Media Matters' "Top Election Falsehoods, Myths, & Talking Points"

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http://mediamatters.org/items/200611040007

Top election falsehoods, myths, and talking points

As the November 7 midterm elections approach, the increasing media coverage has carried with it an onslaught of conservative misinformation. Media Matters for America has compiled some of the more common examples below.

American voters favor Republicans on national security

Many in the media -- such as ABC News political director Mark Halperin, New York Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg, and CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux -- have either uncritically reported or asserted that "national security" or "terrorism" are Republican "strengths." MSNBC host Chris Matthews, meanwhile, has stated that "Republicans know from the polls they got two strengths right now" -- "terrorism" and "taxes" -- and then added: "Whether the current polls back that up or not."

In fact, recent polling undermines these assertions, indicating that Americans favor Democrats by a significant margin when asked whom they trust more to handle the specific national security-related issue of the war in Iraq. And recent polling is mixed on which party respondents prefer to handle the issue of terrorism.

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Terrorists want the Democrats to win

Conservative media figures -- including nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, and Roll Call executive editor Morton M. Kondracke -- have repeatedly asserted, without any basis, that violence has increased in Iraq because Al Qaeda or the Iraqi insurgents want Democrats to win. Limbaugh, in particular, declared on his October 19 radio show that the recent increase in insurgent violence in Iraq indicates that "terrorists around the world, particularly those in Iraq, are voting Democrat today." Similarly, Fox News host Sean Hannity asserted in late August that "some people are saying" that a Democratic victory in the November elections would be a "victory for the terrorists."

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Even if Americans don't approve of the job Bush is doing, they like him personally

Media figures have also persisted in promoting the view that despite President Bush's low job approval ratings, Americans still like him personally. For example, Fox News host Neil Cavuto falsely claimed on October 17 that Bush "polls highly" on "likability." In fact, as Media Matters documented, recent polling indicates that in addition to his poor job approval ratings, Bush also polls poorly on "likability," as recent surveys show that more people have negative feelings about Bush, and that more people -- over 50 percent in several major October polls -- give Bush an unfavorable rating. For example, an October 13-16 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed that 52 percent of respondents answered that they held "somewhat negative" or "very negative" feelings toward Bush, while 39 percent felt "very positive" or "somewhat positive." An October 10-11 Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll found that 54 percent of respondents gave Bush an "unfavorable" rating, while 43 percent had a "favorable" opinion of him. An October 6-8 Gallup poll (subscription required) showed a 55-percent "unfavorable" rating for Bush, while 42 percent of respondents gave him a "favorable" rating. Additionally, an October 5-8 CBS News/New York Times poll showed Bush with a rating of 52 percent "not favorable" and 34 percent "favorable."

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Republicans and Democrats both equally guilty of "dirty tricks"

Several recent media reports have baselessly asserted in recent weeks that Republicans and Democrats equally engage in campaign "tricks" or smears. But to support their assertions, they typically provided only or predominantly examples of Republicans' activities, with scant or no examples of Democrats' actions.

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