This week, according to readers, we picked on Democrats too much and didn’t pick on the media enough.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
Stories by FactCheck.org
Let’s Get to Work – On the Facts
Let’s Get to Work, a political committee largely financed by Florida gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott’s wife, is at it again — falsely claiming that Attorney General Bill McCollum used a “chartered airplane” to commute to work and charged taxpayers $280,000. McCollum has access to a state plane, but it’s not true that he uses it to commute. And the amount of money he spent on air travel — all of it involving state business — is exaggerated.
Mud and Oil Don’t Mix in Wisconsin Senate Race
With recent polls showing the Wisconsin Senate race tightening, the candidates have started the mudslinging — misrepresenting each other’s positions on drilling for oil in the Great Lakes. Never mind that federal law bans oil drilling in the Great Lakes.
Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold’s ad, “Just Say No,” accuses his GOP opponent Ron Johnson of being “willing to hand over the Great Lakes to the oil companies.” That is misleading, and goes beyond the facts. It’s based on a single interview in which Johnson talks about the need to drill "responsibly"
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of July 13-July 19
This week, readers sent us comments about teacher’s unions, job creation and Meg Whitman’s ads.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
A False Attack on a Palin-backed “Mama Grizzly”
One of Sarah Palin’s annointed "Mama Grizzlies" is under attack in Georgia — for not being conservative enough to suit Republican primary voters. But we find the attack is misleading and makes false claims.
In the race to be governor of Georgia, the Palin-backed candidate is Secretary of State Karen Handel. One of her main opponents in the July 20 GOP primary is Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine. His ad claims that as a Fulton County commissioner Handel presided over spending that "skyrocketed,"
Anti-Reid Ad Distorts Truth on Stimulus, Unemployment
American Crossroads — a political committee headed by former Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan — once again attacks Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada in an ad released July 15. The new ad, titled "Really? Harry Reprise," falsely claims that Nevada received less stimulus money than all but one state.
It also misrepresents the state’s first-in-the-nation unemployment rate, making it seem worse than it is.
On stimulus funding, the ad says: "Recent data show Nevada ranks 50th in the money received from Harry’s stimulus bill."
Mobsters, Missing Money and Mysteries
In Episode 20 of FactCheck Radio, we look at misleading ads in three governors’ races. We start with allegations about mobsters and missing millions in Illlinois; explore a mysterious ad chock-full of distortions in Alabama; and we end up in Florida, where last week we saw a misleading ad from one candidate in the GOP primary, and this week we debunk misinformation from his opponent.
For more on the stories discussed in this episode, see:
Loans to Mobsters,
McCollum’s Misleading Accusations
There’s more misinformation in the ugly Florida governor’s race, this time from Attorney General Bill McCollum. He claims his GOP primary opponent Rick Scott "personally" got millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds.
The ad, titled “Inner Tube,” says: “Scott tried to hide the fact that he personally bagged millions from the Obama stimulus.” That refers to $63 million in stimulus funding that went to a company named XFone, to expand broadband service to rural areas.
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of July 6-July 12
This week, everyone liked us! Well, almost everyone.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
Jerry Brown, Abortion Providers and Afghanistan Withdrawal
In Episode 19 of FactCheck Radio, we look at a false ad from California GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman about her Democratic opponent Jerry Brown’s supposed "legacy of failure." We also examine whether Bill McCollum has really supported abortion providers, as his opponent charges in the Republican primary for the Florida governor’s contest. And we go back to what Obama really did say about the plans for U.S. troops in Afghanistan in July 2011.
For more on the stories discussed in this episode,