Plum Line: SEIU radio spots back Halter against Blanche Lincoln.

The Plum Line by Greg Sargent.

SEIU ad contradicts Obama on Blanche Lincoln

The SEIU and others on the left have vowed open war on Dems who didn't fully back core progressive priorities on health reform, putting them on the wrong side of the White House and the Dem establishment, and here's the latest:

The SEIU is going up with an ad on black radio in Arkansas that directly contradicts President Obama's claims about Blanche Lincoln on health care and Wall Street reform. The SEIU, of course, is backing Lincoln's primary foe, Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter, and a labor official sends over audio of the spot, which I'll post shortly. The script features a number of ordinary Arkansans in succession:

"I'm a strong supporter of President Obama."

"But I'm voting for Bill Halter for Senate."

"I love President Obama. But I can't vote for Blanche Lincoln again."

"She voted to bail out Wall Street."

"Senator Lincoln says she supported health reform."

"But we all know she refused to take on the big insurance companies."

And so on. The spot flies in the face of Obama's recent claims that Lincoln is "leading the fight to hold Wall Street accountable" and that she "took on big insurance companies by voting to end discrimination against Arkansans with preexisting conditions." As Chris Good notes, SEIU is one of Obama's most powerful backers, and now the union's support for Halter has them on opposite sides.

It's a reminder that while threats to primary unreliable Dems have mostly fizzled, the Arkansas race is a huge exception, with labor and the left staking a massive amount on knocking off Lincoln, which would be a big, prestige-enhancing victory, both symbolic and real.