Sad: Rick Boucher Bends the Truth About Campaign Bankroll

-- Campaign finance joins Cap and Trade as subjects in which Rick likes to be 'creative' with --

Democrat Rick Boucher has apparently taken up a new hobby: bending the truth into new and interesting shapes in the hope that his "new" version of facts will help him hold on to his job in Washington.

From a Boucher fundraising e-mail that went out on Wednesday:

"I am very proud to note that more than 70% of the individuals who have contributed to our campaign this year are residents of this Congressional District."

The truth about Rick's money? Only 38 percent of the money Rick has raised this cycle comes from individuals. Nearly 60 percent comes from Political Action Committees. See more at The Center for Responsible Politics

And where are those PACs and individuals from? Not Virginia. Only 36 percent of Rick's money comes from inside the Commonwealth, while 96 percent of Morgan Griffith's money is from inside Virginia.

This sort of thing is a habit for Rick. From 2002-2007...

Boucher received 90% of campaign contributions ($1,826,530) from outside his district.

Boucher received 76% of campaign contributions ($1,533,125) from outside his state.

Total Campaign Contributions, 2005-2007: $2,022,415 Source: Maplight.org

Of course, bending the truth is a necessity when you're a liberal who votes with Nancy Pelosi 96 percent of the time trying to get elected in a conservative district.

From Boucher's latest ad:

"Rick took on his own party to protect coal jobs in the energy bill."

Reality:

Boucher not only voted for cap-and-trade, but was a key player in passing the bill - earning him effusive praise from Obama's White House:

"I want to give a shout out to Rick Boucher, LaHood said...‘His support means a lot to the administration...LaHood's call underscores Boucher's importance to the bill's chances of passing. It also emphasizes just how much the congressman from Abingdon has stuck his neck out for President Obama...Boucher's work on the cap-and-trade legislation is politically risky as well -- his district is home to 5,000 coal workers in an industry that hasn't entirely warmed to the bill yet...LaHood's call, then, may well have been part of a keen political strategy to keep a key vote in a coal district on the Obama administration's side.

Boucher, who said he did not know about the White House call, attributed it to two things: ‘First of all, it is a signal of how important the administration views passing this bill...I think the other reason you got that call is because the president has personally told me several times how important he thinks my role is in this.'" (Mason Adams, "White House lauds Boucher," Roanoke Times, 5/23/09)

"Boucher, D-Abingdon, is a key player in negotiations on a bill to create a national cap-and-trade system on greenhouse gases." (Mason Adams, "Boucher policies make him a bigger target," Roanoke Times, 9/24/09)

Rick Boucher: Tying the Truth in Knots in a Desperate Attempt to Save His Job