Democrats and their allies can’t get enough of the Americans for Tax Reform tax pledge — which, as we’ve reported, they’ve falsely equated in a number of ads with “protecting tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas.” Still, Democrats continue …
Stories by Eugene Kiely
Former Director, FactCheck.org
Tea Party Express
Conservative group that supports the tea party movement; founded by Republican strategist Sal Russo.
Murkowski vs. Tea Party, Round 2
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and the Tea Party Express are at it again.
Murkowski, who is running for reelection as a write-in candidate after losing the GOP nomination to a tea party-backed candidate, has asked Alaska TV stations not to air a Tea Party Express ad that she calls "false, misleading and deceptive." We largely agree with that description.
The ad falsely accuses Murkowski of trying to "influence the absentee vote count" after narrowly losing the primary.
No Truth to ‘No Bid’
In Florida’s gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Rick Scott claims his Democratic opponent, Alex Sink — the state’s chief financial officer — “funneled” $770,000 in "no-bid contracts" to her former employer, Bank of America. That’s not true. Sink was not the principle decision-maker, and there was plenty of open competition for the business in question.
The ad also claims she had a conflict of interest, though there’s no evidence of that.
The ad, which first aired Sept.
Alabama Mystery Solved
The mystery of who was behind a largely bogus attack ad in Alabama’s Republican gubernatorial runoff election has been solved. The answer: the Alabama Education Association, an organization headed by the co-chairman of the state Democratic Party.
But don’t look for the answer in the state Elections Division. You have to go the IRS to track down the shadowy group’s financing.
According to IRS reports, the Conservative Coalition for Alabama formed on June 22 as a 527 political committee.
Scott’s Prisoner Release Plan?
The Florida Police Benevolent Association takes a half-baked proposal to an illogical conclusion in a new TV ad that invites Floridians to think that Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott wants to shutter state prisons and free hardened criminals.
The ad — “Rick Scott is Florida’s Worst Nightmare” — was released Sept. 27. It is based on Scott’s proposal to cut costs at Florida’s state prisons. On his campaign website, Scott says he can cut $1 billion from the prison budget by reducing labor,
Rep. Grayson Lowers the Bar
We thought Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida reached a low point when he falsely accused his opponent of being a draft dodger during the Vietnam War, and of not loving his country. But now Grayson has lowered the bar . . .
Sunday Replay
On this week’s Sunday talk shows, we found false claims on the debt, discretionary spending, foreign-funded attack ads and polling data.
Wrong on Debt
On ABC’s "This Week," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made a false claim about the federal debt — a claim that we debunked in January, when Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, made a similar statement. The debt situation has worsened since then, but not enough to make this GOP talking point true.
Social Security: (Mostly) in Their Own Words
Call it senior scare. In race after race, Democrats running for Congress are using their opponents’ criticisms of Social Security against them — sometimes accurately, and sometimes not: Rep. Steve Kagen’s ad accurately quotes Reid Ribble …
Who Killed Food Town?
In Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur misrepresents the facts when she accuses her Republican rival, Rich Iott, of running Food Town supermarkets "straight into the ground" after taking over as CEO of the company from his father. Her ad attacks Iott for "closing neighborhood stores and costing 5,000 people their jobs." But Food Town thrived with Rich Iott as CEO, and the job losses occurred three years after the company was sold to a larger chain and Iott was no longer in charge.