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Facts

ANNCR: We know what shattered the economy.

On Screen: “Dismal economy …” / Reno Gazette-Journal, 8/29/10

ANNCR: Wall Street greed and CEO’s shipping jobs overseas, the cost of foreign oil and Bush economics.

FACT: THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION DROVE THE COUNTRY INTO A FISCAL AND ECONOMIC DITCH

In The Last Year Of The Bush Administration Alone The County Lost Nearly 4.4 Million Jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from January 2008 - January 2009, the economy lost 4,392,000 jobs. [Bureau of Labor Statistics]

CBS: “BUSH ECON ADVISOR: OUTSOURCING OK” [CBS, 2/13/04]

President Bush Inherited Massive Budget Surpluses And Left Us With Massive Deficits. In June 2009, the New York Times reported, “The story of today’s deficits starts in January 2001, as President Bill Clinton was leaving office. The Congressional Budget Office estimated then that the government would run an average annual surplus of more than $800 billion a year from 2009 to 2012. Today, the government is expected to run a $1.2 trillion annual deficit in those years.” In January 2010, PolitiFact confirmed that President Bush inherited a budget surplus and left office with trillions of dollars in projected shortfalls. [New York Times, 6/9/09; PolitiFact, 1/15/10]

President Bush Gave Us “The Most Tepid Growth Over Any Eight-Year Span Since Data Collection Began Seven Decades Ago.” According to the Washington Post, “The number of jobs in the nation increased by about 2 percent during Bush's tenure, the most tepid growth over any eight-year span since data collection began seven decades ago. Gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic output, grew at the slowest pace for a period of that length since the Truman administration. And Americans' incomes grew more slowly than in any presidency since the 1960s, other than that of Bush's father.” [Washington Post, 1/12/09]

FACT: WALL STREET’S RECKLESSNESS AND GREED WERE THE “EXPLOSIVES” THAT CAUSED THE “AVALANCHE” OF THE 2008 FINANCIAL COLLAPSE

Las Vegas Sun: “Bipartisan Critics Of The Current System Have A Straightforward Analogy For It: A Casino In Which Taxpayers Have To Bail Out The House Because Of Its Incompetence And Greed.” In April 2010, the Las Vegas Sun reported, “By now the causes of the financial crash that led to the Great Recession are well known. Americans, including homebuyers and regulators, community banks and Wall Street titans, were like skiers blithely ignoring the risk of avalanche, while a few destructive firms lit explosives that got the cascade started. In short: easy money, lax lending standards and government incentives puffed up the housing market, especially in states such as Nevada, California, Arizona and Florida. Lenders didn’t care if borrowers would repay, because they were just going to resell the loans to someone else. Rating agencies, paid by the people whose products they were rating, said those packaged loans were safe and tiptop. But they weren’t. Once the loans failed and the foreclosures started, some big Wall Street firms stood to lose billions because of bets they had made that those bad mortgages wouldn’t fail. The bets, called ‘derivatives,’ were largely unregulated and opaque — few people knew who owed what to whom. So the losses started, and huge Wall Street firms, including Lehman Brothers, failed, while others stood on the brink of collapse. The country’s entire financial system was on the verge of freezing up, which would have crippled American capitalism. If all that sounds complicated, bipartisan critics of the current system have a straightforward analogy for it: A casino in which taxpayers have to bail out the house because of its incompetence and greed.” [Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/10 (emphasis added)]

FACT: THE HIGH COST OF OIL ONLY EXACERBATED ECONOMIC WOES AS GAS PRICES REMAINED HIGH DURING THE DOWNTURN

CNNMoney: “High Gas Prices: Recession-Proof.” In January 2008, CNNMoney reported, “Contrary to popular belief, Americans facing a looming recession should expect little relief in the form of lower gas prices, experts say. Despite recently falling oil and gasoline prices, strong worldwide demand, refinery shortages, and OPEC production cuts should keep gasoline well above $2 a gallon in 2008. Slower consumer spending and rising unemployment - traditional harbingers of an economic downturn - are unlikely to drastically reduce energy prices. Oil isn't expected to fall below $60 a barrel from its current level of $90 and gasoline should bottom out around $2.30-2.50 a gallon from around $3 currently, experts say.” [CNNMoney, 1/22/08]

Associated Press: “Oil, Gas Prices Defy Recession, Go Higher.” In May 2009, the Associated Press reported, “Oil and gasoline prices continued their recession-defying march higher Friday, doubling in the past six months largely on optimism that a strengthening economy will drive demand higher. Wholesale gasoline prices, which typically rise during this time of the year, have been especially strong and are now up a staggering 140 percent since Christmas Eve. Retail gasoline prices have hit a national average of $2.467 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Pump prices are up 20 percent just in the past month, but are still $1.485 below the price a year ago.” [Associated Press, 5/29/09]

ANNCR: But Sharron Angle’s blaming Harry Reid.

