ConservaDem Stephen Lynch Poses As Someone Who Fights For Working Families

The ad above is a slick production trying to introduce Massachusetts' most conservative Democratic congressman to voters statewide. Lynch is running against longtime progressive Ed Markey-- who actually has a voting record that shows he does fight for working families-- in the race for the Senate seat that John Kerry gave up when he was appointed Secretary of State. Kerry has endorsed Markey-- as has Massachusetts' other U.S. Senator, Elizabeth Warren. (And so have Blue America, MoveOn and DFA.)

Obviously, Lynch's ad doesn't say anything about what a consistent fighter he's been against Choice-- or how he abandons Democrats in the House to back crazy right-wing initiatives by the GOP. He was one of the anti-health care Democrats who fought the Affordable Care Act but who voted for the toxic Stupak-Pitts Amendment. Lynch's anti-Choice record he's hiding now should have come as no surprise since he was one of the Democrats who backed Tom DeLay's desperate bid to hold onto power by using Terri Schiavo's tragedy as a rallying cry for right-wing crackpots.

Over the years, Massachusetts voters who have paid attention to Congress have seen Ed Markey standing up for working families-- and Stephen Lynch standing up for Wall Street. When the Sequester was voted on in 2011, Markey voted against it; Lynch voted for it. And this year, when Alan Grayson and Mark Takano circulated a "Dear colleague" letter that really stands up and fights for working families (“we will vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits-- including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need.”) Markey signed up right away and Lynch ignored it until Blue America and other groups started bringing it to the attention of Massachusetts voters. We put this up and the next day Stephen Lynch became the only ConservaDem to sign the letter. Not one of his conservative colleagues has gotten on board to this day-- while Markey's progressive colleagues are flocking to sign.

The latest polls show Markey pulling away and indicate that he will beat Lynch and that he has the best chance of holding the Senate seat against whichever Republican is nominated. Both campaigns released their first TV spots yesterday.

For Lynch, the ad is also something of a gamble. At the last reporting deadline, in December, he had just $800,000 in his campaign account, compared to Markey’s $3.2 million. Lynch is planning to spend at least $200,000 to air the commercial on cable and broadcast stations across the state.

Recent polls have indicated he needs to act quickly if he wants to defeat Markey, who is heavily backed by the national Democratic establishment and liberal activists who exert a large influence in the state’s Democratic primaries.

According to a recent survey by the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lynch is trailing Markey by a wide double-digit margin. About 42 percent of those surveyed said they had no opinion of Lynch, and 19 percent said they had never even heard of him.

Below is the Markey ad, more substantive and informative about what kind of a senator he'll make if he's elected. Take a look. If you agree, please consider helping him keep it on TV with a contribution to his campaign here.