Stories by Eugene Kiely
Former Director, FactCheck.org
Obama, Romney Surrogates Spin Jobs Data
A lackluster jobs report for June generated a flurry of false and misleading statements on the Sunday talk shows by surrogates for Obama and Romney:
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, falsely claimed U.S. automakers “had a record June … 7,000 auto jobs created.” It’s true that 7,000 automotive jobs were created, but it’s not a record for June or any other month.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley challenged Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s statement that the U.S.
Obama’s ‘Outsourcer’ Overreach
Obama accuses Romney in a series of TV ads of being a “corporate raider” who “shipped jobs to China and Mexico,” asking if voters want to elect an “outsourcer in chief.” But some of the claims in the ads are untrue, and others are thinly supported.
Democratic PAC Distorts Facts in Virginia Senate Race
A Democratic super PAC distorts some facts in a TV ad that compares the records of former Sen. George Allen and former Gov. Tim Kaine, who are running against each other for an open Senate seat in Virginia. The Majority PAC ad contains exaggerations on Medicare, federal deficit spending, state spending cuts and Virginia’s business environment:
The ad blames Allen for creating “a massive federal deficit.” Actually, he was only one of 100 senators, and spending bills at that time routinely passed with bipartisan support.
Romney’s Immigration Exaggeration
Mitt Romney exaggerates when he says President Obama “did nothing on immigration” for three and a half years, even when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress. Obama supported and lobbied for the DREAM Act, which would have created a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. The bill passed the House in December 2010, but failed in the Senate largely because of Republican opposition.
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and presumptive Republican presidential nominee,
Obama’s Economic Sleight of Hand
In Cleveland, President Barack Obama claimed he created more private-sector jobs in the past 27 months than President George W. Bush created “during the entire seven years before this crisis.” But that’s like comparing apples and mangoes. The president is absolving himself of responsibility for the savage recession he inherited, while assigning to Bush responsibility for the recession that began within weeks of his taking office in 2001.
The fact is, the economy has gained just about the same number of private-sector jobs (Obama’s preferred measure) in the 27 months since the most recent job slump hit bottom as it did in the 27 months following the bottom of the first Bush slump.
June 15: Political History, Obamas’ Law Licenses, Debt
Dueling Distortions in North Carolina
It didn’t take long for the governor’s race in North Carolina to turn ugly. Although it’s only June, Republican Pat McCrory and Democrat Walter Dalton both find themselves under attack from outside groups spending heavily on misleading TV ads:
A Democratic group claims McCrory, a former mayor of Charlotte, “used his position as mayor to lobby state government for millions in tax breaks” for a company that paid him “over $140,000 to sit on its board.”