By Ross Balano, Midwest Voices Columnist 2008

In the mail today I got a mailer ad for the TIF queen Kay Barnes campaign. Actually it really doesn’t mention the former mayor but rather tries to blame most of the world’s problems on Sam Graves.

I almost made myself sick laughing!

Is this the same Kay Barnes who last week was screaming “foul” when the Graves campaign began running an ad describing Barnes raising money with Nancy Pelosi out in San Francisco?

“Who should you be angry at?” the ad asks with a disgruntled looking woman filling the gas tank of her SUV. I didn’t even know Democrats drove SUVS.

The ad goes on to tell how things have gone bad since Graves was elected in 2000.

“Price of gas in 2000: $1.27/gallon. Price of gas today: $3.74.”

True enough but what they fail to mention is that just prior to the 2006 election oil was at $56.82 and gas was $2.15 at the pump. The price of gas didn’t start its meteoric rise until the Democrats took control of Congress.

So, the price goes up $.88 from 2000 to 2006. The Democrats take control of Congress in November of 2006 and in less than a year and a half the price goes up $1.59. Who's really to blame?

It is just funny to hear them try to blame Republicans for gas prices when for years it has been Democrats who have blocked new exploration and drilling. It is Democrats who have blocked the building of new refineries and nuclear power plants.

If not for Democrats we would be pumping oil from ANWAR, The Gulf of Mexico and the continental shelf. We would have new, more efficient refineries. The price of gas would be significantly less.

I keep hearing about a new refinery that permits have been issued for but to date I haven’t found one story saying that the first shovel of dirt has been moved for that project. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Even more funny than that was the next point saying that in the eight years Graves has been in office there are “5 million more illegal immigrants in the U.S.”

Every single bill that has come before Congress with the intent of securing our borders has been fought tooth and nail by who? Democrats, that’s who!

Democrats have consistently opposed the building of the border wall. They label the groups who patrol the border and report people trying to enter illegally to the border patrol as racists. They fight any attempt to make English the official language instead insisting that ballots and most other government information available in multiple languages.

For Democrats to point the finger of blame at Republicans for illegal immigration is complete hilarity.

The people of the district are too smart for this kind of garbage. If this is the best that the TIF queen can come up with she’s in for a rough night come November.