Republican U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel today released a new TV ad attacking Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown's voting record as a member of Congress.
Like almost all negative ads, there's a factual basis for it. But also like all negative ads there's more to the story.
Mandel's spokesman, Travis Considine, said in this prepared statement:
“Washington is broken because of career politicians like Sherrod Brown who believe they can live by a different set of rules. Brown has missed more than 350 official congressional votes, but somehow still managed to vote to raise his own pay six times. When middle class Ohioans skip work they don’t expect a pay raise, but Washington politicians don’t play by the same rules they do. The only way to change Washington is to change the people we send there.”
In response, the Brown campaign brought up Mandel's own attendance issues - his failure to attend even one of the first 14 meetings of the Board of Deposit, which, as treasurer, he chairs.
"After missing every single Board of Deposit meeting during his first year as Treasurer – including skipping work to fundraise at an 'upscale Washington, D.C., steakhouse' – Josh Mandel is now desperately trying to distract from his own appalling attendance record. In what can only be described as pathetic and absurd given Mandel’s well-documented record of failing to show up for work, Mandel’s ad paints a completely false picture of Sherrod Brown’s near-perfect voting attendance record."
"Brown’s 97% voting attendance record would be even higher were it not for a car accident in 2000 and Sherrod caring for his dying mother in 2009."
The Brown campaign also cites six times that Brown voted against pay raises for members of Congress.
Context: According to the Web site www.gov.trak.us,from January, 1993, to September, 2012, Brown missed 351 of 10,074 recorded or roll call votes, which is 3%. The median was 2.5%.
Here, according to gov.trak.us, is Sherrod Brown's actual voting/roll call record. It shows a higher record of attendance in the Senate than in his previous terms in the House:
| Time Period | Votes Elligible | Missed Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-Q1 | 127 | 4 | 3.1% |
| 1993-Q2 | 190 | 15 | 7.9% |
| 1993-Q3 | 164 | 1 | 0.6% |
| 1993-Q4 | 134 | 2 | 1.5% |
| 1994-Q1 | 95 | 1 | 1.1% |
| 1994-Q2 | 219 | 2 | 0.9% |
| 1994-Q3 | 142 | 1 | 0.7% |
| 1994-Q4 | 51 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1995-Q1 | 279 | 1 | 0.4% |
| 1995-Q2 | 189 | 2 | 1.1% |
| 1995-Q3 | 232 | 6 | 2.6% |
| 1995-Q4 | 185 | 7 | 3.8% |
| 1996-Q1 | 110 | 4 | 3.6% |
| 1996-Q2 | 182 | 6 | 3.3% |
| 1996-Q3 | 163 | 1 | 0.6% |
| 1997-Q1 | 71 | 3 | 4.2% |
| 1997-Q2 | 174 | 7 | 4.0% |
| 1997-Q3 | 232 | 6 | 2.6% |
| 1997-Q4 | 163 | 2 | 1.2% |
| 1998-Q1 | 89 | 2 | 2.2% |
| 1998-Q2 | 185 | 1 | 0.5% |
| 1998-Q3 | 199 | 12 | 6.0% |
| 1998-Q4 | 74 | 1 | 1.4% |
| 1999-Q1 | 77 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1999-Q2 | 184 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1999-Q3 | 204 | 1 | 0.5% |
| 1999-Q4 | 146 | 8 | 5.5% |
| 2000-Q1 | 95 | 38 | 40.0% |
| 2000-Q2 | 277 | 15 | 5.4% |
| 2000-Q3 | 130 | 5 | 3.8% |
| 2000-Q4 | 101 | 25 | 24.8% |
| 2001-Q1 | 75 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2001-Q2 | 135 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2001-Q3 | 149 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2001-Q4 | 153 | 4 | 2.6% |
| 2002-Q1 | 79 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2002-Q2 | 203 | 6 | 3.0% |
| 2002-Q3 | 141 | 1 | 0.7% |
| 2002-Q4 | 61 | 3 | 4.9% |
| 2003-Q1 | 94 | 2 | 2.1% |
| 2003-Q2 | 239 | 10 | 4.2% |
| 2003-Q3 | 193 | 3 | 1.6% |
| 2003-Q4 | 151 | 8 | 5.3% |
| 2004-Q1 | 104 | 1 | 1.0% |
| 2004-Q2 | 221 | 11 | 5.0% |
| 2004-Q3 | 161 | 11 | 6.8% |
| 2004-Q4 | 58 | 10 | 17.2% |
| 2005-Q1 | 90 | 3 | 3.3% |
| 2005-Q2 | 272 | 21 | 7.7% |
| 2005-Q3 | 146 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2005-Q4 | 163 | 6 | 3.7% |
| 2006-Q1 | 81 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2006-Q2 | 276 | 9 | 3.3% |
| 2006-Q3 | 159 | 34 | 21.4% |
| 2006-Q4 | 27 | 8 | 29.6% |
| 2007-Q1 | 126 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2007-Q2 | 112 | 7 | 6.3% |
| 2007-Q3 | 119 | 1 | 0.8% |
| 2007-Q4 | 85 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2008-Q1 | 85 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2008-Q2 | 77 | 1 | 1.3% |
| 2008-Q3 | 47 | 1 | 2.1% |
| 2008-Q4 | 6 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2009-Q1 | 118 | 6 | 5.1% |
| 2009-Q2 | 96 | 1 | 1.0% |
| 2009-Q3 | 89 | 1 | 1.1% |
| 2009-Q4 | 94 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2010-Q1 | 108 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2010-Q2 | 96 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2010-Q3 | 44 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2010-Q4 | 51 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2011-Q1 | 46 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2011-Q2 | 58 | 1 | 1.7% |
| 2011-Q3 | 49 | 1 | 2.0% |
| 2011-Q4 | 82 | 1 | 1.2% |
| 2012-Q1 | 63 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2012-Q2 | 109 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2012-Q3 | 20 | 0 | 0.0% |
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