This week, we resolve two disputes about who said what, and find that a government report cited as support for a charge about ineffective government programs is nonexistent.
NBC’s "Meet the Press" hosted a debate between Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and the Republican who is trying to unseat him, tea party favorite Ken Buck. We’re reviewing their exchange, and, if we find they have their facts wrong, we’ll post a piece on Tuesday.
Did He Say That?
Stories by Eugene Kiely
Director, FactCheck.org
NRCC Overstates Dems’ Voting Record with Pelosi
A number of new TV ads by the National Republican Congressional Committee purport to tell us how often a Democratic incumbent voted with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But the ads overstate …
Would Miller ‘Destroy’ Alaska’s Economy?
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 —
Toss-ups: Missouri Mudslinging
Ethics has become a theme in the Missouri Senate race, and we find that both candidates are distorting the facts in TV ads that make accusations of serious ethical lapses: Republican Rep. Roy Blunt claims without evidence that Democrat Robin Carnahan’s …
A New Twist on an Old Tax Attack
Democrats and their allies can’t get enough of the Americans for Tax Reform tax pledge — which, as we’ve reported, they’ve falsely equated in a number of ads with “protecting tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas.” Still, Democrats continue …
Tea Party Express
Conservative group that supports the tea party movement; founded by Republican strategist Sal Russo.
Murkowski vs. Tea Party, Round 2
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.
No Truth to ‘No Bid’
In Florida’s gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Rick Scott claims his Democratic opponent, Alex Sink — the state’s chief financial officer — “funneled” $770,000 in "no-bid contracts" to her former employer, Bank of America. That’s not true. Sink was not the principle decision-maker, and there was plenty of open competition for the business in question.
The ad also claims she had a conflict of interest, though there’s no evidence of that.
The ad, which first aired Sept.
Alabama Mystery Solved
The mystery of who was behind a largely bogus attack ad in Alabama’s Republican gubernatorial runoff election has been solved. The answer: the Alabama Education Association, an organization headed by the co-chairman of the state Democratic Party.
But don’t look for the answer in the state Elections Division. You have to go the IRS to track down the shadowy group’s financing.
According to IRS reports, the Conservative Coalition for Alabama formed on June 22 as a 527 political committee.
Scott’s Prisoner Release Plan?
The Florida Police Benevolent Association takes a half-baked proposal to an illogical conclusion in a new TV ad that invites Floridians to think that Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott wants to shutter state prisons and free hardened criminals.
The ad — “Rick Scott is Florida’s Worst Nightmare” — was released Sept. 27. It is based on Scott’s proposal to cut costs at Florida’s state prisons. On his campaign website, Scott says he can cut $1 billion from the prison budget by reducing labor,