On Screen: SHARRON ANGLE TV AD

ANNCR: Come on.

On Screen: Come on.

FACT: ANGLE AND HER RIGHT-WING FRONT GROUP SUPPORTERS HAVE BEEN REPEATEDLY TAKEN TO TASK FOR THEIR RIDICULOUS ATTEMPTS TO BLAME NEVADA’S ECONOMIC WOES ON REID

RGJ Fact Checker: “You Can't Pin State's Job Losses On Reid.” In June 2010, the Reno Gazette-Journal Fact Checker reported, “It's easy -- and can be fun -- to blame one person. But it doesn't seem to be true regarding Nevada's unemployment rate, even partly. I've contacted Angle's campaign multiple times without response. I've searched conservative sites to find details on specific things Reid did to cost Nevada jobs. All I found was rhetoric -- or claims Reid used his power too much to benefit Nevada … Reid potentially could have done more, and I hold out the possibility someone will turn up concrete examples that he did less or did demonstrably harmful things. Until then, it appears untrue that Nevada's record unemployment can be laid at Reid's feet.” [Reno Gazette-Journal, 6/27/10]

FactCheck.org Has Already Called Out Angle Making “Questionable” Claims On Foreclosures And Unemployment. In July 2010, FactCheck.org analyzed one of Angle’s ads writing, “Things could definitely be better in the Silver State, to be sure. But Angle’s ad attempts to attribute all these woes to Reid personally; Angle repeatedly says ‘he’s done’ these things. That’s questionable, to put it mildly. Many analysts attribute Nevada’s high unemployment rate to the recession, compounded by the fact that so many of the state’s jobs have been in the leisure and hospitality sector, which is dependent on discretionary spending by Americans who have been doing less of that lately, and construction, which is off nationwide. Bankruptcies and foreclosures go hand-in-hand with high unemployment.” [FactCheck.org 7/26/10]

FactCheck.org Called Angle’s Ad Blaming Reid For Dropping Home Prices “A Real Stretch.” In August 2010, FactCheck.org analyzed Angle’s ad attacking Reid on the housing crisis, saying, “GOP candidate Sharron Angle’s latest ad blames rival Sen. Harry Reid for Nevada’s dramatic decline in home value. That’s a real stretch. Angle gets the numbers right, but doesn’t show that Reid is responsible. In fact, the housing bubble was already starting to deflate by the time Reid became Democratic leader of the Senate. The ad is another dubious attempt by the Republican tea party enthusiast to pin responsibility for Nevada’s economic woes on the incumbent.” [FactCheck.org, 8/5/10]

KOLO Called Angle’s Claim That Reid Was Responsible For Dropping Home Prices “False;” Economist Said Only An “Economic Illiterate” Would Link Reid’s Position As Majority Leader With The Housing Collapse. In August 2010, KOLO fact-checked Angle’s ad attacking Reid for the housing collapse in Nevada. The report loked at Angle’s claim that “That means if your home was worth $300,000 before, now, thanks to Harry Reid's disastrous economic policies, you’ve lost over $150,000. Wiping out people's retirement savings overnight.” According to KOLO, that claim is “False. The arithmetic is simple; laying the blame on Senator Reid is a little more complicated … Economists say there's plenty of blame to go around including the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates low, banks making risky loans, Wall Street playing economic roulette, and a general lack of oversight and hubris on everyone who wanted to believe home prices would keep rising. The housing bubble grew higher, faster here and in states like California and Florida. When it burst, prices fell lower and faster. And it began to burst in mid-2006 months before Reid became Majority Leader. On that point alone we have to call this claim false … An economist we talked with called the ad ‘disingenuous’ saying only an ‘economic illiterate’ would claim Reid becoming Majority Leader had anything to do with the housing collapse, noting all the causes at work long before.” [KOLO, 8/11/10]

Ralston On Angle’s “Love Triangle” Ad: “But is it factual? That's where the problems come in.” During an August 2010 reality check of Angle’s “Love Triangle” ad, Ralston said, “It has the potential to be very effective. But is it factual? That's where the problems come in … It begins in a creative way, but what about the evidence the ad provides? Taxpayer funded bailouts for Wall Street? Well, those bailouts started under a different President, didn't they? And while some Republicans have expressed remorse over those 2008 votes they were not on Obama's watch, although Reid did support every one of the so-called bailouts. A $787 billion stimulus that failed? Another familiar Republican talking point. But as I pointed out before, many economists think the recession would have become a depression without the stimulus. Others think it should have been larger, and Reid has argued it saved many jobs … And spending so reckless that it has led to record deficits and skyrocketing unemployment? Well, you can't argue with the facts here. The spending since Obama took office has led to record deficits. And as I said, unemployment is at record levels. But is there a cause and effect? Is it reckless? Those are judgment calls and it may be a rush to judgment to make the call already … On this one I do an average, an A for creativity and potential effectiveness, but a C minus for accuracy.” [Face to Face, 8/31/10]

