DESPERATE KENNEDY LAUNCHES MISLEADING ATTACK AD … AGAIN
"U.S. House"09/27/2006
Minnesota’s Choice: A Tough Prosecutor or A Failed Washington Insider
With three independent polls for the U.S. Senate showing Congressman Mark Kennedy trailing County Attorney Amy Klobuchar by double digits in less than a week, Kennedy continues to do the only thing he knows how to do: launch a new, slash and burn attack ad.
“Congressman Kennedy has failed in Washington for six years. Now he’s going offer the people of Minnesota six weeks of nasty, misleading campaign ads,” Klobuchar Campaign Manager Ben Goldfarb said. “Congressman Kennedy has shown that he has nothing to offer but more of the same. Same old policies. Same old attack ads. It won’t work.”
“Fact is, Amy Klobuchar has been a tough prosecutor – with a 91 percent conviction rate, tougher sentences for repeat offenders, and successfully advocating for laws to crack down on chronic drunk drivers, sex offenders, and meth dealers.”
“Congressman Kennedy should also know better than to use video in his misleading attack ad from a Minnesota Police and Peace Officers’ Association (MPPOA) debate. MPPOA, the state’s largest law enforcement organization, did look at both candidates’ records and overwhelmingly decided to endorse Klobuchar.”
The truth behind Kennedy’s distortions:
· The average prison sentence for first degree drug offenders in Hennepin County is now 20% longer than the year before Klobuchar took office. [Hennepin County Chart, 1st Degree Drug Cases-Average Pronounced Confinement For Cases With Executed Prison Sentences]
· Klobuchar’s office has been on record as publicly advocating for the judges in drug court to take a tougher approach against dealers. [Prosecutors Criticize Drug Court, Star Tribune, July 16, 2006; Some See Drug Court as Success, Others Want Data, Star Tribune, January 6, 1999].
· Klobuchar was instrumental in getting the state’s first felony DWI law passed at the Legislature. Before that law, career drunk drivers would not have faced prison time. Today, 439 offenders are serving prison time because of her work. [Minnesota Department of Corrections Web Site, Daily Inmate Reports, accessed September 26, 2006]
· Last year, Klobuchar’s office enforced tough sentencing laws against gun offenders 20% more often than the rest of the state. Klobuchar’s office has secured enhanced sentences against gun offenders at a greater rate than the statewide average throughout her tenure as County Attorney. [MN Sentencing Guidelines Commission Report To the Legislature, January 2006]
· Jury trials are up by nearly 50% since Klobuchar took office. [Hennepin County Attorney’s 2006 Progress Report]
· Since 1999, more than 125 career criminals have received longer prison sentences because of Klobuchar’s focus on repeat property offenders. [Hennepin County Attorney’s 2006 Progress Report]
· The Office of the State Legislative Auditor has noted that Klobuchar’s office was so aggressive in enforcing the career offender statute that it was driving up the rate of use statewide. [Minnesota Legislative Auditor Report on Chronic Offenders February 2001]