Scott Maxwell: Putting political ads to the truth test.
So much money. So many campaign ads. So little respect for the truth.
It’s time again to break out the Malarkey Meter. Ads get rated Minor Malarkey, Major Malarkey, Maximum Malarkey or Totally True. THE CANDIDATE: Marco Rubio, Republican for U.S. Senate The ad: TV commercial: “Daughter”
The claim: Orlando mother Blanquita Trabold says her daughter was dying of cancer and needed a drug that didn’t yet have FDA approval. So she called Rubio’s office, which helped her get “the medication within a week,” giving Trabold “three more months with my daughter.”
The analysis: The ad is compelling and positive. But can members of Congress really help citizens get access to prescriptions? Yes indeed, responded the FDA, noting that doctors also have to be involved, but that congressional offices often contact the agency. That’s what Trabold said Rubio’s office did for her. Now, let’s take a moment to note how whacked out this system is. If you need a lifesaving drug, it shouldn’t require an act of Congress. But the FDA says it “regularly” hears from and works with members of Congress to help get “investigational” drugs. That’s what Rubio’s office seems to have done here — and what other desperate patients should know as well. The verdict: Totally True THE CANDIDATE: Supporters of Aramis Ayala, Democrat for State Attorney
The ad: Mailers: “Justice for Some”
The claim: State Attorney Jeff Ashton supports racism and wants to jail people of color while letting white people skate on crimes. Black hands are shown in handcuffs. White hands have “GET OUT OF JAIL FREE” cards.
The analysis: This is racebaiting, plain and simple. And it’s woefully free of facts. A PAC connected to billionaire liberal George Soros has tried to help the relatively unknown Ayala by portraying Ashton as a racist. But the evidence provided is thin to nonexistent — and, in one case, it’s simply false. It claims Ashton didn’t fire a prosecutor who posted ugly comments on social media. Actually, he did. Not immediately. But after the prosecutor’s first vulgar posts went public, Ashton disciplined him, instituted a new a social-media policy and then used that policy to fire the offending prosecutor. The verdict: Major Malarkey THE CANDIDATE: Ritch Workman, Republican candidate for State Senate The ad: Video: “Terri and Tiffanie support Ritch Workman” The claim: Ritch’s wife and ex-wife both want Ritch to win. Do they think he’s perfect? Heck no. “Ritch may not be a perfect man,” Terri says. But both women agree that Ritch’s opponent, Debbie Mayfield, is telling “outright lies or distortions of the truth.”
The analysis: Just weird. I’m not sure what viewers are supposed to think when they suddenly see a politician’s wife and ex-wife pop up over coffee to tell viewers that the the man they both married has flaws ... but that you should still vote for him. They don’t explain any of what they’re talking about — why Ritch is flawed, why the lies shouldn’t be believed, what the lies were or what evidence they have to prove them wrong.
The verdict: The claims here are so nebulous that, on this one, I’m ditching the Malarkey Meter and bringing out The Moxie Meter. And for having the guts to ask both your wife and ex-wife to tell the world that, yeah, you’re flawed — but still worth voting for! —Workman scores Maximum Moxie. THE CANDIDATE: Supporters of Wendy Breeden, candidate for the Lake County Commission (or at least those who want her opponent, incumbent Jimmy Conner, to lose)
The ad: Mailer: “Liberal, bully, 30-year career politician Jimmy Conner”
The claim: A secretive political committee called “Citizens for Integrity in Government” claims Conner, a veteran Republican official in Lake, is “liberal” and “a bully” — as evidenced by the Daily Commercial newspaper, which wrote: “Conner got away with bullying vendors and sticking it to taxpayers.”
The analysis: This one’s about as dishonest as it gets. Conner is a hard-core conservative with a long track record to prove it. So the “liberal” accusation will only work with the most gullible and uninformed voters Lake has to offer. But it’s the newspaper quote that’s most underhanded. Naïve recipients might think the Leesburg paper actually made the claim. It didn’t. The quote was lifted from a letter to the editor — one penned by a consultant who’s on the payroll of the group that put out the flyer. It would be like me claiming you have three heads and then quoting myself as evidence that others agree. Darn dirty pool.
The verdict: Maximum Malarkey