Roraback Calls on TV Stations to Pull "False" DCCC Ad

The back and forth complaints about half-truths and outright lies in campaign advertisements came to a head today when Republican Fifth District Congressional candidate Andrew Roraback announced he was considering legal action and calling on Connecticut television stations to stop running an ad by the DCCC.

The Roraback campaign wrote a letter to the stations demanding they cease running the “false and misleading advertisement,” paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in support of Democratic opponent Elizabeth Esty. 

Roraback also called on Esty to denounce the ad and call for its removal.

The letter says “Without a doubt, the Advertisement contains false information deliberately intended to mislead Connecticut voters and defame Roraback’s reputation. Because the Advertisement conveys messages that are plainly disproven by fact, we respectfully demand that your station immediately stop airing the Advertisement and that no further airings of this misleading content be allowed on your station.”

The letter says that the ad, which says “Meet Washington’s tea party Republicans,” defames Roraback’s character and falsely claims that Roraback supports budget proposals from Republican vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan.

In announcing the release of the ad, the DCCC said, "The ad highlights that Roraback is running on the ticket with the Republican plan to end Medicare and force Connecticut seniors to pay $6,400 more every year to fund tax breaks for millionaires."

The letter is signed by Steve Bassermann, Roraback’s campaign manager.