Congressional Leadership Fund: “Trick Or Treat”

adcheck •

The Congressional Leadership Fund wants New York voters to believe Rep. Kathy Hochul’s (D) support for ending the Bush tax cuts were really votes “to raise taxes on small businesses,” but that isn’t true. In reality, allowing the Bush tax cuts on top earners to expire would reduce deficits without harming the economy or affecting many actual employers. The ad also accuses Hochul of “personally profiting from companies that outsource and do business with China,” citing a biased website to support the misleading claim.

Read more after the jump.

Congressional Leadership Fund: “Twinkle”

adcheck •

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.

Read more after the jump.

Now Or Never PAC: “Radical Agenda”

adcheck •

Now or Never PAC attempts to portray Heidi Heitkamp as a pro-Wall Street, environmental radical, who will “rubber stamp” President Obama’s second-term agenda, but the evidence does not support the group’s claims. After all, Heitkamp’s opponent has taken more than 10 times as much cash from Wall Street than she has — and over $600,000 total from the broader finance, insurance, and real estate sector. That makes Heitkamp’s $22,000 from lawyers whose clients include opponents of fracking look fairly insubstantial – especially when Heitkamp is on the record harshly criticizing President Obama on energy policy.

Read more after the jump.

Ending Spending Action Fund: “Wrong”

adcheck •

The Ending Spending Action Fund twists congressional candidate Richard Carmona (D-AZ)’s resume against him, accusing him of mismanaging a hospital that was deep in debt before his tenure and of having others pick up his dry cleaning on taxpayer-funded time. But that unsubstantiated allegation is sourced solely to a woman with a history credibility issues who was featured in an ad supporting Carmona’s opponent. The ad also suggests Carmona supports all earmarks, when in reality, Carmona was remarking that not all earmarks are wasteful – some can be useful investments in infrastructure.

Read more after the jump.

Now Or Never PAC: “Knock Down The Door”

adcheck •

Now or Never PAC attacks Arizona Senate candidate Richard Carmona for supporting the “Obamacare takeover,” which the group describes as a “$716 billion cut to Medicare,” and for allegedly opposing tax cuts for small businesses. In reality, the Affordable Care Act relies on the private sector to increase insurance coverage and reduces future spending on Medicare without cutting benefits. Moreover, Carmona supports extending tax relief for the middle class while phasing out tax breaks for top income earners, which would affect few actual small businesses.

Read more after the jump.

Congressional Leadership Fund: “Hall Of Fame”

adcheck •

Congressional Leadership Fund accuses Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) of voting for an expensive stimulus bill that “created jobs in China,” but the article the ad cites points to a project that never actually received any stimulus money. The ad also criticizes Sutton for her support of a cap-and-trade bill and the bank bailout, even though the former would have stimulated the economy with little cost to consumers and the latter, which passed in a bipartisan fashion after urging from President Bush, helped avert another Great Depression.

Read more after the jump.

The Week In Conservative Attack Ads

In the penultimate week before Election Day, conservative outside groups once again flooded the airwaves with attacks on Democratic candidates. Ten conservative groups were responsible for the 31 televisions ads we fact-checked – 16 of them targeting House candidates, 10 aimed at Senate candidates, and five attacking President Obama or cheerleading for Mitt Romney. As they did last week, Karl Rove’s American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS led the way, accounting for 12 of the ads we debunked. Since Monday, the two groups have announced four separate ad buys totaling a whopping $22.8 million.

Aside from American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, several groups contributed to the assault on President Obama and Democratic Senate candidates. Restore Our Future, 60 Plus, and the American Future Fund each weighed in on the presidential race. We also fact-checked two Senate ads from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and one apiece from American Commitment and Hardworking Americans Committee.

Coleman Groups Drill House Candidates With Oil-Funded Ads

But the most prolific groups focused on the House, where, in addition to four spots from Crossroads GPS, we answered five ads from the Congressional Leadership Fund, four from American Action Network, and three from Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform. Former Minnesota senator Norm Coleman is the chairman of both CLF, a super PAC, and AAN, a nonprofit that does not disclose its donors. CLF’s top individual contributors are billionaire Romney boosters Sheldon Adelson and Bob Perry, but it also recently received $2.5 million from Chevron – the “largest contribution from a publicly traded corporation” since the Citizens United decision – which is a good indication of who Big Oil expects to prioritize its interests in the next Congress.

Read more after the jump.

60 Plus Association: “Strengthen”

adcheck •

The 60 Plus Association is running an ad that features Pat Boone distorting the Affordable Care Act’s impact on Medicare and misrepresenting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s proposal for the program. Boone warns that Medicare is “going bankrupt” and suggests that the health care law will only make it worse. In reality, however, the ACA reduces future Medicare spending, as opposed to ‘taking’ money out of the program, which actually extends the program’s solvency for eight years. Meanwhile, Romney’s proposed voucher plan would lead to higher costs for seniors, and by repealing the health care law, he would re-open the prescription drug “donut hole” and take away seniors’ access to free preventive services.

Read more after the jump.

Crossroads GPS: “Vision” IA-04

adcheck •

In an ad hitting congressional candidate Christie Vilsack (D-IA), Crossroads GPS levels a series of falsehoods about the Affordable Care Act. Despite the ad’s claims, the health care law reduces future Medicare spending without cutting seniors’ current benefits, it helps control rising costs, and it’s expected to expand insurance coverage – all without taking health care decisions away from individuals or raising taxes on most Americans. What’s more, Vilsack’s opponent voted to keep the $716 billion in savings GPS attacks the Democrats over.

Read more after the jump.

American Commitment: “Work Hard”

adcheck •

An ad from American Commitment blames Arizona Senate candidate Richard Carmona for the debts an Arizona health care system and community hospital incurred under Carmona’s leadership. But the ad neglects to mention that the health care system was already $36 million in debt when Carmona was appointed, due largely to a health care market plagued by high numbers of uninsured and underinsured people seeking uncompensated services at the hospital’s emergency room.

Read more after the jump.