PDF (1 of 3 ads in this analysis)
QUESTIONABLE STATEMENTS:
"Congressman Schauer got busted. FactCheck.org called Schauer's TV ad 'baloney.'"
U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) is running for re-election in the 7th Congressional District which includes Battle Creek, Jackson and Delta Township. This is from the NRCC ad, "Mark Schauer: Hiding his own record." It's true that factcheck.org did call out Schauer and three other freshman members of Congress for claiming in an ad that they voted against the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), commonly known as the "Wall Street bailout," when they weren't even in office in 2008.
Schauer voted to block the Treasury Department from getting the second half of the $700 billion allocated by the bailout. But factcheck.org calls the vote "purely symbolic."
"Maybe Schauer's trying to hide his own vote to cut $500 billion dollars from Medicare. Listen to Schauer caught on tape: Schauer's voice '…There are Medicare cuts.'"
In March, Schauer voted for the national health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that is now law. As in an ad by the independent group, the American Future Fund, upon which the Truth Squad called foul, the NRCC spot claims the act chops $500 billion from Medicare. Factcheck.org notes that it would restrain future growth of the program, but this isn't cutting from existing spending. The amount is spread over 10 years, totaling about 7 percent of what Medicare was projected to cost over that decade.
The audio used in the ad is clearly clipped. It was taken from an interview done in August 2009 on Walt Sorg's former radio show on 1320-AM. (Sorg wrote a letter to the NRCC asking the group to take the ad down because the "audio has been edited in a way that misrepresents Mr. Schauer's position."
"You use a short sound bite to 'prove' Congressman Schauer was supporting cuts in benefits to Medicare recipients," Sorg added. "He very clearly was talking about cuts in reimbursements to insurance companies administering Medicare Plus. Later in the interview he very clearly states that he opposed any cuts in benefits to recipients." The NRCC has said it will not remove the ad.
OVERALL IMPRESSION:
This is one of several ads by Schauer's opponent, former U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Tipton), and his allies attacking the freshman congressman for his health care vote. Once again, the ad falsely states Schauer supported big Medicare cuts. And this spot uses an audio clip from a radio show hosted by Walt Sorg, who has asked the NRCC to take the ad down for misrepresenting what Schauer said. The ad also carries on the theme that Schauer is hiding his true liberal record. The ad does correctly state that Schauer's claim that he voted against the Wall Street bailout was shot down by factcheck.org.
TRUTH SQUAD CALL: Flagrant foul.
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Flagrant foul for lying about Schauer voting to cut Medicare and getting caught red-handed by the media for misrepresenting a radio clip and still refusing to take the ad down. And it's pretty cynical to use factcheck.org's statement against Schauer in the first half of the ad, but continue making statements that the organization and Michigan Truth Squad have demonstrated are false in the second half.
Now let's take a look at the American Future Fund's "Trick" ad.
