SEIU Hits Back At Obama's Weird Proclamation Of Lincoln's "Populist" Ways

Two days ago, Sam Stein broke the story of how President Obama even went further than President Clinton in his support for Blanche "Me Me Me, All About Me" Lincoln by cutting that radio ad for her.

That ad as you well by know now tried to paint Lincoln of all Senators as a populist figure looking out for the little people in her state over the corporate insiders she gladly banters and appreciates in the Beltway.

When I saw that ad, I thought it was literally a joke almost as bad as Obama's drone joke on Saturday (or the pathetic display Jay Leno put on Saturday at the Correspondents Dinner).

That ad certainly was begging for a response from somewhere to combat basic exaggerations from the President on Lincoln. And that response has come from the SEIU thankfully.

From the industrial Greg Sargent:

The SEIU is going up with an ad on black radio in Arkansas that directly contradicts President Obama's claims about Blanche Lincoln on health care and Wall Street reform.

The SEIU, of course, is backing Lincoln's primary foe, Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter, and a labor official sends over audio of the spot, which I'll post shortly. The script features a number of ordinary Arkansans in succession:

"I'm a strong supporter of President Obama."

"But I'm voting for Bill Halter for Senate."

"I love President Obama. But I can't vote for Blanche Lincoln again."

"She voted to bail out Wall Street."

"Senator Lincoln says she supported health reform."

"But we all know she refused to take on the big insurance companies."

And so on. The spot flies in the face of Obama's recent claims that Lincoln is "leading the fight to hold Wall Street accountable" and that she "took on big insurance companies by voting to end discrimination against Arkansans with preexisting conditions." As Chris Good notes, SEIU is one of Obama's most powerful backers, and now the union's support for Halter has them on opposite sides.

This ad hasn't been aired yet and it is already a win in my book. It keeps the focus back on Lincoln and how a win for her would be unbelievably detrimental to the people who are looking for a Senator to truly represent them and not corporate overlords.

It was a response that was certainly merited. And it is a response from the SEIU that couldn't have been more timely and more effective.