The "Josh" Ad Flap

A television ad run by Claire McCaskill's campaign featuring a veteran named "Josh" is being challenged by a media outlet and attacked by Republicans.

The ad in question is part of McCaskill's Missouri Voices campaign.

KMBC's Mike Mahoney in Kansas City ran an AdWatch story on the spot, calling it "problematic," because the McCaskill campaign has yet to provide evidence to back it up.

The key claim in the ad made by Kansas City resident Josh Lansdale is that it took him six months to see a doctor after returning from Iraq with injuries. Josh is suffering from an ankle injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mahoney reports he tried to track down Lansdale to confirm the story, but only talked to him briefly in a phone conversation and could not confirm when Lansdale contacted the VA hospital or how long it took for him to obtain an appointment.

Officials with the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Kansas City told Mahoney that Iraqi vets like Lansdale are priority veterans.

"We see them within 30 days of their entry into our system," said Jane Alley of the VA Medical Center to KMBC.

Last week, I had also contacted McCaskill spokeswoman Adrianne Marsh about getting in touch with Josh Lansdale to confirm his claims. She said she would try to work to make that happen, but was having trouble getting in touch with Lansdale, and said he was worried about talking to reporters and getting caught up in a political firestorm.

This evening, Sen. Jim Talent's campaign fired off a release touting Mahoney's story and calling on the McCaskill campaign to verify Lansdale's claims.

A few hours later, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch advanced the story by landing a phone interview with Lansdale.

"According to Lansdale in a telephone interview tonight, he's been flooded with calls from angry Republicans, including one from U.S. Sen. Kit Bond's office, where an aide asked why Lansdale didn't contact Bond first when he had trouble getting in to see a VA physician.
Lansdale said he did call Bond's office during that wait, but that the senator's staff didn't return his call. (Political Fix is still waiting for Bond's staff to reply," writes political reporter Jo Mannies.

The Talent campaign also trotted out two veterans in St. Louis Tuesday to trash the ad.

"I think that commercial is simply not true,"said Rep. Jack Jackson. "I believe that Claire McCaskill did not verify her facts."

Rep. Jim Avery called on McCaskill to "pull that Josh commercial off her Web site."

A Republican National Committee aide handed out a DVD of the ad, which Avery acknowledged has been a boost to McCaskill's Senate bid. "It's had an impact," Avery said.
He added that the McCaskill campaign "has hidden Josh somewhere," so the media and others can't question him on his story.

When I spoke with McCaskill spokeswoman Marsh late Tuesday, she said "everything in the ad is 100% true."

When I asked her how the campaign could run an ad without proof to back it up, she said it would be against the law to release his medical records without his permission.

"We couldn't hand over his medical records without his authorization," Marsh said. "We don't have that permission."

Talent spokesman Rich Chrismer said the public doesn't need to see medical records. "All they need to provide is the appointment schedule," he said.

"The issue is that this is a very, very effective ad and this just shows the Republicans are trying to swift-boat a veteran and that's unfortunate," responded Marsh. "It's just unbelievable that they are having veterans attacking brother veterans in St. Louis today. This is as dirty as politics gets. It's just unbelievable that Sen. Talent would attack a veteran."

Chrismer said this is not about "the veteran," it is about "the ad."

"The question is, is the ad credible? Claire McCaskill has a responsibility to proof check the ad. The centerpiece of that ad claims it took him 6 months to see a doctor. If Claire McCaskill can spend millions of dollars to run it and raise the issue, she can at least provide the documentation for it," Chrismer said.

Chrismer said it was his understanding that after talking with the Veterans Administration, no veteran of Iraq or Afghanistan has to wait more than 30 days for a doctor's appointment.

"This is a substantial assertion. It's very specific. You should be able to back it up with the appropriate documentation," Chrismer said. "The McCaskill campaign should allow the Veterans Administration in Kansas City to verify the appointment schedule."

Marsh spokeswoman then put me in touch with Randy Barnes, a fellow veteran and McCaskill supporter who apparently accompanied Lansdale to his appointment.

In an interview with Barnes from Kansas City Tuesday night, he said he could verify everything that Lansdale went through. "I can personally verify everything Josh said was true," Barnes said.

When I asked him how he could verify Lansdale's appointment, he said he would reveal that when he felt it was appropriate. "At such time as I decide and Josh decides to come forward, we will do so with the complete story," Barnes said.

"I'm not going to talk to you anymore. You can sit and ask questions until the cows come home. I need to catch some sleep," Barnes said. "You are aware that Josh and I suffer from PTSD, aren't you? But I bet you don't care about that."

I agreed to call Barnes back Wednesday when he felt better to talk.

I have also asked the McCaskill campaign to speak with Josh sometime Wednesday. Spokeswoman Marsh said she would again work on it.

By the way, the ad in question is no longer running anywhere in Missouri. "It's just part of the scheduled change of ad traffic," Marsh said.