Anjeanette Damon: In “Love Triangle,” “It's Her Central Claim In This Ad That Doesn't Tell The Whole Truth.” In September 2010, Anjeanette Damon fact-checked Angle’s “Love Triangle” ad on KRNV. Damon said, “But it's her central claim in this ad that doesn't tell the whole truth. Certainly the economic policies passed in Washington D.C. have had some impact on Nevada's economy. Reid would argue, and many economists agree, that without those policies Nevada, and the country, would have slipped into a depression. Regardless of the political debate over those policies, it's hard to pin the entire meltdown of the economy on one man. This claim gets a ‘C.’” [KRNV, 9/2/10 (emphasis added)]

ANNCR: Sharron Angle’s the one who opposed Wall Street Reform …

On Screen: Opposed Wall Street Reform / Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/10

FACT: ANGLE OPPOSED WALL STREET REFORM

Angle Opposes Any Efforts To Reform Or Hold Wall Street Accountable. According to a Las Vegas Sun article outlining where Senate candidates stand on Wall Street Reform, “Before you ask Angle how Wall Street should be reformed, you need to ask her if it needs to be reformed. ‘No,’ she said in a written response.” While other candidates disagreed on precisely how Wall Street should be reformed, Sharron Angle was the only one of five Senate candidates to respond in a written questionnaire from the Las Vegas Sun that no action should be taken to fix Wall Street. [Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/10]

Angle Blamed Financial Crisis On “Too Much Regulation Across The Board.” According to an April 18, 2010 article in the Las Vegas Sun, Angle told reporter David Schwartz the cause of the financial crisis was “too much regulation across the board.” [Las Vegas Sun, 4/18/10]

Angle Says We Should Leave Bailed Out Banks To Do Whatever They Want. When asked a question about failed banks giving bonuses to executives and financial reform, Sharron Angle said, “Well you don’t give them the money in the first place, but now that they’ve got it, I don’t see that we go in and we tell business what to do. That’s not what government’s supposed to be about.” [Face to Face with Jon Ralston, 2/3/10]

Las Vegas Sun: “Angle Is Quite Literally Alone” In Thinking Wall Street Needs No Reform. In April 2010, the Las Vegas Sun reported, “Before you ask Angle how Wall Street should be reformed, you need to ask her if it needs to be reformed. ‘No,’ she said in a written response. ‘Getting back to tried and true supply-side economics affectionately known as Reaganomics will give small business and international confidence in our economy.’ On this, Angle is quite literally alone, not just among Republicans running for Senate, but also among economists and finance experts — left, right and center. Although there’s disagreement about how to do it, policymakers in both parties agree Wall Street must be governed by rules that will enhance transparency and safety.” [Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/10]

ANNCR: … wants to protect tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas …

On Screen: Tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas / Fox Business, 8/9/10

FACT: ANGLE WOULD HAVE VOTED AGAINST CLOSING TAX LOOPHOLES FOR COMPANIES THAT SHIP JOBS OVERSEAS

Angle Opposed Legislation That Funded 1,400 Nevada Education Jobs

Reid Passed Legislation Providing $83 Million In Funding For 1,400 Education Jobs In Nevada. In August 2010, the Review-Journal reported, “Senate Democrats on Wednesday defeated a Republican filibuster and cleared a path for a $26 billion bill to rescue cash-starved states contemplating layoffs to teachers and other public employees. For Nevada, the legislation promises $83 million to bolster school budgets and $79 million to cushion a shortfall in state spending on health care for the poor.” According to the Department of Education, the bill would fund approximately 1,400 Nevada education jobs. [Review-Journal, 8/4/10; Department of Education, 8/6/10]

Angle On Saving 1,400 Education Jobs: “The Emergency Is Only In Harry Reid’s Mind.” During an August 2010 interview with Andrew Napolitano and Michelle Bachmann on Fox Business News, Angle agreed with Rep. Bachmann when she said funding to save education jobs was “money laundering,” saying, “Well I think the emergency is only in Harry Reid’s mind as Michele put so succinctly. This is an emergency for the Democrats, it is a way to solidify their base if you will with our taxpayer dollars. I say no, Nevada voters are much wiser than that, they know that this emergency is only in Harry Reid’s mind.” [Fox Business News, 8/9/10]

