Attack ad criticizes Blackburn over opioid law
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 ❚ COMMERCIALAPPEAL.COM
Republican U.S. Senate nominee Marsha Blackburn is once again coming under fire in a new ad from a Democratic-aligned group scrutinizing the congressman’s work related to the ongoing opioid crisis.
The new ad, paid for by Majority Forward, begins with a narrator noting the severity of the epidemic in Tennessee.
Last year at least 1,776 Tennesseans died of a drug overdose, an increase from the year before.
“Congresswoman Blackburn helped pass special legislation to restrict law enforcement’s ability to combat the opioid crisis and hold drug companies accountable,” the narrator says.
In 2016, Blackburn co-sponsored a bill that critics said limited the Drug Enforcement Administration’s ability to freeze suspicious shipments of drugs. The legislation was highlighted in a 2017 joint investigation by The Washington Post and “60 Minutes.”
After the joint investigation was published, Blackburn vowed to lead the effort to revise the law and fix any unintended consequences.
In August she said the DEA has yet to offer guidance to Congress on addressing the law, which has prevented her from taking action.
Her Senate opponent — former Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat — has said his first act in office would be to introduce or back legislation to reverse the law.
The new ad also points out Blackburn has received more than $800,000 in contributions from those in the pharmaceutical industry.
“Congresswoman
Joel Ebert
Blackburn is
what’s wrong with Washington,” the ad ends.
The ad was paid for by Majority Forward, the nonprofit wing of the Senate Majority PAC, which Republicans have said is run by close confidants of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The group previously ran ads attacking Blackburn for various aspects related to her time in office, including her salary and trips she’s taken paid for by interest groups, and another ad touting Bredesen.
The two are set to square off in the Nov. 6 general election.
Bredesen was not involved in the production of the latest attack ad, which is the latest in a series of spots to hit Tennessee airwaves in the lead-up to an election that has drawn national interest.
Last month the political arm of the Koch network launched a $2 mildifferences. lion ad that attacked Bredesen.
More recently, Blackburn and Bredesen have begun airing their own ads drawing upon their Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.