Democrats and Republicans disagree on energy policy, but this they share: Both shade the facts on the complex issue for political advantage. Republicans say repealing oil industry tax breaks will drive up costs at the pump. However …
Person: Harry Reid
Reid’s Cowboy Poetry Puffery
Sen. Harry Reid vastly overstated annual attendance figures for the federally subsidized National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Nevada.
The Senate majority leader claimed that "tens of thousands of people" visited the annual event in Elko, Nev., "every year." He was speaking on the Senate floor March 8, defending federal funding for such events. But his claim was far from true.
The fact is that the event attracts between 6,000 and 8,000 people each year, according to Charlie Seemann,
Democrats Deny Social Security’s Red Ink
Some senior Democrats are claiming that Social Security does not contribute “one penny” to the federal deficit. That’s not true. The fact is, the federal government had to borrow $37 billion last year to finance Social Security, and will need to borrow more this year.
Health Care Repeal, Tea Party and Political Discourse
In episode 44 of our podcast, we talk about the misleading claim from Republicans that the health care law is a job-killer. Plus, we caught Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid offering his own exaggerations on the economy and the tea party, and Sen. Rand Paul distorting a well-worn quote from Rahm Emanuel.
For more on the claims discussed in this episode, see:
A ‘Job-Killing’ Law? Jan. 7
Reid Wrong on Jobs, Tea Party Jan. 10
Bum Rap for Rahm Jan.
Reid Wrong on Jobs, Tea Party
On NBC’s "Meet the Press," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid exaggerated the latest job gains in the manufacturing sector and grossly minimized tea party victories in the 2010 midterm elections.
In the interview — which NBC taped a day before the Jan. 8 shooting of Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in Tucson, Ariz. — Reid spoke about the latest employment numbers. The economy added 113,000 private sector jobs in the month of December, dropping the unemployment rate to 9.4 percent from 9.8 percent.
Tall Tax Tales
Republican Sharron Angle says in a TV ad that Nevada Sen. Harry Reid “voted to raise taxes” 300 times. A “staggering 300 times.” He didn’t. We reviewed the 304 votes provided by the Angle campaign and found its final tally was padded …
Angle Misleads on ‘Ethics Loopholes,’ ‘Shady’ Land Deal
Sharron Angle attacks Harry Reid in two new ads for being wealthy and for making $1 million on a real-estate deal, which is true enough. But one of the ads falsely claims that the Senate Majority Leader "pushed ethics loopholes," and the other makes the unsubstantiated claim that the land deal was "shady."
Angle, the Republican who’s trying to win Democrat Reid’s seat, is running both ads in Nevada as the candidates enter the final stretch of one of the closest Senate races in the nation.
Angle’s Shocking – and Misleading – Viagra Claim
A new ad from Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle says that Angle’s opponent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, "voted to use taxpayer dollars to pay for Viagra for convicted child molesters and sex offenders." That sensational claim hasn’t gotten any more true since the first time we addressed it, shortly after the health care bill was passed.
It’s true that Reid voted to table an amendment that would have barred convicted sex offenders from getting coverage for drugs like Viagra from health plans sold through state-based exchanges.
Crossroads Jam-Up
The latest ads from the American Crossroads “super PAC” attack Democrats running for Senate seats in Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, Nevada, Missouri and New Hampshire. The ads contain a number of misleading and false claims. …
Toss-ups: Nevada
In the Nevada Senate race, the state’s economy — it has the highest unemployment in the country — has prompted two new ads that deal with illegal immigration. Republican challenger Sharron Angle falsely claims Sen. Harry Reid voted to …