With the latest Star Tribune poll showing him down by seven points, Tea Party Congressman Chip Cravaack is attacking his DFL opponent, Rick Nolan, for supposedly breaking an agreement to two had made to leave their families off limits during the campaign.
Cravaack is claiming that an ad by the Nolan campaign, which questions Cravaack's residency in the state, is an attack on his family. Cravaack's wife and kids moved to New Hampshire last year and, not surprisingly, it's been a bit of an issue in the campaign ever since, particularly since Cravaack made a major point of questioning former Congressman Jim Oberstar's residency in his own 2010 campaign.
The residency question is always a legitimate one, but particularly so with Cravaack, who is not from Minnesota and who now has no family connection to the district at all.Oberstar, by contrast, was born and raised in the district and has extensive family ties here.
The most heinous thing about Cravaack's latest attack is that it's false and that it is, in fact, Cravaack who is trying to use an autistic son to attract sympathy with voters.
For Nolan to question Cravaack's residency or ties to the district is not an attack on his family— the suggestion is preposterous. The Cravaack campaign was clearly sensitive to the issue and was waiting for it to be raised so they could attack Nolan for supposedly breaking a deal, and then use the opportunity to talk at length about Cravaack's autistic son...which Cravaack is now doing with friendly media all over the district.
Cravaack claims his wife moved to New Hampshire to be closer to her job in Boston and that their children went there so they could be with at least one parent on a regular basis. That may be, but if the couple is really that concerned, perhaps one of them should have considered finding a job closer to home. Families make those kind of decisions and sacrifices for their kids all the time. Cravaack can't have it both ways.
Voters in Minnesota's Eighth should recognize Cravaack's attacks for what they are—false and hypocritical— and call the Congressman out for such tactics