FactCheck.org

Anti-Reid Ad Distorts Truth on Stimulus, Unemployment

July 16, 2010

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."

Maligning Maloney by Mailer

July 15, 2010

In a flurry of mailers sent to New York’s Upper East Side Democratic voters, challenger Reshma Saujani claims that incumbent Rep. Carolyn Maloney has taken $2.5 million from "special interests" while she has accepted none. Um, really? What about the $220,000 Saujani has received from Wall Street, her leading source of campaign funds?

Yes, Maloney has accepted more than $2.5 million from political action committees over the course of her career ($588,561 in this election cycle),

McCollum’s Misleading Accusations

July 14, 2010

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.

Jobs Jabs

July 14, 2010

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid is slugging it out with his Republican opponent Sharron Angle over the state’s dismal unemployment rate. It’s a fair fight. Their dueling ads are totally accurate. But each leaves key facts unsaid.

Angle’s 60-second ad first aired July 9, and a 30-second version is also airing. It presents a gloomy, menacing picture of the Nevada economy with shaky, blue-tinged shots of melancholy faces, accompanied by background music fit for a funeral. There is no announcer.

Sunday Replay

July 12, 2010

Call this one the Axelrod Edition. President Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, was on three of the political talk shows on July 11, and we found that he strayed from the factual straight-and-narrow several times in talking about the oil spill, border security and other issues.
We also found Republican congressman Brian Bilbray overstating support for an immigration bill and Attorney General Eric Holder repeating a claim we’ve critiqued before about how many terrorism trials have taken place in the civilian justice system.

Loans to Mobsters, Ties to BP? Kirk’s Attack Ads Go Too Far

July 9, 2010

Republican Rep. Mark Kirk is attacking his Democratic opponent in the Illinois race for the U.S. Senate with two ads that go beyond what the facts support. The ads make unsupported claims about the role Giannoulias played at his family’s troubled bank and strain to tie him to BP, among other dubious statements.
Kirk released the new ads less than a day after he apologized for embellishing his own military record.
Bank Shot
According to one of the ads,

Fact-Checking Rick Scott on Abortion

July 6, 2010

In Florida’s Republican primary for governor, a federal political committee founded by candidate Rick Scott and largely financed by his wife falsely accuses Attorney General Bill McCollum of supporting "abortion providers." The group’s new ad masquerades as a “fact check,” but it mangles facts by characterizing ordinary hospitals (such as the ones Rick Scott himself once ran) as "abortion providers."

The ad, by a group called Let’s Get to Work, first aired June 25. It begins: “Congressman McCollum’s on TV.

Sunday Replay

July 5, 2010

Politicians didn’t take a holiday from false and misleading statements on July 4. We found misstatements on the Sunday talk shows that touched on Afghanistan, Michael Steele and immigration.
A Firm Date for … What Exactly?
On ABC’s "This Week," Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona made it sound as though President Obama would pull all troops out of Afghanistan in July 2011, regardless of what happens in the country. But the president never promised that all troops,

Sunday Replay

June 28, 2010

On the Sunday before confirmation hearings kicked off for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, we heard several misleading comments having to do with her or nominations of earlier years. We also found no evidence to back up Sen. John Cornyn’s claim that the new health care law was negatively impacting seniors’ access to health care. And Sen. Lindsey Graham’s assertion that Rahm Emanuel said it’s administration "policy" to pull troops out of Afghanistan "in large numbers"

DNC Steals Words Right Out of Steele’s Mouth

June 24, 2010

Props to Politico’s Ben Smith for spotting the latest misleading ad from the Democratic National Committee. The ad, called "On Their Side," uses selective editing to make it seem as though Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele gives "Wall Street" exclusive credit for creating jobs and building the economy. In fact, Steele was also praising "Main Street" and small businesses, but the DNC edited out those references.

The clip in the ad comes from a June 22 interview on CNBC,