Angle Called Saving Education Jobs A Giveaway To “Special Interests.” During an August 2010 interview with Roger Hedgecock, Angle said, “He has promoted the stimulus plans, and now he’s wanting to promote another one as an emergency act. All it is, is really promoting money to his special interest groups – those unions – and what is going to do to Nevada is this stimulus new bill is going to take money out of Medicaid and food stamps instead of hiring… he wants to hire teachers and our population has gone down so much that we don’t have those jobs for teachers anymore because of what Harry Reid has been doing. I mean we could just go on and on with the poor public policy that he has been promoting. And it’s all for Harry Reid; it has nothing to do with Nevada.” [The Roger Hedgecock Show, 8/9/10]

Education Jobs Bill Was Paid For In Part By Closing Tax Loopholes For Companies That Ship Jobs Overseas

Los Angeles Times: “In a sign of how heavily deficit concerns have come to weigh on this Congress, the bill is fully paid for mainly by ending some tax breaks for companies operating overseas, as well as by imposing an earlier end to a food stamp program.” [Los Angeles Times, 8/11/10]

Washington Post: “And it would end tax breaks for some multinational corporations that are based in the United States but have operations and pay taxes abroad. Closing those ‘loopholes,’ as Democrats call them, is the centerpiece of a House Democratic campaign to promote domestic manufacturing and discourage companies from shipping jobs overseas.” [Washington Post, 8/5/10]

Washington Independent: “It raises one tax — closing a loophole that encouraged big companies to hire overseas workers — and otherwise rescinds funds from federal programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps … The tax increase is minor, and stops encouraging big companies to ship jobs overseas.” [The Washington Independent, 8/11/10]

ANNCR: … and says it’s not her job to create jobs.

On Screen: Not her job to create jobs

ANGLE: I am not in the business of creating jobs.

On Screen: “I am not in the business of creating jobs” / Elko County Senate Forum, 5/11/10

ANNCR: That’s Sharron Angle. Extreme ideas that will make things worse.

On Screen: Sharron Angle

On Screen: Extreme ideas. That will make things worse.

REID: I’m Harry Reid, and I approved this message.

On Screen: APPROVED BY HARRY REID. PAID FOR BY FRIENDS FOR HARRY REID.

FACT: ANGLE DOESN’T THINK IT’S THE JOB OF A UNITED STATES SENATOR TO CREATE JOBS

Angle On Jobs: “Ok, As Your U.S. Senator I Am Not In The Business Of Creating Jobs.” [Elko County Forum, 05/11/10]

Angle On Creating Jobs: It’s Someone Else’s Job. During a May 2010 campaign event, Angle said, “People ask me, what are you going to do to develop jobs in your state? Well that’s not my job as a US Senator, to bring industry to the state. That’s the Lieutenant Governor’s job. That’s your State Senator’s and Assemblyman’s job. That’s your Secretary of State’s job, to make a climate here in this state, ya’ll come.” [Angle Campaign Event, 5/14/10]

Neither Angle Nor Her Campaign Disputed The Accuracy Of Either Quote. In July 2010, FactCheck.org assessed the Reid campaign’s ad using both of these quotes from Angle. According to the report, “The remainder of the ad quotes Angle, and does so accurately. She’s heard saying, ‘People ask me, what are you going to do to develop jobs in your state? Well, that’s not my job as a U.S. senator.’ The audio is taken from a shaky, cell-phone video of Angle speaking to a small gathering, which Reid’s campaign had posted on YouTube in June. The quote is in context. In the video, Angle continues: ‘. . . to bring industry to the state. That’s the lieutenant governor’s job, that’s your state senators’ and assemblymen’s job. That’s your secretary of state’s job, to make a climate in the state that says, “Y’all come.”’ According to Reid’s campaign Web site, that video was taken at an Angle campaign event on May 14, 2010. Angle’s campaign, contacted by FactCheck.org, did not dispute the accuracy of the video. The Reid ad also shows another cell-phone video of Angle saying, at a different appearance, ‘I am not in the business of creating jobs.’ The full quote, as posted by Reid on YouTube, is, ‘As your senator, I am not in the business of creating jobs.’ The Reid campaign says that one was taken at a forum in Elko County, Nevada on May 11, 2010. Angle’s campaign didn’t dispute the accuracy of this video, either.” [FactCheck.org, 7/14/10 (emphasis added)]

Angle Doubled Down On Jobs Comments; Said, “When I Said That As A United States Senator That Was Not My Job To Create Jobs, It’s True.” During a June 2010 interview on Chalice Jackson’s internet radio show, Angle said, “But really we know that the government doesn’t create jobs and Harry Reid has been saying that he’s creating jobs, but really what has happened is that the unemployment rate in Nevada has gone from four percent to fourteen percent. And so he has not created jobs, in fact he has created more problems with unemployment than he has created any kind of jobs. We know from President Reagan that the government is not the solution. It is the problem. And so when I said that as a United States Senator that was not my job to create jobs, it’s true.” [Chalice Jackson Show, 6/23/10]

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Facts

ANNCR: We know what shattered the economy.

