MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan is apparently so intent on depicting Republican candidates for office as stupid that he's willing to make asinine assertions to do it.
Today in his "Ads Gone Bad" segment, Ratigan falsely insisted that an ad by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) attacking his Democratic opponent Rep. Charlie Melancon communicated to viewers that "illegal immigrants [were] crossing the border into Louisiana."
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Ratigan showed a clip of the Vitter campaign ad and then quipped:
Exactly where in Louisiana would you put the welcome sign? I hope all those illegal immigrants packed their swim trunks.
In the ad in question, illegal immigrants are shown crawling through a man-sized hole in a chain-link fence only to be greeted by a marching band and well-wishers bearing a welcome sign reading "Charlie Melancon Welcomes You to the USA."
The same group of well-wishers then presents the border jumpers with an oversized check made out to "ALL ILLEGAL ALIENS" in the amount of "A LOT OF TAXPAYER MONEY" drawn from the United States treasury.
The border fence with a hole and welcome sign is clearly an eye-catching metaphor for liberals' lax approach to illegal immigration.
Nothing in the Vitter ad argues that Louisiana shares a border with Mexico. Instead the narrator lays out Vitter's arguments based on Melancon's votes in Congress:
ANNOUNCER: Charlie Melancon. Thanks to him, we might as well put out a welcome sign for illegal aliens. Melancon voted to make it easier for illegals to get taxpayer-funded benefits and actual welfare checks. Melancon even voted against allowing police to arrest illegals. Thanks to Charlie Melancon, it's not wonder illegals keep coming and coming and coming.
