Welcome to a brand new fact-checking blog focused on the events of the Missouri 2012 US Senate race!
We are Billy and Lizzie, students at Truman State University studying communication. As a part of our political communication class, we are writing this nonpartisan blog to inform voters so that they can make an educated decision this November in the election.
An example of what we will be doing throughout the semester:
In June 2011, conservative group CrossroadsGPS released a series of ads focused on attacking President Obama, 5 U.S. Democratic Senators and 10 representatives about high government spending, and general economic concerns.
After analyzing the ad, there are a couple of things to
point out that are misleading towards viewers.
1) The
ads accuse lawmakers for "billions in new taxes." But that ignores
the many tax cuts that the Senators supported, including $326.4 billion in net
tax savings in the 2009 stimulus legislation and $857.8 billion in last year's
tax deal that extended the Bush tax cuts and reduced payroll taxes.
2) The
ads also refer to the economic stimulus as a failure, with the national ad attacking the President says
that the Obama promised the "stimulus would create more jobs" but
"more people are out of work." According to the Bureau of LaborStatistics, there was more unemployment after the stimulus had been passed, but
the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the rate would be higher yet
if not for the stimulus, which did create jobs.
In the end, this ad was a half-truth. It is true that she voted for new taxes, as well as voting for the Obama economic stimulus. But, Sen. McCaskill also supported numerous tax cuts. While it is true that unemployment did not drop after the stimulus, the CBO did report that unemployment would have been much worse without the passing up the stimulus.
In the end, this ad was a half-truth. It is true that she voted for new taxes, as well as voting for the Obama economic stimulus. But, Sen. McCaskill also supported numerous tax cuts. While it is true that unemployment did not drop after the stimulus, the CBO did report that unemployment would have been much worse without the passing up the stimulus.
Be sure to check our updates on Tuesdays and Thursdays for more fun facts about this year's Senate race!
Lizzie & Billy
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