Flyers as well as robocalls are attempting to link U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, to conservatives' ultimate bogyman: President Barack Obama.
Flyers mailed to voters in Southwest Louisiana by the Landry for Louisiana campaign as well as robocalls generated by a super PAC are attempting to link U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, to conservatives' ultimate bogyman: President Barack Obama.
Landry is attempting in the waning days of the campaign to make hay out of the Boustany campaign's dealings with the unscrupulous folks behind United Ballot, a "voters guide" for major elections distributed in north Lafayette. United Ballot targets the black community and almost uniformly promotes Democrats and Democratic issues, but it is also evidently a pay-for-play arrangement in which a candidate can buy his way onto United Ballot. Leading into the Nov. 6 primary in a clear effort to gain support among black voters, Boustany appears to have done just that, appearing on United Ballot as the recommended candidate in the 3rd Congressional District race alongside United Ballot's recommendation for president - Obama, whose first name was spelled incorrectly - along with other Dems. The guide also made recommendations on the constitutional amendments including, egad!, voting against the all-hat-no-horse "2nd Amendment" amendment strengthening gun ownership rights.
According to the flyer mailed by Landry for Louisiana (see the flyer in the video above, which contains the audio from the Liberty For All robocall), local Dem Mike Stagg reported on KPEL radio that Boustany's campaign paid $35,000 to get his name on United Ballot. It's worth noting that United Ballot endorsed Boustany, a conservative Republican, over Ron Richard, the Lake Charles Democrat who ran a tepid third in the primary.
The Landry for Louisiana flyer characterizes United Ballot as "an ongoing investigative complaint at the Federal Election Commission," which is a lawyerly way of saying, "We've been bitching about it to the FEC!" The flyer further claims that Boustany's campaign manager, John Porter, created an LLC that "funneled $35,000" to the United Ballot folks. (We have our suspicions about who is behind United Ballot, namely a former Lafayette City-Parish Councilman whose name rhymes with Wiss Chrilliams.) In effect, Landry argues that the United Ballot was campaign material for Boustany and should have had the FEC-required disclaimer identifying it as such.
The flyer, which makes reference to the "pro-Obama/Boustany ticket" and the "United Obama-Boustany ballot," shouts desperation as the candidates near the finish line with Saturday's runoff election. What has many in Lafayette incensed, as we've detected on Facebook and elsewhere, is a new Landry television commercial which plays a snippet of Boustany speaking with Arabic subtitles, suggesting in a slimy way that ... Boustany is Muslim? A terrorist? A Kenyan-Muslim liberal terrorist? Frankly, we're not sure.
The Liberty For All robocall, in which the speaker mispronounces Boustany's name repeatedly, hits the "fake Republican" refrain and also links Boustany to Obama:
Hi, this is Chris Cooper with Liberty For All super PAC. This weekend the Cajun conservative exposed that Charles Boustany decided to run for re-election on Barack Obama's big government ticket in the hope of gaining votes. In this Saturday's special election, conservatives like us have to decide if Charles Boustany is a fighter like he claims or just another fake Republican whose only concern is staying in office. Louisiana conservatives won't be footed. This Saturday vote "no" on big government Charles Boustany. Paid for by Liberty For All super PAC, PAC Liberty.com. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.