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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Carnahan Ad Gets VH1-Inspired Treatment

Are you a fan of VH1’s revolutionary "Pop-Up Video" program? And a political junkie? (And maybe even a St. Louis Rams fan?) Well, we have a treat for you.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch website, stltoday.com, has launched a fact-checking effort called "Pop-Up Politics." Last week, reporter Jake Wagman gave the first ad from Democratic Senate hopeful Robin Carnahan the VH1 treatment, sticking factual nuggets in the video of the ad itself, à la the popular music video show.

Sunday Shows and TARP Claims

In episode 10 of FactCheck Radio, we puncture claims from the Sunday shows about immigration and BP’s regulatory receptiveness, and talk about some misleading allegations involving TARP.
(Click the play button below to listen to the podcast. Or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.)
 
For more on the stories discussed in this episode, see:
Sunday Replay May 3
General Motors’ Debt May 3
Over the Top on TARP April 30
A Big Webby Win for FactCheck May 4

General Motors’ Debt

Q: Did General Motors repay its TARP loan from the Treasury with other TARP money?
A: Yes. GM repaid the loan portion of the automaker bailout ahead of schedule, with interest. It used TARP money it had already received but hadn’t spent. And taxpayers are still stuck with GM stock that isn’t worth what was paid for it.

Over the Top on TARP

It’s always fascinating to watch history being rewritten before one’s very eyes. A fresh example comes courtesy of the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a cookie-cutter press release attacking Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia and a slew of his fellow Democrats.
We were sent a version of the release headlined "New Poll: Americans at Odds with Connolly’s [or other Democrat’s] Stimulus." It cites a new Pew Research Center poll that shows most Americans don’t believe the $787 billion stimulus bill,

Sunday Replay

We found a few claims worthy of comment on the Sunday political talk shows.
On NBC’s "Meet the Press," Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama said that President Obama was being "misleading" when he boasted about General Motors and Chrysler repaying the government:

"Meet the Press" host David Gregory: The president was boasting yesterday that GM and Chrysler have paid off their debts, not completely, but, but, but way ahead of schedule. TARP is now $186 billion back.

Tussling Over TARP

A recent TV ad from Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter claims that Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln "says she voted against bailing out Wall Street." That’s not what Lincoln said. The two are campaigning in the Democratic primary for the Senate.
Halter’s ad refers to a Lincoln campaign ad from March in which she said she has voted against "giving more money to Wall Street."
Lincoln never denied voting in favor of the 2008 Troubled Assets Relief Program,

‘Blame Dodd’ Attacks Ignore Facts

Some Republicans have been quick to blame Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut for allowing big bonus payments to AIG executives. They get the facts backward. The public record shows Dodd authored an amendment that would have prevented “any bonus” being paid to top executives of firms getting bailout money …