Mary Landrieu, the Counterfeit Candidate

When Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu’s first television ad hit the airwaves this week, it purportedly highlighted her “efforts to stand up to the administration in order to fight for Louisiana, and protect and strengthen our energy industry that supports 300,000 high-paying jobs.” The commercial shows various clips of the senator on television news shows followed by clips of her from the hearing.

Or so it seemed.

Turns out the scenes from the hearings were simply re-enactments. Landrieu’s team confirmed they reshot the footage, changing Landrieu’s appearance, bringing in professional lighting, and even editing the script. They also staged a brand new – and completely bogus – U.S. Senate hearing in the Louisiana State Capitol.

Keep Louisiana Working pointed out the Hollywood overhaul in their own ad, “Actress Mary.” The group called out Landrieu for voting with President Obama 97 percent of the time, saying, “She may claim she’s an independent, but she only plays one on TV.”

Landrieu’s campaign defended its actions by saying they are prevented from using U.S. Senate hearing footage in a campaign commercial. However, her fake commercial isn’t the problem. It’s merely a symptom of the larger issue.

Landrieu is a counterfeit candidate.

When she brags about how she fights for her state’s oil and gas sector – which is the bedrock of Louisiana’s economy – it’s simply not true. She says she opposes industry taxes, supports the Keystone XL pipeline, and restricts EPA regulations. Those claims are also lies. When the cameras are off – and when she’s not trying to convince voters of her “oil and gas” bona fides – she works against the very causes she says she champions.

How do I know? Her pocketbook tells the story.

Her political action committee, called JAZZ PAC, has given almost $400,000 to re-elect some of the Senate’s strongest opponents of the oil and gas industry. In fact, JAZZ PAC has guaranteed and established a group of liberal Senators who cancel out Landrieu’s supposed advocacy for Louisiana’s oil and gas industry.

In other words, she’s one way in DC and another way in Louisiana. She says she fights for Louisiana while investing in people who directly oppose her state’s best interests.

The fact that she filmed her re-enactment in the Louisiana State Capitol might have helped her stay on the right side of the Senate rules, but it also shows that she uses her state as a backdrop for her own political acting.

Hopefully, Louisiana voters are savvy enough to know a counterfeit when they see one.

Mark Meckler is the President of Citizens for Self-Governance, which created the Convention of States Project.