Kennedy's Ad Spin

The Facts

Liberal Mary Landrieu.

Ranked As Ideological Center Of U.S. Senate: National Journal magazine ranked Landrieu as the ideological center of the U.S. Senate in 2008. (National Journal, 3/8/08)

Consistently Among The Top 10 Most Independent Democrats In The U.S. Senate: Landrieu has consistently been ranked by Congressional Quarterly among the most independent members of the Senate, breaking with her party more than most other Democrats. In 2007, Landrieu was the second most independent Democrat in the Senate. (CQ Party Unity Ratings, 2001 - 2007)

Formed "Common Ground" Coalition With Bipartisan Members Of The Senate: In January 2007, Landrieu and Rep. U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine co-hosted the first meeting of the Common Ground Coalition, a bipartisan group of a dozen U.S. senators from both parties. (Lafayette Daily Advertiser, 1/15/07; Times-Picayune, 12/20/06)

She supported amnesty for illegal immigrants; A plan that could have cost tax payers 126 billion, and require some immigrant workers to be paid more than Americans for doing the same job.

Landrieu Opposes Amnesty For Illegal Immigrants: In the U.S. Senate, Landrieu voted numerous times against measures that would provide amnesty for immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. (S 1348, Vote #180, 5/24/07; CQ Today, 5/24/07; Vote #203, 6/7/07; Vote #204, 6/7/07; Vote #206, 6/7/07; CQ Today, 6/11/07; S 1639, Vote #228, 6/26/07; Vote #235, 6/28/07; CQ Today, 6/28/07; S 1639, Vote #231, 6/27/07; Congressional Record, p. S8582, 6/27/07)

Liberal Mary Landrieu voted to allow immigrants to collect Social Security benefits for work done illegally.

Factcheck.org - The Charge Is A "Mischaracterization": According to Factcheck.org, a non-partisan voter information project at the University of Pennsylvania, "The charge is a mischaracterization of an amendment offered during debate of the immigration bill that passed the Senate last May with a healthy bi-partisan majority, 62-36. The amendment would change current law to prevent immigrants from getting credit toward future Social Security benefits from taxes paid before they have legal permission to work." Factcheck.org continued, "Nobody's proposing paying benefits to illegals, not until and unless they become US citizens or are granted legal status." (Factcheck.org, 10/11/06)

• Kennedy Is Recycling 2-Year Old False National Republican Party Attacks: In October 2006, Factcheck.org stated that there had been 29 GOP ads that election cycle attacking Democrats with various versions of "this misleading claim" that the amendment would give benefits to illegal immigrants. In 2007, when Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney attacked Sen. John McCain over this same vote, Factcheck.org stated, "This tired and misleading claim was used by several Republicans against Democrats in the 2006 elections." (Factcheck.org, 10/11/06; 12/28/07)

New York Times - Attack Is A "Distortion": In 2006, a New York Times editorial headlined, "It's Voter-Fooling Time in America" stated, "Democrats in more than two dozen races are being falsely accused of wanting to give Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants -- a distortion of a proposal to actually block immigrants from being credited for benefit days worked before they had legal status." (New York Times, 10/20/06)

New Hampshire Union Leader - Attack Is "Patently And Demonstrably False": After Romney attacked McCain over the vote, a front-page editorial in the New Hampshire Union Leader stated, That is patently and demonstrably false. In fact, McCain wants to make sure that LEGAL immigrants have their Social Security taxes properly accounted for so that the rest of U.S. taxpayers aren't footing that bill, too." (New Hampshire Union Leader, 1/2/08)

When it comes to immigration, Mary Landrieu is on the wrong side of the fence.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.

A Strong Record On Curbing Illegal Immigration: Senator Landrieu has a strong record working to crack down on illegal immigration. Her actions include:

• Supported Fence Along U.S.-Mexico Border: In the U.S. Senate, Landrieu has voted repeatedly to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. In September 2006, she voted to require the construction of 700 miles of fencing along the border. (HR 6061, Vote #262, 9/29/06; HR 5631, Vote #220, 8/2/06; S 2611, Vote #126, 5/17/06)

• Introduced Measure To Increase Border Security:In 2007, Landrieu introduced the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act, to increase federal resources to curb illegal immigration. The measure would require employers to verify that workers are in the U.S. legally through an electronic database, provide funding for 8,000 additional Border Patrol agents and increase surveillance of the Southwest border. (Chattanooga Times Free Press, 11/20/07; S 2368, Introduced 11/15/07; Times-Picayune, 11/23/07)

• Voted For Border Security Overhaul: In April 2002, Landrieu voted for the passage of border security overhaul legislation, which would require planes and ships to submit traveler lists to immigration ahead of time, create a database of suspected terrorists, and require schools to tell government officials if foreign students do not report for class. All visas, passports and other travel documents would be required to contain biometric data. (HR 3525, Vote #75, 4/18/02)

• Voted Repeatedly To Increase Funding For Border Security: In the U.S. Senate, Landrieu has voted seven times to increase funding for border security to provide additional border patrol agents, fund biometric technologies, and to operate unmanned aerial vehicles along the southwest U.S.-Mexico border. (HR 4954, Vote #242, 9/12/06; HR 5441, Vote #201, 7/13/06; HR 4939, Vote #95, 4/26/06; HR 4939, Vote #94, 4/26/06; HR 1268, Vote #105, 4/20/05; HR 4567, Vote #182, 9/14/04; HR 2555, Vote #298, 7/23/03; S 762, Vote #119, 4/3/03)