Author Archives: Justin Bank

Pork Radio

Former GOP presidential nominee John McCain is running attack ads again — this time against a fellow Republican who may contest his Senate seat this year. Hotline’s Reid Wilson has the script for a new radio spot McCain is running against former congressman (and current Arizona radio personality) J.D Hayworth, …
More >>

Posted in The FactCheck Wire | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

More “Funding the Troops” Bunk

Democrats are running an attack ad in Washington, D.C., and nationally on cable networks that says Republicans "delayed funding for our men and women in uniform, then they voted against it." But it’s not true. Senate Republicans did delay a vote on military funding, as part of their strategy to …
More >>

Posted in The FactCheck Wire | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Extras: Endorsements, Rockwell, Abortion

Our latest edition of Extras features doctors going to court to stop a conservative group’s ad, googly eyes and Catholic abortion attacks. Says Who? A television ad from the conservative Rethink Reform, a recently created advocacy arm of the Employment Policies Institute, uses doctors’ opposition to the Senate health care …
More >>

Posted in The FactCheck Wire | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Palin vs. Gore Climate Showdown

On Dec. 9, an op-ed by Sarah Palin on climate change ran in the Washington Post. Al Gore responded to Palin’s piece and made some fresh claims of his own later that day in an interview with MSNBC. We find that both engaged in some distortions and have been rightly called out by experts in the field. …
More >>

Posted in Articles | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

Executive Payola

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has unleashed a radio ad campaign targeting five Republican members of Congress. The ads claim that the Republicans "voted to allow the big banks to pay high-rolling executives unchecked compensation and bonuses." But that’s not quite right. The ads are not based on any explicit …
More >>

Posted in The FactCheck Wire | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

A Short Piece on Obama’s Peace Speech

Yesterday President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, and made some remarks that could use a bit of context and explanation. Obama said that "billions have been lifted from poverty." Though he didn’t provide a time frame, he was discussing the effects of the United Nations …
More >>

Posted in The FactCheck Wire | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Extras: Allentown, Palin, E-mails

This round-up of political tidbits includes an ad pegged to the president’s visit to Allentown, Sarah Palin on Obama’s birth certificate and more chain e-mails. Working Where in Allentown? When President Barack Obama traveled to Allentown, Pa., Friday morning to discuss job creation, the Republican National Committee welcomed him with …
More >>

Posted in The FactCheck Wire | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

Extras: Palin, Rubio, Apps and Chain E-mails

From time to time we come across bits of political malarkey or other items that don’t quite rate a full article. Starting today, we’ll collect these tidbits in a new, occasional feature we call "Extras." Palin: "Who makes a decision like that?" In a Nov. 6 appearance at a no-cameras-allowed …
More >>

Posted in The FactCheck Wire | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

Using H1N1 to Sway Health Care Debate

The American Future Fund, a conservative advocacy group, has released a new ad that uses the H1N1 vaccine as the crux of its argument against health care overhaul legislation. The ad asks: "If the government can’t run a flu program, can we trust it to run America’s entire health care …
More >>

Posted in The FactCheck Wire | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

The Obama Phone?

Q: Has the Obama administration started a program to use "taxpayer money" to give free cell phones to welfare recipients? A: No. Low-income households have been eligible for discounted telephone service for more than a decade. But the program is funded by telecom companies, not by taxes, and the president …
More >>

Posted in Ask FactCheck | Tagged , , , | Comments Off