First, it was Sarah Palin. Now, it’s former Sen. Fred Thompson. They’re both touting a highly misleading Republican talking point on the expiration of the Bush tax cuts.
Thompson, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, warns in a new ad sponsored by the conservative League of American Voters: "Folks, America’s economy is struggling and Congress is about to make it a whole lot worse." He’s talking about the "massive automatic tax increase at the end of this year, when the Bush tax cuts expire,"
Hayworth Distorts McCain’s Immigration Record — Again
In his second TV ad, Republican challenger J.D. Hayworth continues to distort Arizona Sen. John McCain’s record on immigration policy.
McCain ‘Made It Worse’?
The ad, which started to air July 29, opens with an announcer saying: "The illegal alien invasion, and John McCain made it worse." In rapid fire, the ad lists a few of the ways McCain supposedly made things worse, beginning with: "McCain wrote the amnesty bill." The words "Wrote the amnesty bill"
Should Murray Worry?
An attack ad from a Republican-leaning group accuses Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of abusing "families" and "children" — but provides no support for those claims. The group’s website even criticizes Murray for casting a vote in favor of expanding health insurance to millions of children — a vote also cast by the group’s own CEO, former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.
The ad by the American Action Network began airing July 13 in Washington state with an initial buy of more than $750,000.
Sunday Replay
It may be August, but there is no vacation from politicians getting things wrong on the Sunday talkfests. We found Sen. Jon Kyl misstating facts about immigration and Sarah Palin miscasting the Democratic position on the Bush tax cuts – as well as overestimating how much it would cost Americans if they were allowed to expire.
Palin’s Palm Wrong on Tax Cuts
Sarah Palin misrepresented the Democratic position on extending the expiring Bush tax cuts.
Mayberry Misleads on Medicare
Would the sheriff of Mayberry mislead you about Medicare? Alas, yes.
In a new TV spot from the Obama administration, actor Andy Griffith, famous for his 1960s portrayal of the top law enforcement official in the fictional town of Mayberry, N.C., touts benefits of the new health care law. Griffith tells his fellow senior citizens, "like always, we’ll have our guaranteed [Medicare] benefits." But the truth is that the new law is guaranteed to result in benefit cuts for one class of Medicare beneficiaries —
Rubio Misfires on Crist’s Health Care Shift
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s position on the new federal health care law has shifted, but not as much as Marco Rubio’s latest ad says.
In the highly competitive race for the U.S. Senate, Rubio — the presumptive GOP nominee — released an ad July 22 titled “The People,” which claims: “Charlie Crist now says he supports Obamacare.” That’s not true.
The Rubio campaign cites a July 20 Wall Street Journal article describing how Crist has tempered his positions since deciding to drop out of the Republican primary and run in the general election as an independent.
Martinez Attacks Denish Over ‘Waste’
Republican Susana Martinez bashes her opponent, Democrat Diane Denish, over unemployment, the state jet and a Christmas card in her latest ad in New Mexico’s gubernatorial campaign. While some of the accusations contain grains of truth, the ad presents little evidence to back up its broad charge that Denish, who is currently the state’s lieutenant governor, and retiring Gov. Bill Richardson "wasted millions."
The spot, which began airing July 22, opens with a shot of Richardson and Denish,
Geithner’s GDP Whopper
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made a false claim about the size of government spending being proposed by the Obama administration.
On NBC’s "Meet the Press" July 25, he said the president is proposing spending "as a share of our economy" that is "lower" than it was during the Bush administration and "comparable" to what it was under Ronald Reagan. Neither claim is true.
The administration’s own estimates project spending next year that is higher as a percentage of the economy than in any year since the end of World War II.
Sunday Replay
This week’s Replay starts off with a dust-up about Fox News’ handling of – what else? – the Shirley Sherrod story. We also found misleading statements about unemployment and New Jersey’s budget.
Dean: Fox ‘Absolutely Racist’
On "Fox News Sunday," former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean accused Fox News Channel of an "absolutely racist" action by playing the now-famous edited clip of Shirley Sherrod’s remarks. Host Chris Wallace indignantly countered by saying Fox News didn’t play the clip until after officials in the Obama administration forced Sherrod to quit her job.
Nevada Blame Game
Republican Sharron Angle’s latest attack ad gets the facts about Nevada’s miserable economy right, but invites a questionable conclusion.
The ad is called "Please Stop," and it mocks Democratic Sen. Harry Reid’s campaign slogan of "no one can do more" for Nevada. In the ad, Angle concedes that Reid "has done more for Nevada," but she doesn’t mean it in a good way. The ad, which began airing July 21, gets the basic facts right:
Angle says in her ad,