Rule number one of a good fact checking article—never let the actual fact checking process get in the way of a good balanced narrative.
We all know by now that Paul Ryan’s infamous Vice-President acceptance speech was chock full of actual real lies. Most of us, here on Earth-prime, have accepted this fact. Unfortunately, we are also forced to accept that Both Sides Do It™ at all times, because the media must be “balanced” instead of correct. Correct doesn’t get page views, dammit!
So, the AP vomited out this doozy of an article “fact-checking” former President Bill Clinton’s speech during this year’s Democratic Convention. Let’s quickly examine how, in the AP’s words, Clinton “cherry-picked facts or mischaracterized opposition”:
CLINTON: “When times are tough, constant conflict may be good politics but in the real world, cooperation works better. …Unfortunately, the faction that now dominates the Republican Party doesn’t see it that way. They think government is the enemy and compromise is weakness. One of the main reasons America should re-elect President Obama is that he is still committed to cooperation.”
THE FACTS: From Clinton’s speech, voters would have no idea that the inflexibility of both parties is to blame for much of the gridlock. … One of the more high-profile examples of a deal that fell apart was the outline of a proposed “grand bargain” budget agreement between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner in 2011.
The deal would have required compromise from both sides. It slashed domestic spending more than most Democrats wanted and would have raised some taxes, which most Republicans oppose. Boehner couldn’t sell the plan to tea party factions in the House or to other conservative activists. And Obama found himself accused of going too far by some Democratic leaders. The deal died before it ever even came up for a vote.
No, the Grand Bargain died because influential members of the GOP killed it. Also, perhaps the AP could have mentioned the reason the Grand Bargain even came to fruition was due to the House majority’s opposition to a routine raising of the debt ceiling. And yes, one party just doesn’t like to compromise.
CLINTON: Clinton suggested that Obama’s health care law is keeping health care costs in check. “For the last two years, health care spending has grown under 4 percent, for the first time in 50 years. So, are we all better off because President Obama fought for it and passed it? You bet we are.”
THE FACTS: That’s wishful thinking at best. The nation’s total health care tab has been growing at historically low rates, but most experts attribute that to continued uncertainty over the economy, not to Obama’s health care law.
Health care spending has actually been slowing in the last two years. That’s a fact. AP is correct in that it cannot be attributed necessarily to the ACA, but that’s because “still unclear why is the slowdown is happening”, according to Kaiser.
CLINTON: “I know many Americans are still angry and frustrated with the economy. … I experienced the same thing in 1994 and early 1995. Our policies were working but most people didn’t feel it yet. By 1996, the economy was roaring, halfway through the longest peacetime expansion in American history.”
THE FACTS: Clinton is counting on voters to recall the 1990s wistfully and to cast a vote for Obama in hopes of replicating those days in a second term. But Clinton leaves out the abrupt downward turn the economy took near the end of his own second term and the role his policies played in the setting the stage for the historic financial meltdown of 2008.
Here the AP chose a statement and decided to ignore its context altogether. You could argue that Clinton’s policies didn’t help the economy. But that’s not what the AP does. They choose to change the subject to the Glass-Seagal act, noting it as a contributor to the massive financial crisis decades later. That may be true but Clinton didn’t argue that point. The facts are the economy was roaring in ’96 and it did create the longest peacetime expansion in modern history.
CLINTON: “Their campaign pollster said, ‘We’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers.’ Now that is true. I couldn’t have said it better myself — I just hope you remember that every time you see the ad.”
THE FACTS: Clinton, who famously finger-wagged a denial on national television about his sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky and was subsequently impeached in the House on a perjury charge, has had his own uncomfortable moments over telling the truth. “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky,” Clinton told television viewers. Later, after he was forced to testify to a grand jury, Clinton said his statements were “legally accurate” but also allowed that he “misled people, including even my wife.”
After you stop laughing/crying, try to square that logic. Clinton accurately quotes Neil Newhouse’s statement, “We’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers.” This is apparently quadrillion zillion Pinocchios pants of fire FALSE because Clinton lied about getting a blow job.
Clinton, like many politicians, presented facts that were a positive to his argument. The job of an actual Fact Checker would be to review the “facts” and determine if they are indeed, true or false. Lazily creating ahistorical narratives or including unrelated anecdotes serves nothing to this purpose except to muddy the waters and take the wind out of an otherwise excellent speech. By the awfulness of this article, I can only assume this was the actual intention.
Image: Flickr
