Stories by Eugene Kiely
Director, FactCheck.org
Super PAC Polishes Huntsman’s Resume
A super PAC backing Jon Huntsman for president makes three misleading or false claims in a TV ad now running in New Hampshire:
The group, which calls itself Our Destiny, suggests President Obama is to blame for a volatile stock market — saying “the stock market is a wreck,” even though the Dow Jones is up more than 50 percent since Obama took office in January 2009.
The ad boasts that Huntsman is “consistently conservative,” citing an op-ed in the Boston Globe.
Nov. 11: Oil Imports, Small Business Owners, Taxes
Huntsman’s Blackout
Jon Huntsman falsely claimed that the Obama administration’s proposed regulations to cut pollution from coal-fired electric plants will “likely” cause blackouts “this summer.” That’s not true. Huntsman’s claim is contradicted by a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission letter cited by his own campaign, and by independent assessments as well.
No Blackouts ‘This Summer’
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued or is in the process of finalizing several regulations that would significantly affect coal-fired power plants.
Cain’s Pattern of Evasion and Misdirection
Herman Cain’s prevarications about how accusations of sexual harassment were settled are only the most recent example of the candidate’s penchant for making contradictory statements on major issues. He also has made a habit of telling untruths about his own stance on abortion and about his signature 9-9-9 …
Oct. 28: Health Care, Guns, Players Guide
Oct. 21: Jobs, 9-9-9, Crime
Biden’s Whopper in Flint, Mich.
Joe Biden falsely claimed on multiple occasions that the number of reported rapes in Flint, Mich., has skyrocketed since 2008 — providing different accounts at different events that do not square with FBI data.
Obama’s Spin on Jobs Bill
President Obama exaggerates when he claims “independent economists” say his jobs bill “would create nearly 2 million jobs.” The median estimate in a survey of 34 economists showed 288,000 jobs could be saved or created over two years under the president’s plan.
Obama also claimed one economist said the Republican jobs plan “could actually cost us jobs.” That economist said he did not have enough information to provide a jobs estimate, although he added that focusing on cutting spending “could be harmful in the short run.”
Ohio Group Won’t Take ‘No’ for Answer
A pro-business group in Ohio committed an audacious misappropriation of an elderly woman’s emotional opposition to the state’s new collective bargaining law. The group’s TV ad uses her story of how firefighters saved her great granddaughter’s life to make it appear she supports the law that she actually wants repealed. The dishonest editing caused a number of Ohio TV stations to stop running the ad on advice of their attorneys.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican,