Failed politician John James and Mitch McConnell’s dark money group have now put out 3 ads in the past 2 weeks that have been fact-checked and debunked for their “false” and “misleading” claims. Despite James and his Washington allies’ attempts to “smear” and skew the truth – they cannot change the fact that U.S. Senator Gary Peters has a strong record of fighting for Michiganders.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Bridge: Fact Squad: Truth blurred in John James ad claiming Peters is ‘invisible’
- The commercial uses verifiable facts but omits relevant context and makes broad generalizations to reach conclusions that are subjective at best.
- While it’s fair to ask whether Peters did enough to prepare the United States for COVID-19, improve the national economy or protect workers, the claims that he did “nothing” are obvious exaggerations.
- As Bridge has reported, this year Peters voted for a $2 trillion economic relief package, for instance. And as the top Democrat on the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, he teamed with Chairman Ron Johnson on a January letter asking the Trump administration to explain its preparedness for COVID-19.
- The ad makes two claims about committee attendance to bolster its argument that Peters is a do-nothing. Both are presented without citation or context.
- But ads should also be honest about their ammunition.
- Criticizing Peters for missing hearings in an ongoing commission he bragged would help American workers is valid. Dredging up attendance on a committee that was nearly a decade and another job in the past is less so.
- Overall, the ad blends some facts with hyperbole and skips context that would allow voters to decide Peters’ effectiveness as a senator.
Bridge: Fact Squad: Misleading GOP ad smears Gary Peters’ record on coronavirus
- But the commercial is misleading in several ways, slamming Peters for a vote that effectively extended negotiations on the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, & Economic Security Act that was signed into law days later. And it mischaracterizes his position on China to suggest he supports the communist regime.
- The ad is paid for by One Nation, a nonprofit that does not disclose donors but plans to spend $4.5 million in the Senate race that pits Peters against Republican businessman John James. One Nation reportedly has ties to the Senate Leadership Fund established by allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
- Commercials like these are why it seems so many people hate political ads.
- The spot twists a few facts — Peters’ votes are a matter of record, as are his comments about China — to reach the false conclusion that he “turned his back on small businesses.”
- In fact, Peters voted for legislation that provided billions of dollars more for small businesses, context that the misleading ad wholly ignores.
Bridge: Fact Squad: John James skips details in ad claiming Peters ‘downplayed’ COVID
- The 30-second ad, which began airing across the state on Tuesday, uses Peters’ own words against him, but it takes his comments out of context, inflates his role in pandemic oversight and makes other claims without supporting evidence.
- While hindsight shows the virus did pose a grave risk to the United States, which now leads the world in cases and deaths, Peters’ comments were consistent with expert testimony he’d heard that same day in the Homeland Security Committee.
- By claiming Peters “skipped hearings, ignored reports, downplayed the risk” in an ad focused on the pandemic, the commercial leaves the impression he missed hearings and reports on COVID-19. That is not the case.
- But the James ad plucks that clip from a longer interview in which Peters noted how little was known about the virus at the time and echoed comments from public health officials about the importance of containment.
- The ad also appears to suggest Peters skipped hearings and ignored reports on COVID-19, which is false.
- Clearly, federal officials like Peters could have applied lessons from Ebola and past viral outbreaks to better prepare for COVID-19, but the ad doesn’t make that claim clear.
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