Tim Johnson for South Dakota | News | Latest News | Dykstra Campaign Releases False, Deceitful Attack Ad; Johnson Campaign Calls It A "Desperate Trick"

Sioux Falls, SD - The campaign of U.S. Senator Tim Johnson today fought back against Joel Dykstra's latest attack ad, shedding light on the many misleading statements and inconsistencies that characterize the TV spot.

One of the 30 second ad's most glaring fallacies is its claim that Senator Johnson has not supported or advocated for increased regulatory control over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In fact, Senator Johnson has been a leading and vocal proponent of a stronger, independent regulator of the two agencies, and voted for bipartisan legislation that would have increased regulation of Fannie and Freddie. It was Joel Dykstra's Republican Party who voted this bill down.

Dykstra's ad is also deceitful in its assertion that Senator Johnson has taken $61,000 in campaign contributions from Fannie and Freddie. In fact, in the past 22 years that Senator Johnson has been in office, he has received only $20,000 from Fannie and Freddie's political action committees, which is only .12% - far less than one percent - of his total campaign contributions. On the other hand, commercial banks are the fourth largest campaign contributor to Joel Dykstra's current campaign, revealing a rather glaring inconsistency with the ad's charge.

Furthermore, the ad indicates that there is a connection between Senator Johnson's campaign contributions and his votes, an offensive and false attack. Senator Johnson has never and would never alter his vote or position on an issue because of a campaign contribution. In fact, just yesterday Senator Johnson voted against the Bush Administration's $700 billion Wall Street bailout proposal, a bill that was supported by Wall Street lobbyists.

Finally, the ad highlights Dykstra's stunning lack of knowledge or basic understanding of America's economy and the current crisis facing our nation. The premise of the ad is that the economic crisis is solely due to a lack of oversight for Fannie and Freddie, when clearly the problem is much more complex and involves a host of different factors. This fact has been echoed and explained by scores of economic, financial and political experts during the entirety of the public discussions. In light of this overwhelming evidence, Dykstra's entire ad is based on a false premise.

"The latest attack ad from Joel Dykstra is outrageous and deceitful, but not surprising. It is a desperate and shameless trick from a campaign that is out of money and behind in the polls - an attempted Hail Mary pass from a quarterback with a broken arm. Not only is it willfully misleading and offensive, but it also demonstrates Dykstra's terrifying lack of understanding of the very grave situation our economy faces. However, this ignorance is perhaps to be expected from a man whose campaign website currently claims that we are in a period of 'economic prosperity,'" said Johnson campaign manager Steve Jarding.

"Senator Johnson is an honest man who understands the economic crisis and has consistently stood up for ordinary South Dakotans against Wall Street interests. There's no debate about it: South Dakotans are sick of these types of negative politics and thankfully have not had to endure many of them in this election until now. I don't believe that Mr. Dykstra's latest attempt to drag this campaign into the muck and mud will endear him to voters in South Dakota who are much more sophisticated than that. If Mr. Dykstra knew the state better he would understand that," Jarding said.