On Screen: “Dismal economy …” / Reno Gazette-Journal, 8/29/10

ANNCR: Wall Street greed and CEO’s shipping jobs overseas, the cost of foreign oil and Bush economics.

FACT: THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION DROVE THE COUNTRY INTO A FISCAL AND ECONOMIC DITCH

In The Last Year Of The Bush Administration Alone The County Lost Nearly 4.4 Million Jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from January 2008 - January 2009, the economy lost 4,392,000 jobs. [Bureau of Labor Statistics]

CBS: “BUSH ECON ADVISOR: OUTSOURCING OK” [CBS, 2/13/04]

President Bush Inherited Massive Budget Surpluses And Left Us With Massive Deficits. In June 2009, the New York Times reported, “The story of today’s deficits starts in January 2001, as President Bill Clinton was leaving office. The Congressional Budget Office estimated then that the government would run an average annual surplus of more than $800 billion a year from 2009 to 2012. Today, the government is expected to run a $1.2 trillion annual deficit in those years.” In January 2010, PolitiFact confirmed that President Bush inherited a budget surplus and left office with trillions of dollars in projected shortfalls. [New York Times, 6/9/09; PolitiFact, 1/15/10]

President Bush Gave Us “The Most Tepid Growth Over Any Eight-Year Span Since Data Collection Began Seven Decades Ago.” According to the Washington Post, “The number of jobs in the nation increased by about 2 percent during Bush's tenure, the most tepid growth over any eight-year span since data collection began seven decades ago. Gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic output, grew at the slowest pace for a period of that length since the Truman administration. And Americans' incomes grew more slowly than in any presidency since the 1960s, other than that of Bush's father.” [Washington Post, 1/12/09]

FACT: WALL STREET’S RECKLESSNESS AND GREED WERE THE “EXPLOSIVES” THAT CAUSED THE “AVALANCHE” OF THE 2008 FINANCIAL COLLAPSE

Las Vegas Sun: “Bipartisan Critics Of The Current System Have A Straightforward Analogy For It: A Casino In Which Taxpayers Have To Bail Out The House Because Of Its Incompetence And Greed.” In April 2010, the Las Vegas Sun reported, “By now the causes of the financial crash that led to the Great Recession are well known. Americans, including homebuyers and regulators, community banks and Wall Street titans, were like skiers blithely ignoring the risk of avalanche, while a few destructive firms lit explosives that got the cascade started. In short: easy money, lax lending standards and government incentives puffed up the housing market, especially in states such as Nevada, California, Arizona and Florida. Lenders didn’t care if borrowers would repay, because they were just going to resell the loans to someone else. Rating agencies, paid by the people whose products they were rating, said those packaged loans were safe and tiptop. But they weren’t. Once the loans failed and the foreclosures started, some big Wall Street firms stood to lose billions because of bets they had made that those bad mortgages wouldn’t fail. The bets, called ‘derivatives,’ were largely unregulated and opaque — few people knew who owed what to whom. So the losses started, and huge Wall Street firms, including Lehman Brothers, failed, while others stood on the brink of collapse. The country’s entire financial system was on the verge of freezing up, which would have crippled American capitalism. If all that sounds complicated, bipartisan critics of the current system have a straightforward analogy for it: A casino in which taxpayers have to bail out the house because of its incompetence and greed.” [Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/10 (emphasis added)]

FACT: THE HIGH COST OF OIL ONLY EXACERBATED ECONOMIC WOES AS GAS PRICES REMAINED HIGH DURING THE DOWNTURN

CNNMoney: “High Gas Prices: Recession-Proof.” In January 2008, CNNMoney reported, “Contrary to popular belief, Americans facing a looming recession should expect little relief in the form of lower gas prices, experts say. Despite recently falling oil and gasoline prices, strong worldwide demand, refinery shortages, and OPEC production cuts should keep gasoline well above $2 a gallon in 2008. Slower consumer spending and rising unemployment - traditional harbingers of an economic downturn - are unlikely to drastically reduce energy prices. Oil isn't expected to fall below $60 a barrel from its current level of $90 and gasoline should bottom out around $2.30-2.50 a gallon from around $3 currently, experts say.” [CNNMoney, 1/22/08]

Associated Press: “Oil, Gas Prices Defy Recession, Go Higher.” In May 2009, the Associated Press reported, “Oil and gasoline prices continued their recession-defying march higher Friday, doubling in the past six months largely on optimism that a strengthening economy will drive demand higher. Wholesale gasoline prices, which typically rise during this time of the year, have been especially strong and are now up a staggering 140 percent since Christmas Eve. Retail gasoline prices have hit a national average of $2.467 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Pump prices are up 20 percent just in the past month, but are still $1.485 below the price a year ago.” [Associated Press, 5/29/09]

ANNCR: But Sharron Angle’s blaming Harry Reid.

