Issues: Recession

Crossroads GPS: “How”

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A Crossroads GPS ad dishonestly blames Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-MT) votes in favor of the Affordable Care Act, the Recovery Act, and several bills to raise the debt limit for the ballooning national debt. In reality, Bush-era policies and the recession caused deficits to skyrocket, while the health care law actually reduces the deficit and the stimulus insulated the economy against even more drastic job losses. Meanwhile, raising the debt limit doesn’t cause higher debt – it simply allows the government to pay off obligations already incurred, thus avoiding the severe economic consequences that could come from a default.

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Crossroads GPS: “Everyday”

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Crossroads GPS dishonestly blames Rep. Joe Donnelly’s (D-IN) votes in favor of the Affordable Care Act, the Recovery Act, and several bills to raise the debt limit for the ballooning national debt. In reality, Bush-era policies and the recession caused deficits to skyrocket, while the health care law actually reduces the deficit and the stimulus insulated the economy against even more drastic job losses. Meanwhile, raising the debt limit doesn’t cause higher debt – it simply allows the government to pay off obligations already incurred, thus avoiding the severe economic consequences that could come from a default.

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American Crossroads: “Behind”

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American Crossroads’ attack on former Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA) attempts to paint him as self-serving and ambitious at the expense of the Virginians who elected him. To that end, Crossroads insinuates that his decision to serve as Democratic National Committee chairman during his final year as governor is connected to the state’s job losses, rather than the nationwide recession, and they snatch multiple clips of Kaine out of context to deceive voters about how he talks about his public service.

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Crossroads GPS: “Stopwatch”

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An ad from Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS starts by asking, “Why isn’t the economy stronger?” The ad blames our economic troubles on the national debt, which Crossroads claims is rising because of President Obama’s spending. However, the acceleration of debt since Obama’s inauguration is largely a result of the massive recession he inherited from President Bush, who presided over historically weak economic growth even before the economic collapse. Moreover, while federal spending growth has been relatively slow on Obama’s watch, costly policies from the Bush administration continue to drive the deficit today.

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60 Plus Association: “Tell Sherrod Brown To Stop The Wasteful Spending”

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60 Plus Association claims that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has “helped our national debt increase by more than $11 trillion” by supporting “every bailout proposed by Bush and Obama,” as well as the Recovery Act and health care law. But necessary actions taken to rescue the economy have had a relatively minor impact on deficits – which were driven upward by President Bush’s policies and the massive recession he left behind – and the Affordable Care Act actually reduces the deficit.

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American Future Fund: “Priority”

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The American Future Fund’s attack on Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), who is running for the Senate, proclaims that “New Mexico’s unemployment is up 20 percent” since he took office. Of course, the ad fails to mention that Heinrich took office during the worst month of a crushing recession that predated his election – or that the state’s unemployment rate has dropped from a 2010 high of 8 percent to well below 7 percent today. The ad also repeats tired distortions of the Recovery Act and the health care law.

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Let Freedom Ring: “Gas Price Hypocrisy”

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An ad from Let Freedom Ring accuses President Obama of “gas price hypocrisy,” suggesting that a clip of Obama speaking on the campaign trail in 2008 contradicts remarks he made in March 2012. In both speeches, however, Obama espoused the same position: that there is no “silver bullet” for an immediate reduction in gas prices, and that instead we must develop alternate energy sources in order to end America’s dependence on foreign oil. Even so, under President Obama, domestic oil production and exports are up, but since oil is traded on a global market, increased domestic drilling doesn’t have much of an impact on gas prices.

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Crossroads GPS: “Basketball”

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In an ad titled “Basketball,” Crossroads GPS portrays a working mother whose adult children are living at home because they “can’t find jobs to get their careers started.” The woman says that she now regrets voting for President Obama because, as her family’s struggles demonstrate, “things have changed for the worse” under his administration. Despite the ad’s softer tone, however, it relies on the usual distortions of Obama’s record on the economy, health care, and the debt.

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U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: “Claire McCaskill Means More Government And More Regulation”

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opens its attack on Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) by declaring, “Washington is standing in the way of job creation, and it’s getting worse.” That statement, of course, is blatantly false: The private sector has added 4.5 million jobs in the last 29 months, and Missouri’s unemployment rate has gone down. Making matters worse, the Chamber’s argument relies on McCaskill’s support for the Affordable Care Act, but the GOP claims that the health care law will “kill jobs” has been repeatedly debunked.

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Crossroads GPS: “Obama’s Promise”

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An ad from Crossroads GPS features clips of President Obama describing his policies and accuses the president of breaking his promises to the American people. However, Crossroads’ attempt to use Obama’s words against him backfires, as the ad repeatedly misrepresents the facts about the president’s record.

Read more after the jump.