Cantwell's, McGavick's immigration ads dance around truth

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and challenger Mike McGavick are sparring in a pair of campaign ads about Social Security and immigration. Both claim the other's ad is false, but neither commercial would completely pass a truth-squad test.

McGavick swung first last Thursday. In a TV ad, McGavick intones: "Senator Cantwell voted to allow Social Security benefits to illegals. I'd have said, 'No way.' "

Cantwell's team struck back this week in a 30-second TV spot.

"Mike McGavick is wrong. Maria Cantwell opposes Social Security benefits for illegal immigrants," its commercial says.

McGavick contends that Cantwell's latest ad is "flat-out wrong," and should be pulled as a matter of fairness.

Both candidates are dancing a semantic samba.

In May, Cantwell opposed an amendment to an immigration bill that would have prevented immigrants who had worked here illegally, but later earned legal status, from collecting Social Security based on their illegal labor.

The amendment's supporters said it would keep illegal immigrants from profiting when they use fake or stolen ID and Social Security numbers to obtain employment.

Eleven Republicans voted with Cantwell and most other Democrats against the measure, including Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Ted Stevens of Alaska. The amendment failed.

"It was a 49-50 vote," McGavick said, adding that he would have voted for it.

McGavick is right that Cantwell's position would allow immigrants to collect Social Security based on taxes they paid while working illegally.

"It's like letting someone keep money they stole from a bank, as long as they pay the taxes on it," McGavick said.

However, Cantwell also is right in saying she doesn't advocate paying benefits to illegal immigrants. Under law, only legal immigrants can receive Social Security.

More interesting is why the issue of benefits to illegal immigrants ended up in McGavick's ad in the first place.

The issue is driven partly by the National Republican Senatorial Committee in Washington, D.C., which has encouraged GOP candidates to press it around the country.

Factcheck.org, a nonpartisan campaign-ad watchdog group, said 29 GOP candidates are now tagging Democrats with wanting to give benefits to illegal immigrants.

Cantwell's latest ad also says McGavick mischaracterized her various votes on the budget as votes to raise taxes on Social Security. McGavick's press release says Cantwell voted five times to raise such taxes.

Three of the votes involved then-President Clinton's budget bill in 1993, when Cantwell, as a member of the U.S. House, voted for a general tax increase. The other two votes involved Social Security matters bundled with extensions of President Bush's tax cuts, opposed by most Democrats.

Meanwhile, Cantwell says she voted to lower taxes on Social Security four times.

Three of those votes were for feel-good "sense of the Senate" resolutions, nonbinding actions that don't relate to specific bills. The fourth tied lower taxes on Social Security to higher taxes on stock dividends and interest. It failed.

Alicia Mundy: 202-662-7457 or amundy@seattletimes.com