U.S. Chamber of Commerce targeting Senate race with ad campaign

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is paying for two television spots now airing in Kentucky – one blasting Democrat Bruce Lunsford and one lauding his opponent, four-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell.

The advertising push is an effort by the powerful business federation “to continue to support Mitch McConnell,” according to a spokesperson from the organization.

Lunsford falls in the crosshairs of that attempt by the Chamber, and in one ad, a narrator asserts “Bruce Lunsford doesn’t get it.”

The anti-Lunsford from the Chamber spot focuses on the gas price issue, and cites an Aug. 10 Paducah Sun editorial to claim that Lunsford “opposes expanded exploration” and “opposes new offshore exploration” for oil.

“He opposes allowing energy exploration right off our own shores, while foreign countries prepare to do the same,” says the narrator of the thirty-second spot. “Maybe Lunsford is happy to keep America dependent on foreign oil, but Kentucky families don’t want it that way.”

The narrator then encourages viewers to call Lunsford about the issue, listing the number of his campaign office on-screen.

In recent months, Lunsford’s campaign has argued its candidate has “consistently supported expanded drilling,” with a press release to that effect citing news coverage in which Lunsford is described as supportive of drilling in parts of ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf and “increased domestic production.”

The U.S. Chamber also is airing a pro-McConnell spot in which a narrator claims “Mitch McConnell is fighting to make healthcare more accessible and affordable.”

“McConnell helped establish a prescription drug benefit for nearly 40 million seniors, saving many $1,100 a year,” says the narrator, while an on-screen claim says the benefit in question assisted “600,000 Kentucky seniors.”

The benefit in question is tied to the controversial Medicare Modernization Act, passed in 2003 with McConnell’s vote in the Senate – and while he was Senate Majority Whip - to overhaul Medicare.

That legislation created the Medicare Part D prescription drug subsidy program. The Bush administration said beneficiaries would “save 10 to 25 percent” on “most medicines” under the legislation, though it has been criticized for provisions that do not allow the federal government to negotiate drug costs, and aspects of the plan that critics say require some seniors to pay significant out-of-pocket costs for drugs.

“McConnell wants to keep healthcare decisions in the hands of doctors and patients, not the Government,” continues the narrator.

The ad closes with an image of McConnell and the request that viewers encourage McConnell to “keep fighting for the health of Kentucky families” at his office number, provided on-screen.

J.P. Fielder, a spokesperson for the Chamber, said the ad campaign was intended to “push the message” that McConnell was the candidate most beneficial to Kentucky. Fielder added the organization would do “everything we can” to support McConnell, though the specifics of other efforts are still in the works.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a 501(c)(6) group – a “business league” according to the federal tax code - and exempt from most federal income taxes. Such organizations may engage in political campaigning as long as it is not their “primary” function.

The Chamber purports to be the “world’s largest business federation” with a “core mission to fight for business and free enterprise.” The organization has a history of political involvement. This year they have also run ads in other Senate races, including the New Hampshire race between Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. John Sununu and former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.