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New Romney Campaign Distortion: Falsely Claims Obama ‘Promised Today To Bail Out Every Industry’

By Aviva Shen on Aug 9, 2012 at 6:24 pm

The Romney campaign, which has apparently exhausted the selectively edited clip of President Obama saying “you didn’t build that,” has seized on a new soundbite to distort. The campaign sent an email blast Thursday afternoon featuring a video of an Obama rally in Colorado from earlier that day and falsely claimed that he wants the government to bail out every industry. “I Want To Do The Same Thing With Manufacturing Jobs … In Every Industry,” it read.

The distortion comes from Obama’s speech in Pueblo, Colorado, touting his administration’s successful revival of the auto industry, which came back from the brink of collapse to add thousands of jobs and is now poised for its strongest sales since 2007. Obama said he wanted to help other flagging industries experience the same kind of success. Conservatives, however, are using the clip to make it sound like Obama wants to bail out every industry.

Here is what he actually said:

OBAMA: I said I believe in American workers, I believe in this American industry, and now the American auto industry has come roaring back and GM is number one again. So now I want to do the same thing with manufacturing jobs not just in the auto industry, but in every industry. I don’t want those jobs taking root in places like China. I want them taking root in places like Pueblo.

Just a few months ago, Romney tried to “take a lot of credit” for the auto industry’s rescue. Now, his campaign is warning against boosting similar prosperity in other industries that have suffered in the economic downturn.

The Drudge Report also featured a huge front and center link to a disparaging Politico story, which has since been “updated to reflect the president’s intent to express his support for manufacturing success. An earlier version was unclear about his intent.”

Deliberate misinterpretation is now a standard tactic from the Romney campaign playbook, starting with Romney’s very first ad, which ran a clip of Barack Obama saying, “If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.” Obama was in fact using the quote to criticize his 2008 presidential opponent, John McCain on his refusal to discuss the economic crisis.

LGBT

Better Know An Anti-LGBT Senate Candidate: Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO)

By Josh Israel posted from ThinkProgress LGBT on Aug 9, 2012 at 3:30 pm

Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO)

Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO)

First in a series examining how anti-LGBT Senate candidates have worked to hurt the cause of equality.

With his primary win this week, sixth-term Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) will be the Republican nominee against incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill (D). Unlike the incumbent, who has had a solid record in support of equality, Akin has amassed one of the most anti-LGBT voting records of any member of Congress.

Over 12 years in Congress:

1. Akin actively pushed anti-LGBT measures. He co-sponsored at least five anti-equality measures in the current Congress — one of just seven Representatives to sign onto that many — including a constitutional amendment against marriage equality, a bill to ban the use of military facilities for any same-sex unions, and a resolution directing the Speaker of the House to defend the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act in court.

2. Akin spearheaded efforts against allowing same-sex unions at military chapels. He boasted that he “led the effort to fight back against gay marriage on military bases” (May 2012 press release).

3. Akin adamantly opposed allowing LGBT armed services members to serve openly. He called Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal “an eclipse of reason” and “the imposition of somebody’s social agenda that they want to impose on the military.”

4. Akin has been a consistent zero on LGBT rights. He earned a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign, voting against LGBT equality 100 percent of the time, in each of his terms in Congress.

5. Akin has claimed marriage equality will destroy traditional families. He criticized President Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality as an “unquenchable desire to tear down the traditional family unit brick by brick” (May 2012 press release).

6. Akin has suggested that not being terrorized based on sexual orientation or gender identity is a “special privilege.” He strongly opposed adding sexual orientation to federal Hate Crimes laws, arguing that it would “increase hatred in America” and give a “special privilege” to bias-crime victims (April 2009 floor speech).

7. Akin has not even practiced non-discrimination personally. He refused to even adopt a non-discrimination policy against LGBT discrimination for employees in his own Congressional office.

8. Akin has proudly promoted his anti-LGBT backers. His campaign website prominently highlights the endorsements of two of the nation’s most notorious anti-gay extremists — Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schafly and Fox News Channel host and Chick-fil-A appreciator former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR). Huckabee also appeared in a TV ad backing Akin in the primary.

9. Akin has said marriages are only about procreation. He argued on the House floor that marriage is only “about a love that can bear children,” and warned that “anybody who knows something about the history of the human race knows that there is no civilization which has condoned homosexual marriage widely and openly that has long survived” (2006 speech in favor of the proposed Marriage Protection Amendment).

Watch Akin’s 2006 speech here:

Akin’s record is not just one of opposing LGBT rights, but one of actively seeking to take them away. His election to the U.S. Senate would be a huge threat to LGBT people and families.

How The Media Made The Priorities USA Attack Ad Matter

By Aviva Shen on Aug 9, 2012 at 2:20 pm

Cable news is giving a controversial new ad attacking Romney an unintentional bump in visibility. Priorities USA, the super PAC supporting Barack Obama, released “Understands” on Tuesday in just five battleground states: Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio. But the spot, which controversially links the death of the wife of a laid off steelworker to Romney’s actions as CEO of Bain Capital, quickly went national when cable news shows replayed the ad 60 times in two days.

Priorities USA spent slightly more than a million dollars on TV ads this month. “Understands” is its fifth ad in a campaign focusing on Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital. It features former GST Steel worker Joe Soptic, who describes how his wife died after they lost their health insurance.

Watch it:

Romney’s campaign called the ad “dishonest” and “contemptible.” Mark Halperin of Time Magazine lamented, “It seems that for some Democrats, given the attacks the President has taken, nothing is out of bounds in going after Romney at this point.”

Sensing controversy, cable news outlets replayed the ad, by ThinkProgress’ estimate, 60 times in two days. Fox News and Fox Business provided the bulk of the coverage, mentioning and playing clips of the ad 26 times since Tuesday. CNN and MSNBC played it 15 and 12 times respectively.

Priorities USA senior strategist Bill Burton told the Huffington Post that “Understands” has been “wildly successful” in focusing the conversation on Romney’s impact on the middle class. And the super PAC is getting far more bang for its buck thanks to the free media coverage.

To put the Priorities USA ad buy in perspective, conservative outside groups spent $144 million on swing state TV ads as of the third week in July. Democratic groups, led by Priorities USA, have spent $20 million.

The success of “Understands” can be read as a lesson to future political campaigns: launch hyperbolic attacks on your opponent, and the media will reward you with millions of dollars in free air time.

Update

This piece has been updated to more accurately reflect Priority USA’s ad expenditures.


Update

The New York Times is reporting the Priorities USA ad has never actually aired on broadcast TV.

NEWS FLASH

Koch Brother Will Be Official Romney Delegate At Republican National Convention | David Koch will be an official delegate for Mitt Romney at this month’s Republican National Convention and will represent the New York Republican Party, according to National Journal. Koch, an oil billionaire currently ranked number five on the Forbes U.S. billionaire list, has pledged along with his brother Charles to spend $100 million in their effort to oust President Obama this November. For years, the Koch brothers have used their vast wealth to finance the tea party and attack progressive policies on health reform, Wall Street reform, and climate change. It’s unclear if David Koch will attend the RNC in person, which kicks off August 27.

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