Fred Clark: Press Release

Media Trackers has examined Democrat Fred "I feel like calling her back and smackin' her around" Clark's latest press release.

Read Clark's press release.

BARABOO -- A recent news report revealed that Senator Olsen has pledged support for a federal budget that slashes Medicare support. Nationwide trends indicate that politicians who support this legislation are facing very tough reelections due to voters devout support of Medicare. Senator Olsen also indicated that concerns about Medicare were merely a scare tactic used as en election strategy.

14th state Senate District candidate Fred Clark released the following statement on the recent story:

"What really scares seniors to death is the possibility that Washington D.C. and Madison politicians like Luther Olsen will radically change Medicare and SeniorCare, true lifelines for millions of senior citizens. We need to balance the budget, but parents and grandparents should not be forced to sacrifice their health just to pay for the millions in corporate tax breaks Senator Olsen wants to deliver to wealthy corporations."

"Voters don't support Medicare as an election strategy, they support it as one of the most important ways we honor our commitment to care for our elders."

This spring, more than 23,000 people signed a petition to recall Senator Olsen because they were deeply disappointed when stopped listening to the people of the 14th Senate District. Olsen has turned his back on the people he represents, choosing instead to support the divisive, extreme agenda of the special interests and party bosses in Madison.

Fred Clark will be an independent voice for the people of the 14th Senate district. As a former small business owner and forester, Clark understands rural issues and how to grow our economy. Clark is running to put the people of the 14th Senate district first and fight for the values that matter -- jobs, education, seniors, and our future.

Media Trackers shows that Clark made statements about opponent Luther Olsen that are factually inaccurate.

Clark is misleading the public about Olsen.

From Media Trackers:

Milwaukee - Representative Fred Clark's (D-Baraboo) state Senate campaign released a scathing press release yesterday attacking Senator Luther Olsen (R), Clark's opponent in the recall race unfolding in District 14. Media Trackers, a Wisconsin group that works to promote accountability in government and the media, fact-checked the release and found disturbingly misleading information.

Rep. Clark's release claimed that Sen. Olsen wants to "radically change SeniorCare" in a way that would force seniors to "sacrifice their health just to pay for the millions in corporate tax breaks that Senator Olsen wants to deliver to wealthy corporations." This claim is flatly inaccurate because irrespective of corporate tax breaks allegedly supported by Sen. Olsen, Olsen did not support changes to SeniorCare during the recent session. In fact, he ardently defended the program as vital to the needs of Wisconsin seniors.

Clark and his campaign went on to attack Olsen as someone who is beholden to party bosses in Madison while saying Clark is an "independent voice," who will "fight" on behalf of the 14th District. The legitimacy of Clark's claim to being an independent voice are questionable because Clark's campaign press secretary is Gillian Morris, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Democratic Party with an official Wisconsin Democratic Party e-mail address. "This fact about the Clark campaign press release is quite ironic," remarked Brian Sikma, Communications Director for Media Trackers. "It is highly misleading of Rep. Clark to suggest that he is independent of Madison special interests when his campaign communications arm is run by a Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesperson."

"From his factually inaccurate charge that Sen. Olsen wants to change SeniorCare, to his misplaced claim of independence from Madison, Fred Clark is continuing to demonstrate who he really is," Sikma asserted. "Voters saw him apologize for threatening to 'smack around' a female constituent, and now they are having to sort through this misleading press release. It would be helpful to the overall tone of the race if Rep. Clark decided to stick to real facts and not what he might imagine the facts to be."

I suppose we should not be surprised that Clark is stooping so low.

If he has so little respect for his constituents that he speaks of wanting to "smack around" one of them, it follows that he'd being willing to mislead them.

Apparently, he's shameless.

I don't know why anyone would vote for Clark.
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More on Fred Clark: "Is Madison Running Rep. Fred Clark’s Senate Campaign?"