GOP’s Terry on Ashford: Game on, send money

Joe Jordan | Nebraska Watchdog

While the headlines (see video above) note Brad Ashford’s 30 years of party hopping—Democrat to Republican to Independent and back to Democrat—Rep. Lee Terry, the man Ashford wants to beat this fall, is keeping his eye on the bottom line: campaign cash.

Only hours after Ashford told Nebraska Watchdog he was running—as a Democrat—Terry was out to raise a quick “$1,000 today” with this personal email pitch:

“With a Democratic candidate now in the race, their liberal, special-interest allies will be lining up to drop buckets of money into our district…”…send a message that this district is off limits.”

Even with $800,000 cash on hand to start the year—his best start ever— Terry isn’t taking any chances. While pundit after pundit now finds it unlikely the GOP will lose the House in 2014 the 8-term congressman, who is on the Democrats’ hit list, is singing a different song:

“The Democrats in Washington are making moves to take over the House and they know that they need to defeat me in order to make it happen.”

Meanwhile Team Terry and Dan Frei, who is challenging Terry in the GOP’s May Primary, found something to agree on—Ashford.

Dan Frei

Terry campaign manager Kevin Conroy called the Democrats desperate, “…when the best they can find is someone who has trouble deciding what office to run for and who less than a year ago,was running as an Independent for Mayor and before that, spent 20 years as a Republican. There is no question where Congressman Terry stands…”

“Democrat Brad Ashford will change his party and his so-called beliefs whenever it suits his purpose,” said Frei.

All the trash-talk aside Ashford, who says he “wants to legislate from the center” can only hope Terry is right about one thing: Democrats dropping those “buckets of money” into the 2nd District this fall.

Money to help remind voters of something Terry would surely like to forget—his foot-in-mouth comment to the Omaha World-Herald during last October’s government shutdown.

Even with a salary of $174,000 Terry, who has since apologized, insisted he needed a a paycheck, “I’ve got a nice house and a kid in college, and I’ll tell you we cannot handle it.”

The TV ad almost writes itself.

Contact Joe Jordan at joe@nebraskawatchdog.org and listen to Joe every Monday morning at 7:40 on KFAB radio in Omaha.

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