Tarrant ad criticizes Sanders for cutting U.S. intelligence budget

By Shay Totten| Vermont Guardian

Posted August 4, 2006

COLCHESTER — In perhaps the most hard-hitting ad yet of the 2006 campaign season, Republican senatorial hopeful Rich Tarrant launched this week a three-minute Internet ad that criticizes his chief opponent 's record of seeking cuts to U.S. intelligence budgets over the past decade.

Tarrant faces fellow Republican Greg Parke, a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel, in the September primary, but this ad takes aim at Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-VT.

“I think most Vermonters will be surprised when the see this web ad,” said Tim Lennon, Tarrant’s campaign spokesman. “They are probably not aware of these facts. [Sanders has] repeatedly voted for cutting the budget of the intelligence community at the same time that Americans are being attacked around the world.”

The ad opens with scenes from an al Queada training camp video with the words “The world is a dangerous place,” and then segues into various bombings and attacks around the world, from embassies in Africa to 9/11. Tarrant's ad cites five instances in which Sanders sought cut to the intelligence budget, ranging from 5 to 10 percent reductions.

The ad ends with a shot of the smoking Twin Towers and the words “The world is still a dangerous place," and criticizing Sanders for still claiming that cuts to the intelligence budget are needed. The ad ends with the words, “Serious times demand serious leadership.”

Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ campaign manager, said Tarrant’s charges were unfounded and likely linked to his inability to gain any ground against Sanders. Recent polls continue to show Sanders with a 20-plus point lead over Tarrant among voters.

Weaver also defended Sanders’ votes on intelligence funding, saying some leading Republicans had called for deeper cuts than Sanders.

“On September 11, 2001, over 3,000 innocent Americans were slaughtered in a horrendous terrorist attack. Bernie Sanders, along with every member of Congress from both parties, have been working to protect the United States from further attack and to defeat international terrorism,” said Weaver. “It is not surprising that the Tarrant Campaign has chosen to go negative given the failure of their campaign to get any traction in Vermont after spending almost $5 million. But it is unacceptable for the Tarrant Campaign, in a cynical and desperate move, to try to score political points by exploiting images of the 9-11 tragedy and other terrorist attacks.”

Lennon fired back, saying it was Sanders who simply doesn’t want people to look at his record.

“The Sanders campaign is trying to distract Vermont voters from the real story, Sanders rare attempt at leadership in the house is to pursue continuous and dangerous cuts to our intelligence community,” said Lennon, adding that “America was safer because of Sanders ineffectiveness in the house because the house refused to pass his reckless amendments throughout the 90's. Yet we know Vermonters are troubled by Congressman Sanders continued calls even today to reduce spending to our intelligence community in the post 9-11 world.”

Weaver said several other Republicans who supported Sanders' amendments calling for cuts of 5 or 10 percent in the intelligence budget, including Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-WI, and Rep. Porter Goss, R-FL, who went on to become director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Lennon said there is “no doubt that here needs to be consistent oversight, but we also need to understand that we live in a dangerous world, and he continues to fail to recognize that in any way.”

Weaver also took issue with the general theme of the ad, saying it seems to be taken from one of the main “Republican playbooks” at work in this year’s election.

In fact, the ad is similar to one aired by Sen. Mike DeWine, R-OH, who is facing a touch reelection challenge from Rep. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat. DeWine ran a recent ad also citing Brown’s votes to cut intelligence funding — some of the same amendments offered or supported by Sanders. The ad included some of the same terrorist training camp footage as in the Tarrant ad.

DeWine was forced to pull the ad and re-issue it when it was revealed that it contained doctored footage of the Twin Towers burning after the 9/11 attack. The DeWine ad was produced by the same media strategy firm behind the 2004 Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads t hat criticized Democrat John Kerry's war record.

“This is part of a national Republican, Karl Rove strategy to paint the enemies of Republicans as soft on terrorism,” said Weaver.

Lennon said while this ad may seem more stark and striking, it maintains a theme of other four otther Internet ads which have called into question Sanders’ voting record, as well as his acceptance of corporate-based political donations, something Sanders vowed never to do.

Tarrant's ad was produced in a local studio by campaign staff, Lennon said.

This is not the first time that Tarrant has criticized Sanders for his stance on terrorism. In May, Tarrant took issue with a campaign ad aired by Sanders that implied he was doing what it took to fight terrorism.

"I think we have to go really after those people who killed 3,000 innocent Americans," Sanders said in the ad, referring to the attacks of 9/11.

Tarrant's campaign responded by saying, "Rather than targeting terrorists, Congressman Sanders votes to decimate our intelligence budget and refuses to condemn terrorism.”

Sanders has also been criticized in recent weeks for his support of the “Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act” which cuts all aid to Palestinians in response to democratic elections in January in which Hamas rose to power. And in April he voted for the Iran Freedom Support Act, which calls for sanctions against and “regime change” in Iran.

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