Issues: Unemployment Insurance

Crossroads GPS: “Both”

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Crossroads GPS doubles up in an ad hitting both President Obama and Tim Kaine for spending, deficits, taxes, and looming defense cuts brought on by the failure of a deficit-reduction super committee to reach a deal. The group also uses an out-of-context quote from Kaine to suggest he blindly supports the president’s policies. In reality, the recession created budget deficits on the state level, while Bush-era Republican policies are largely responsible on the national level. Spending growth is low under Obama, and Kaine cut billions to leave Virginia with a balanced budget. And while both Kaine and Obama supported the debt limit deal that created the super committee and imposed sequester as an incentive for compromise, both support finding a way to avoid the defense cuts.

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Crossroads GPS: “Down”

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Crossroads GPS would like Ohio voters to forget the Bush recession ever happened and attribute all of their recent economic troubles to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D). But while the recession destroyed millions of jobs nationwide, Ohio’s unemployment rate has fallen by almost a third during the recovery, which has featured consistent private-sector job growth. The recession was also a significant factor, along with other Bush administration policies, to high deficits over the last several years.

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Americans for Tax Reform: “Charlie Wilson – Control”

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Americans for Tax Reform attacks Rep. Charlie Wilson over rising national debt, blaming him for “reckless spending,” when in reality, the recession and policies like the Bush tax cuts are the guilty parties. Wilson’s vote for the bank bailout helped prevent a potential depression, and his vote to raise the debt limit didn’t cause new spending — it prevented the economic catastrophe that would have resulted from a default on federal debts.

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American Future Fund: “Hoosier”

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American Future Fund accuses Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) of abandoning “Hoosier values” by supporting “Obama’s costly policies,” such as the Affordable Care Act and the Recovery Act. However, the health care law actually reduces the deficit, and the stimulus bill helped rescue the economy from a deeper recession. Furthermore, AFF suggests that the economy is not improving, but the facts show otherwise: The private-sector has now added 4.7 million jobs in the last 31 months.

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Congressional Leadership Fund: “Twinkle”

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Citing a series of votes between 2008 and 2011, Congressional Leadership Fund blames Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) for the rising debt. In reality, recent deficits have been fueled by the recession and Bush-era policies like tax cuts for the wealthy. The votes the ad targets, by contrast, were for bills designed to rescue failing banks, the floundering housing market, and a tanking economy, and to raise the federal debt limit – a procedure that does not authorize new spending but does prevent the government from defaulting on its loans.

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American Crossroads: “At Stake”

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Clint Eastwood may not speak to an empty chair in the ad he filmed for American Crossroads, but he’s no less confused about President Obama’s record than he was during his infamous performance at the Republican National Convention. The octogenarian actor says, “In the last few years, America’s been knocked down,” ignoring nearly five million new private-sector jobs created in the last two-and-a-half years of growth. He also wrongly blames Obama for high deficits driven mainly by Bush policies, such as tax breaks for the wealthy, and the recession the president inherited.

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American Crossroads: “Survive”

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An ad from American Crossroads features two small business owners talking about the challenges they face, which they blame on President Obama’s policies. However, despite the statements in the ad, the conservative charge that taxes and regulations are holding back job growth is not supported by the evidence. Instead, experts cite consumer demand, which plummeted as a result of the recession Obama inherited, as the key to increased hiring. While we are still recovering from the devastating impact of the recession, the private sector has added 4.7 million new jobs over the last 31 consecutive months of growth. Meanwhile, consumer confidence is now at its highest level since 2007.

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Restore Our Future: “Better”

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Restore Our Future is running an ad in 10 states making the case that “Barack Obama’s economy isn’t working.” The pro-Romney super PAC blames President Obama for the consequences of the devastating recession he inherited, ignoring the fact that the economy is growing and the private sector has added 4.7 million jobs in the last 31 months. The group also blames Obama for high deficits fueled by Bush policies and the recession, as well as for the credit downgrade that resulted from the GOP’s reckless approach to the debt ceiling and refusal to consider any deficit-reduction measure that increases revenue.

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American Crossroads: “Add Up”

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American Crossroads characterizes Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) as “extreme,” citing several alleged examples of her voting to take tax dollars “out of Wisconsin to pay for her extreme agenda in Washington.” However, the Bush administration’s bipartisan bailout of the financial sector helped prevent a possible depression; the Affordable Care Act does not raise taxes on most Americans and actually reduces the burden on the middle class; and “failed” Recovery Act not only created jobs but also cut taxes for millions of working American families.

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Congressional Leadership Fund: “Where”

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The Congressional Leadership Fund blames Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) for more spending and higher taxes, citing the Affordable Care Act, a cap-and-trade bill that never became law, and the Recovery Act. But it was the recession and Bush-era policies like tax breaks for the wealthy that are really responsible for creating driving up deficits, and Capps recently voted to bring in an additional $1 billion in revenue by ending the cuts for top earners. The Affordable Care Act, which reduces the deficits, offers tax credits for middle-class families and for small businesses, and the cap-and-trade bill Capps voted for would have boosted the economy with minimal impact on consumers’ energy costs. Meanwhile, the Recovery Act cut taxes for 95 percent of working families and helped stave off an even greater recession.

Read more after the jump.