A super PAC supporting Sen. Lisa Murkowski claims in several TV ads that her top challenger, Kelly Tshibaka, “wants to ban birth control in the mail.” Tshibaka has said she would ban the sale of the morning-after pill via the mail, but the ads leave the misleading impression she would ban all forms of birth control.
After a spate of mass shootings, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was one of 15 Republicans who voted in June for a gun bill that provides money for states that have or want to enact red-flag laws to temporarily remove firearms from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. States that do not have red-flag laws can use their funding for other programs, such as mental health and drug courts.
Posts circulating amid the Senate impeachment trial misleadingly accuse nine Republican senators of having “joined Democrats on impeachment.” The claim originated in October as a list of senators who had not yet co-sponsored an impeachment-related resolution — but six of them did sign on to that measure.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she opposes federal approval of genetically engineered salmon “for the health of both consumers and fisheries.” But there is no scientific evidence that suggests GE salmon will pose a significant risk to either.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the “latest research” shows “polar bear numbers are strong and healthy” in her state. Polar bears are listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. Of the two populations in Alaska, one is declining, and the status of the other is unknown.
This weekend, the Sunday talkfests were dominated by predictions of how the makeup of the Senate and House might change after Tuesday’s elections. Halloween or not, clairvoyance isn’t a skill set we’ve mastered. We’re happy to wait for the actual results.
Meanwhile, we highlight a few misleading, non-predictive comments from Sunday:
Palin’s ‘Corrupt Bastards’
On "Fox News Sunday," former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin accused "corrupt bastards" in the media of conspiring with Sen. Lisa Murkowski to sabotage the campaign of her GOP Senate rival,
Attack ads, and the misinformation that comes with them, continue to swamp the airwaves. In fact, spending on ads in these midterm elections could top $3 billion, said Evan Tracey, whose Kantar Media-owned Campaign Media Analysis Group tracks political ads running nationwide. That cracks the $2.7 billion spent in 2008 – when a presidential race as well as the usual congressional ones were eating up airtime.
A brief rundown of some misleading assaults we’ve found in the last few days:
DSCC Hits Murkowski
Among other things,
In Alaska, a new group founded and financed by for-profit native corporations falsely charges in an ad that Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller’s proposals "would destroy a third of Alaska’s economy" by erasing "our fair share of federal dollars." A conservative, Miller advocates less federal spending — but he hasn’t said he would eliminate it, and that’s what would have to happen to "destroy a third of Alaska’s economy."
The ad also raises the possibility —
In episode 32 of our podcast, we look at ads in the Alaska and West Virginia Senate races, and we debunk bogus claims about the health care law — again.
For more on the stories discussed in this episode, see:
Murkowski vs. Tea Party, Round 2 Oct. 6
Pataki's Bogus Health Care Claims Oct. 6
Dust-Up in Coal Country Oct. 1
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.