On Screen: SHARRON ANGLE TV AD

ANNCR: Come on.

On Screen: Come on.

FACT: ANGLE AND HER RIGHT-WING FRONT GROUP SUPPORTERS HAVE BEEN REPEATEDLY TAKEN TO TASK FOR THEIR RIDICULOUS ATTEMPTS TO BLAME NEVADA’S ECONOMIC WOES ON REID

RGJ Fact Checker: “You Can't Pin State's Job Losses On Reid.” In June 2010, the Reno Gazette-Journal Fact Checker reported, “It's easy -- and can be fun -- to blame one person. But it doesn't seem to be true regarding Nevada's unemployment rate, even partly. I've contacted Angle's campaign multiple times without response. I've searched conservative sites to find details on specific things Reid did to cost Nevada jobs. All I found was rhetoric -- or claims Reid used his power too much to benefit Nevada … Reid potentially could have done more, and I hold out the possibility someone will turn up concrete examples that he did less or did demonstrably harmful things. Until then, it appears untrue that Nevada's record unemployment can be laid at Reid's feet.” [Reno Gazette-Journal, 6/27/10]

FactCheck.org Has Already Called Out Angle Making “Questionable” Claims On Foreclosures And Unemployment. In July 2010, FactCheck.org analyzed one of Angle’s ads writing, “Things could definitely be better in the Silver State, to be sure. But Angle’s ad attempts to attribute all these woes to Reid personally; Angle repeatedly says ‘he’s done’ these things. That’s questionable, to put it mildly. Many analysts attribute Nevada’s high unemployment rate to the recession, compounded by the fact that so many of the state’s jobs have been in the leisure and hospitality sector, which is dependent on discretionary spending by Americans who have been doing less of that lately, and construction, which is off nationwide. Bankruptcies and foreclosures go hand-in-hand with high unemployment.” [FactCheck.org 7/26/10]

FactCheck.org Called Angle’s Ad Blaming Reid For Dropping Home Prices “A Real Stretch.” In August 2010, FactCheck.org analyzed Angle’s ad attacking Reid on the housing crisis, saying, “GOP candidate Sharron Angle’s latest ad blames rival Sen. Harry Reid for Nevada’s dramatic decline in home value. That’s a real stretch. Angle gets the numbers right, but doesn’t show that Reid is responsible. In fact, the housing bubble was already starting to deflate by the time Reid became Democratic leader of the Senate. The ad is another dubious attempt by the Republican tea party enthusiast to pin responsibility for Nevada’s economic woes on the incumbent.” [FactCheck.org, 8/5/10]

KOLO Called Angle’s Claim That Reid Was Responsible For Dropping Home Prices “False;” Economist Said Only An “Economic Illiterate” Would Link Reid’s Position As Majority Leader With The Housing Collapse. In August 2010, KOLO fact-checked Angle’s ad attacking Reid for the housing collapse in Nevada. The report loked at Angle’s claim that “That means if your home was worth $300,000 before, now, thanks to Harry Reid's disastrous economic policies, you’ve lost over $150,000. Wiping out people's retirement savings overnight.” According to KOLO, that claim is “False. The arithmetic is simple; laying the blame on Senator Reid is a little more complicated … Economists say there's plenty of blame to go around including the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates low, banks making risky loans, Wall Street playing economic roulette, and a general lack of oversight and hubris on everyone who wanted to believe home prices would keep rising. The housing bubble grew higher, faster here and in states like California and Florida. When it burst, prices fell lower and faster. And it began to burst in mid-2006 months before Reid became Majority Leader. On that point alone we have to call this claim false … An economist we talked with called the ad ‘disingenuous’ saying only an ‘economic illiterate’ would claim Reid becoming Majority Leader had anything to do with the housing collapse, noting all the causes at work long before.” [KOLO, 8/11/10]

Ralston On Angle’s “Love Triangle” Ad: “But is it factual? That's where the problems come in.” During an August 2010 reality check of Angle’s “Love Triangle” ad, Ralston said, “It has the potential to be very effective. But is it factual? That's where the problems come in … It begins in a creative way, but what about the evidence the ad provides? Taxpayer funded bailouts for Wall Street? Well, those bailouts started under a different President, didn't they? And while some Republicans have expressed remorse over those 2008 votes they were not on Obama's watch, although Reid did support every one of the so-called bailouts. A $787 billion stimulus that failed? Another familiar Republican talking point. But as I pointed out before, many economists think the recession would have become a depression without the stimulus. Others think it should have been larger, and Reid has argued it saved many jobs … And spending so reckless that it has led to record deficits and skyrocketing unemployment? Well, you can't argue with the facts here. The spending since Obama took office has led to record deficits. And as I said, unemployment is at record levels. But is there a cause and effect? Is it reckless? Those are judgment calls and it may be a rush to judgment to make the call already … On this one I do an average, an A for creativity and potential effectiveness, but a C minus for accuracy.” [Face to Face, 8/31/10]

