FactCheck.org: Crossroads Targets Dems for Budget Woes

[pampango]

The conservative group's hefty ad buy mixes opinion with a few misleading claims.

http://factcheck.org/2011/07/crossroads-targets-dems-for-budget-woes/

Summary

The conservative group Crossroads GPS has launched a $7 million ad campaign targeting President Obama, five Democratic senators and 10 representatives. A lot of the content in the ads is opinion on government spending, the budget and economic worries. But we found a few misleading bits:

The Senate ads criticize lawmakers for "billions in new taxes." But that ignores the many tax cuts they 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.

The Senate ads also refer to "the failed stimulus," while the national ad attacking Obama says that the president promised the "stimulus would create more jobs" but "more people are out of work." It's true unemployment is higher today than when the stimulus law was passed, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the rate would be higher yet if not for the stimulus, which did create jobs.

That national TV spot features a woman saying that "mom's Medicare will be cut." But the implication that the health care law takes away Medicare benefits is misleading. Extra benefits under Medicare Advantage plans are likely to be reduced, but the law actually expands traditional Medicare benefits, such as adding more prescription drug coverage.

Analysis

This round of ads is part of Crossroads GPS' $20 million campaign on what it calls "runaway government spending and debt." The group is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit and a spinoff of American Crossroads, an organization formed with help from former President Bush adviser Karl Rove. Crossroads launched the first ad of what it says will be a two-month campaign in late June, a $5 million buy for a spot that criticized President Barack Obama. That ad was largely correct, but made the increase in unemployment during the president's term appear worse than it actually has been.

The new ads were launched by the group on July 8. Five of the spots attack Democratic Sens. Bill Nelson (Fla.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio), blaming them for "skyrocketing debt" and "reckless spending." Crossroads announced that it would also run 10 ads targeting House members, but they have not hit the airwaves yet. So far, the other ads are airing heavily. Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group counts 5,460 airings worth a little more than $3 million, as of July 14.

A few points in the Senate ads are misleading or require context.

(List includes: What about tax cuts?, the job-creating stimulus and Mom's Medicare.)