CNN calls them “misleading” in a story here. All involve House races.
Esther King is a GOP candidate in Illinois. The Democratic ad says she “stands with Republicans who want a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest,” even though her stated position is “that she supports exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother” and “opposes a federal abortion ban.” That may be so, but would you trust her to vote that way if she’s elected? Or would she more likely vote the party line?
Marc Molinaro is a GOP candidate in New York. The Democratic ad says he will “stand with politicians who support a nationwide ban on abortion … even for victims of rape and incest.” He “describes himself as ‘personally pro-life’ and generally opposes abortion after 17 weeks,” but also “has said he opposes a national abortion ban and supports the rape and incest exceptions.” However, he also says, “I do not believe there is a role for Congress,” meaning he would leave those issues to the states, including states that ban all abortions without exception. As he indeed stands with those state legislators, how is the ad unfair?
April Becker is a GOP candidate in Nevada. The Democratic ad says she wants to “to join the Republicans in Congress trying to ban abortion nationwide, including Nevada.” She claims a federal abortion ban “would be unconstitutional,” based on a reading of the Supreme Court decision that leaves abortion to the states. But Republicans were never shy about voting for unconstitutional abortion bans; and if you believe the court that struck down Roe v. Wade would also strike down a federal law banning abortions nationwide, raise your hand.
George Logan is a GOP candidate in Connecticut. The Democratic ad says, “Washington Republicans are talking about a nationwide ban on abortion, including in Connecticut, and George Logan would help them – voting for Republican leadership who have promised to do just that.” Logan has said, “I don’t support a national ban. I believe it should be up to the states. Right here in Connecticut, we have codified a woman’s right to choose. That’s what I support. I support a woman’s right to choose, but I believe it should be safe, legal and most importantly rare.” That seems definitive, but as CNN acknowledges, “we can’t definitively declare what Logan would do in office.” Would he vote against his party? A Democratic spokesman justified the ad by pointing out that he’s “endorsed by anti-abortion extremists and will wholeheartedly support attempts by Kevin McCarthy and Republican leadership to implement a nationwide abortion ban.”
There are two discussion points here. One, none of the ads are outright lies; rather, they’re putting a heavy spin on the uncertainties left dangling by the weasel words of the GOP candidates and the realities of GOP and congressional politics.
Second, a Logan campaign spokesman accused the Democrats of “trying to take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to the campaign,” which is basically true; Democrats are trying to exploit the unpopularity of the GOP’s abortion stance. But is that unfair? We’ve seen hardly any GOP members of Congress break party ranks on Trump’s election lies, and the party’s opposition to investigating the Capitol insurrection, so why should voters trust any Republican to stand up for abortion rights when it comes time to vote, no matter what they say during the campaign? I think there’s just a great big trust issue here.
The Democratic ads may be squirrely in the details, but they aren’t wrong when they say to voters, “Don’t trust Republicans.”