Anjeanette Damon: In “Love Triangle,” “It's Her Central Claim In This Ad That Doesn't Tell The Whole Truth.” In September 2010, Anjeanette Damon fact-checked Angle’s “Love Triangle” ad on KRNV. Damon said, “But it's her central claim in this ad that doesn't tell the whole truth. Certainly the economic policies passed in Washington D.C. have had some impact on Nevada's economy. Reid would argue, and many economists agree, that without those policies Nevada, and the country, would have slipped into a depression. Regardless of the political debate over those policies, it's hard to pin the entire meltdown of the economy on one man. This claim gets a ‘C.’” [KRNV, 9/2/10 (emphasis added)]

ANNCR: Sharron Angle’s the one who opposed Wall Street Reform …

On Screen: Opposed Wall Street Reform / Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/10

FACT: ANGLE OPPOSED WALL STREET REFORM

Angle Opposes Any Efforts To Reform Or Hold Wall Street Accountable. According to a Las Vegas Sun article outlining where Senate candidates stand on Wall Street Reform, “Before you ask Angle how Wall Street should be reformed, you need to ask her if it needs to be reformed. ‘No,’ she said in a written response.” While other candidates disagreed on precisely how Wall Street should be reformed, Sharron Angle was the only one of five Senate candidates to respond in a written questionnaire from the Las Vegas Sun that no action should be taken to fix Wall Street. [Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/10]

Angle Blamed Financial Crisis On “Too Much Regulation Across The Board.” According to an April 18, 2010 article in the Las Vegas Sun, Angle told reporter David Schwartz the cause of the financial crisis was “too much regulation across the board.” [Las Vegas Sun, 4/18/10]

Angle Says We Should Leave Bailed Out Banks To Do Whatever They Want. When asked a question about failed banks giving bonuses to executives and financial reform, Sharron Angle said, “Well you don’t give them the money in the first place, but now that they’ve got it, I don’t see that we go in and we tell business what to do. That’s not what government’s supposed to be about.” [Face to Face with Jon Ralston, 2/3/10]

Las Vegas Sun: “Angle Is Quite Literally Alone” In Thinking Wall Street Needs No Reform. In April 2010, the Las Vegas Sun reported, “Before you ask Angle how Wall Street should be reformed, you need to ask her if it needs to be reformed. ‘No,’ she said in a written response. ‘Getting back to tried and true supply-side economics affectionately known as Reaganomics will give small business and international confidence in our economy.’ On this, Angle is quite literally alone, not just among Republicans running for Senate, but also among economists and finance experts — left, right and center. Although there’s disagreement about how to do it, policymakers in both parties agree Wall Street must be governed by rules that will enhance transparency and safety.” [Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/10]

ANNCR: … wants to protect tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas …

On Screen: Tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas / Fox Business, 8/9/10

FACT: ANGLE WOULD HAVE VOTED AGAINST CLOSING TAX LOOPHOLES FOR COMPANIES THAT SHIP JOBS OVERSEAS

Angle Opposed Legislation That Funded 1,400 Nevada Education Jobs

Reid Passed Legislation Providing $83 Million In Funding For 1,400 Education Jobs In Nevada. In August 2010, the Review-Journal reported, “Senate Democrats on Wednesday defeated a Republican filibuster and cleared a path for a $26 billion bill to rescue cash-starved states contemplating layoffs to teachers and other public employees. For Nevada, the legislation promises $83 million to bolster school budgets and $79 million to cushion a shortfall in state spending on health care for the poor.” According to the Department of Education, the bill would fund approximately 1,400 Nevada education jobs. [Review-Journal, 8/4/10; Department of Education, 8/6/10]

Angle On Saving 1,400 Education Jobs: “The Emergency Is Only In Harry Reid’s Mind.” During an August 2010 interview with Andrew Napolitano and Michelle Bachmann on Fox Business News, Angle agreed with Rep. Bachmann when she said funding to save education jobs was “money laundering,” saying, “Well I think the emergency is only in Harry Reid’s mind as Michele put so succinctly. This is an emergency for the Democrats, it is a way to solidify their base if you will with our taxpayer dollars. I say no, Nevada voters are much wiser than that, they know that this emergency is only in Harry Reid’s mind.” [Fox Business News, 8/9/10]

