Barrow contradicts himself on voting record in new ad

Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) is up with a new ad touting his independence, in which he says “I don’t vote 85 percent of the time with anyone.” But he said exactly the opposite in a fundraising letter two years ago. 

{mosads}”There is some truth to these Republican Party ads,” he said in a 2012 fundraising letter obtained by a local website, the Georgia Tipsheet.

“Indeed, I have supported the president and the Democratic leadership, 85% of the time. But I have also not been afraid to vote against that leadership [when it] did not best serve the 12th District or the country.”

The gist may be the same — that Barrow breaks often with his party — but the comments directly contradict what he said earlier.

The National Republican Congressional Committee had an ad out slamming Barrow with the number.

The statistic itself is accurate but very dated — it comes from Congressional Quarterly’s 2009 vote analysis. In subsequent years Barrow has voted less often with Democratic leadership, dropping to 83 percent in 2010, 59 percent in 2011, 28 percent in 2012 and 35 percent last year.

“Rep. Barrow has never been shy about standing up to the president or his party. He was ranked the most bipartisan member of Congress and the member most likely to stand up to his party. No matter the issue, folks in Georgia know that Rep. Barrow puts their interest ahead of any party or any president,” Barrow spokesman Richard Carbo told The Hill in an email. 

Barrow’s opponent, businessman Rick Allen (R), is taking heat for dropping out of a scheduled debate with Barrow that was planned for Saturday.