One of the few deciding issues in the race between GOPer Peter Roskam and Dem candidate Tammy Duckworth -- a race which is too close to call -- has been Social Security. Roskam and the GOP have been hammering Duckworth relentlessly on the issue. The attacks have been full of distortions -- okay, outright lies. Case in point: Roskam's latest ad. Many of you won't be surprised by Roskam's mendacity, because you already know Roskam is one of TPM's top-flight Social Security "bamboozlers" (rundown on that here). Watch it:

Despite Roskam's dodgy past support of phase-out schemes, the ad claims Roskam is the candidate who would "protect" Social Security. The ad continues: "Tammy Duckworth supports cuts in Social Security benefits. She’d even raise the retirement age and Social Security taxes. But she would give our Social Security to illegal aliens." All three assertions are false.

The first of the three assertions -- that Duckworth supports "cuts" in benfits -- is based, the ad claims, on an AARP candidate questionaire on which Duckworth checked the box indicating backing for "a balanced Social Security plan for guaranteed benefits." The questionaire doesn't specify what the plan is, and doesn't say anything about cuts. But it's still somehow the basis for this charge.

Worse, the AARP has actually has now sent out a letter in the district telling voters to be on guard against Roskam's dissembling. The Oct. 30 letter warns voters that Duckworth's entries on the organization's form were distorted beyond recognition in another similar Roskam ad which made exactly the same charge. "Unfortunately, one recent ad wrongly attacks Candidate Tammy Duckworth for supporting the need for a bipartisan balanced plan," reads AARP's letter. "The ad mischaracterizes the position taken in the AARP Voters’ Guide as being in favor of specific options to achieve that goal." In other words, it was false then, and it's false now.

So that's the first bogus charge.

Now on to the second -- the charge that Duckworth would "raise the retirement age." The ad says the basis for the attack is an October 6th Daily Herald article (no longer linkable) which states: "Duckworth has said she’d consider raising the retirement age."

But it turns out the paper misquoted her. The next day, the Herald ran a correction -- distributed by her campaign -- noting that Duckworth had actually said she'd only consider raising it for workers who are not yet paying into the system. The correction ran on Oct. 7 -- yet the original falsehood is in Roskam's ad three weeks later.

And the ad's charge that Duckworth supports giving Social Security benefits to illegals? Untrue. Here's how the Chicago Tribune (via Nexis) puts it: "Duckworth actually favors the approach of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), which does not provide amnesty or Social Security to illegal immigrants, and she has called for adding 12,000 Border Patrol agents."

Three charges, three falsehoods.