Issues: Recession

Crossroads GPS: “Too Much”

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Crossroads GPS suggests that President Obama is responsible for high gas prices. In fact, domestic energy policy has little influence on the global markets that actually cause gas prices to rise and fall, but that’s not the only thing Crossroads gets wrong. The ad also deliberately misleads viewers about oil production in America, citing a one-year decrease in production on federal land as evidence of Obama’s alleged failure, despite an even greater percentage increase during the previous year.

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American Energy Alliance: “Nine Dollar Gas”

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An ad from the American Energy Alliance (AEA) lambasts President Obama for gas prices that have “nearly doubled” since the start of his administration, but the ad’s claims rest on a series of distortions obscuring the fact that the president has little control over globally determined oil costs. Obama didn’t, as the ad claims, categorically write off Alaskan energy. A loan to a clean energy company has nothing to do with gas prices. Approving the Keystone pipeline wouldn’t bring energy prices down to pre-recession levels. Finally, Energy Secretary Steven Chu has recanted his 2008 statement about driving up gas costs, citing the recession and saying that “there are many, many reasons why we do not want the price of gasoline to go up.”

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Crossroads GPS: “Deflect”

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Eager to capitalize on high gas prices, Crossroads GPS put out an ad that blames President Obama’s policies for rising energy costs. Yet it’s Crossroads that’s ‘deflecting’ the truth about gas prices, which are determined by global market forces beyond the control of the president. Moreover, domestic oil production is at its highest in nearly a decade and American oil exports are at their highest ever, belying Crossroads’ accusation that Obama’s “bad energy policies” are to blame.

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Crossroads GPS: “Balloon”

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Crossroads GPS attacks President Obama and Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA) for supporting policies that inflated the debt. However, the Affordable Care Act will actually lower deficits, while the Recovery Act and auto bailout saved millions of jobs. In reality, the main drivers of our debt are Bush administration policies, including the tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, and the massive recession that President Obama inherited upon taking office.

Read more after the jump.