This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 16, 2012 - U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s political-action committee, RANDPAC, has attracted national attention with its announcement that it plans to begin running ads in Missouri attacking U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., for voting on aid packages that include money to Egypt, Pakistan and Libya.
But so far, there’s no evidence that the PAC has purchased time on the broadcast stations in the St. Louis media market.
The ad doesn’t say so, but it reinforces the stance of Republican U.S. Senate nominee Todd Akin, who has called for an end to U.S. aid to Egypt.
The ad is similar to one that Paul’s PAC aired in West Virginia against U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, also a Democrat.
However, several Republicans in the U.S. Senate have blasted the ad and its premise. Paul's ad is referring to a vote by McCaskill and others against Paul's amendment that sought to end such aid, in the wake of the recent protests overseas and the death of the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
McCaskill's spokesman Erik Dorey replied in a statement, "Todd Akin's position on this issue is so extreme, he would be one of only 10 senators to cut this foreign aid funding. Sen. Roy Blunt, as well as every member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, including Sen. John McCain, voted against this bill because these overly simplistic solutions in a dangerous, complex world put our allies and American interests at risk.
"Claire's led the fight to bring our tax dollars home from wasteful infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, and she is confident that those who attacked our embassies and our citizens will be brought to justice -- an approach that Osama bin Laden came to understand intimately when U.S. Navy Seals showed up on his doorstep."
Paul is slated to be in Missouri later this month to stump for Republican attorney general nominee Ed Martin.
