The National Republican Congressional Committee released a web ad against Rep. Collin Peterson on Tuesday, the first ad it’s run against the Minnesota Democrat who now joins Rep. Tim Walz as Republicans’ chief 2012 targets in Minnesota.
The NRCC’s ad hits Peterson for not embracing the Keystone XL pipeline, which supporters say could create 130,000 new jobs. The ad plugs labor union support for the pipeline and tells viewers: “Collin Peterson is on the fence. Tell Peterson to support new jobs, instead of supporting Obama.”
Peterson is one of four Democrats in “union-heavy” districts to be targeted by the NRCC’s ad.
The NRCC is also running a live phone call campaign against Peterson and Walz today, urging their support for the Keystone project. Walz has been an NRCC target since the summer, and an NRCC spokeswoman said that Peterson will join him as a Republican target in 2012.
Here’s the script for the Peterson version of call. They are identical except for swapping Peterson’s name and phone number with Walz’s:
“Hello, I’m calling from the National Republican Congressional Committee with an important alert about your Congressman, Collin Peterson. This week, he has a chance to vote for a bipartisan jobs bill that would create up to 130,000 union-backed jobs at a pipeline that would bring oil from Canada to the U.S. However, Peterson’s strongest ally in Washington, President Obama, is pressuring him to vote against bringing these jobs to America. If Peterson follows Obama’s lead, as he usually does, that oil and those jobs will go to China. Call Colin Peterson at 202-225-2165. Ask him to join labor unions like the Teamsters and segments of the AFL-CIO and support new jobs, instead of supporting Obama. Paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. 202.479.7000.
A Peterson spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for a comment.
Update: In response to the ad, Peterson spokeswoman Allison Myrhe said Peterson supports the Keystone pipeline project. In July, Peterson supported a bill directing President Obama to clear the way for construction of the pipeline and has signed two letters urging quick approval of the project.
Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com.
I’ve heard differing estimates for how many jobs would be created by the Keystone pipeline, but they topped out around 20,000, which opponents call an outrageously exaggerated number. So where does 130,000 come from? Sounds like an outrageous lie, as does the jobs going to China. That’s insane. A pipeline to move Canadian oil to Latin America isn’t going to go to China. The NRCC will make up anything.
130,000 jobs? The NRCC is a bucket of lies.