Angle Called Saving Education Jobs A Giveaway To “Special Interests.” During an August 2010 interview with Roger Hedgecock, Angle said, “He has promoted the stimulus plans, and now he’s wanting to promote another one as an emergency act. All it is, is really promoting money to his special interest groups – those unions – and what is going to do to Nevada is this stimulus new bill is going to take money out of Medicaid and food stamps instead of hiring… he wants to hire teachers and our population has gone down so much that we don’t have those jobs for teachers anymore because of what Harry Reid has been doing. I mean we could just go on and on with the poor public policy that he has been promoting. And it’s all for Harry Reid; it has nothing to do with Nevada.” [The Roger Hedgecock Show, 8/9/10]

Education Jobs Bill Was Paid For In Part By Closing Tax Loopholes For Companies That Ship Jobs Overseas

Los Angeles Times: “In a sign of how heavily deficit concerns have come to weigh on this Congress, the bill is fully paid for mainly by ending some tax breaks for companies operating overseas, as well as by imposing an earlier end to a food stamp program.” [Los Angeles Times, 8/11/10]

Washington Post: “And it would end tax breaks for some multinational corporations that are based in the United States but have operations and pay taxes abroad. Closing those ‘loopholes,’ as Democrats call them, is the centerpiece of a House Democratic campaign to promote domestic manufacturing and discourage companies from shipping jobs overseas.” [Washington Post, 8/5/10]

Washington Independent: “It raises one tax — closing a loophole that encouraged big companies to hire overseas workers — and otherwise rescinds funds from federal programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps … The tax increase is minor, and stops encouraging big companies to ship jobs overseas.” [The Washington Independent, 8/11/10]

ANNCR: … and says it’s not her job to create jobs.

On Screen: Not her job to create jobs

ANGLE: I am not in the business of creating jobs.

On Screen: “I am not in the business of creating jobs” / Elko County Senate Forum, 5/11/10

ANNCR: That’s Sharron Angle. Extreme ideas that will make things worse.

On Screen: Sharron Angle

On Screen: Extreme ideas. That will make things worse.

REID: I’m Harry Reid, and I approved this message.

On Screen: APPROVED BY HARRY REID. PAID FOR BY FRIENDS FOR HARRY REID.

FACT: ANGLE DOESN’T THINK IT’S THE JOB OF A UNITED STATES SENATOR TO CREATE JOBS

Angle On Jobs: “Ok, As Your U.S. Senator I Am Not In The Business Of Creating Jobs.” [Elko County Forum, 05/11/10]

Angle On Creating Jobs: It’s Someone Else’s Job. During a May 2010 campaign event, Angle said, “People ask me, what are you going to do to develop jobs in your state? Well that’s not my job as a US Senator, to bring industry to the state. That’s the Lieutenant Governor’s job. That’s your State Senator’s and Assemblyman’s job. That’s your Secretary of State’s job, to make a climate here in this state, ya’ll come.” [Angle Campaign Event, 5/14/10]

Neither Angle Nor Her Campaign Disputed The Accuracy Of Either Quote. In July 2010, FactCheck.org assessed the Reid campaign’s ad using both of these quotes from Angle. According to the report, “The remainder of the ad quotes Angle, and does so accurately. She’s heard saying, ‘People ask me, what are you going to do to develop jobs in your state? Well, that’s not my job as a U.S. senator.’ The audio is taken from a shaky, cell-phone video of Angle speaking to a small gathering, which Reid’s campaign had posted on YouTube in June. The quote is in context. In the video, Angle continues: ‘. . . to bring industry to the state. That’s the lieutenant governor’s job, that’s your state senators’ and assemblymen’s job. That’s your secretary of state’s job, to make a climate in the state that says, “Y’all come.”’ According to Reid’s campaign Web site, that video was taken at an Angle campaign event on May 14, 2010. Angle’s campaign, contacted by FactCheck.org, did not dispute the accuracy of the video. The Reid ad also shows another cell-phone video of Angle saying, at a different appearance, ‘I am not in the business of creating jobs.’ The full quote, as posted by Reid on YouTube, is, ‘As your senator, I am not in the business of creating jobs.’ The Reid campaign says that one was taken at a forum in Elko County, Nevada on May 11, 2010. Angle’s campaign didn’t dispute the accuracy of this video, either.” [FactCheck.org, 7/14/10 (emphasis added)]

Angle Doubled Down On Jobs Comments; Said, “When I Said That As A United States Senator That Was Not My Job To Create Jobs, It’s True.” During a June 2010 interview on Chalice Jackson’s internet radio show, Angle said, “But really we know that the government doesn’t create jobs and Harry Reid has been saying that he’s creating jobs, but really what has happened is that the unemployment rate in Nevada has gone from four percent to fourteen percent. And so he has not created jobs, in fact he has created more problems with unemployment than he has created any kind of jobs. We know from President Reagan that the government is not the solution. It is the problem. And so when I said that as a United States Senator that was not my job to create jobs, it’s true.” [Chalice Jackson Show, 6/23/10]