I think I threw up a little in my mouth as Republican Congressman Chris Shays's new ad began:

The hopefulness of Obama. The straight talk of McCain...

...and still more as it ended...

Everyone has a congressman, we have Christopher Shays.

Is this guy serious? I know he likes to blur the distinctions between himself and his Democratic challenger every two years but this is ridiculous. But, I suppose, what else is the last remaining Republican congressman from New England who represents a D+5 district to do?

Watch it:

The truth is, Shays is a staunch supporter of John McCain's -- in fact is one of his honorary Connecticut co-chairs -- and is actively trying to defeat Barack Obama. And as for Shays' claim to be "independent", well, the Jim Himes campaign dispatches that myth:

Statistical analysis of Chris Shays’ votes reveals that when it counts, Shays has been a loyal servant of the Republican Party. On the closest votes—when his vote has the most power to affect the outcome, when the Republican Party most needs his support, and when 4th District residents most need him to make the right choice—Shays has lined up behind his Party’s leadership 89% of the time, or nine out of ten times.

This finding—based on analysis of the 1,752 votes cast in the 110th Congress—shows that Shays is not “purple” as he claims, but is, in fact, a true Republican partisan. Real political courage doesn’t mean crossing the aisle when it’s safe and easy; it means exercising independent judgment on the close votes where your decision can really make a difference.

Every two years Shays pulls this crap and it's about time, now that the 4th district has such an excellent Democratic alternative in Jim Himes, that the 4th district stood up and said "we don't need a fake Democrat when we've got the real thing."