to get the farm bill passed in spite of the Republican leaders who are buying billboards to attack him," said Peterson spokeswoman Allison Myhre in a statement to MPR News.
MPR isn't the only venue to be sceptical of the billboard. MSNBC's Karly Schledwitz reports in House Republicans link IRS scandal to Obamacare:
But the Democrats say this campaign is part of a misguided and harmful strategy.
“Republicans just lost a national election by trying to repeal health care reform and put insurance companies back in charge – and now they’re foolishly doubling down on a failed strategy,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokeswoman Emily Bittner.
The Washington Post’s fact checker criticized the NRCC’s new campaign, saying its claims that the IRS will be “running healthcare” go too far, especially because the employer-provided system is largely left intact under the new law.
Indeed, the Washington Post gave the claim "Two Pinocchios:"
Significant omissions and/or exaggerations. Some factual error may be involved but not necessarily. A politician can create a false, misleading impression by playing with words and using legalistic language that means little to ordinary people.
Bluestem hopes that the National Republican Campaign Committee parks the billboard deep in a bog somewhere. The thought of potential Republican contenders like state senator Torrey Westrom growing a Pinocchio nose is almost too much to bear.
On the other hand, as Bluestem noted in Deform agenda: Senator Torrey Westrom touts ridiculous personal rapid transit boondoogle, perhaps he's already there.
Images: Collin Peterson (above); an original Avidor rendition of Torrey Westrom as Pinnochio (below).
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