NRCC Blames Credit Downgrade on Chandler "Spending Spree"

Highlighting the importance of the state's 6th congressional district in the 2012 election, the National Republican Congressional Committee has launched a series of robo-calls against U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Ky., telling voters the congressman should get serious about reining in reckless spending.The 30-second calls being sent across central Kentucky blame "Chandler and his fellow Democrats’ addiction to big government spending" for the country's recent credit downgrade. It goes further, accusing the incumbent of standing in the way of fiscal reform and opposing the Tea Party-backed Balanced Budget Amendment. "America’s credit rating has been downgraded, the cost of living could rise and every day our economy weakens as Ben Chandler and his fellow out-of-touch Democrats refuse to address the consequences of their political agenda,” NRCC spokesman Paul Lindsay said in a news release. "Ben Chandler claims that he supports an urgent balanced approach to recovery, but he and his party have engaged in a wild spending spree that has cost America its credit standing and any hope for economy stability in the near future."In its analysis, however, the rating agency Standards & Poor's held the gridlock among congressional leaders as the cause for country's credit demotion. It specifically cited an inept Congress and partisan finger pointing as the reason it took the rating to AA+ plus from its highest rating, AAA.Chandler is facing a potential rematch against Republican congressional candidate Andy Barr, who came within less than 700 votes of unseating him last year. Earlier this week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took a swipe at Barr in a radio advertisement. Among the 44 districts listed, Barr was the only GOP challenger targeted by DCCC.