GOP chairman likes some but not all WaPo fact-checking
The Republican National Committee touts on its web site fact-checking work by the Washington Post when the conclusions favor Mitt Romney's campaign for president. But RNC Chairman Reince Priebus today dismissed Post fact-checking Wednesday that gave the Romney campaign's latest hit on Obama a score of "four Pinocchios."
GOP chairman likes some but not all WaPo fact-checking
Chris Brennan
The Republican National Committee touts on its web site fact-checking work by the Washington Post when the conclusions favor Mitt Romney's campaign for president. But RNC Chairman Reince Priebus today dismissed Post fact-checking Wednesday that gave the Romney campaign's latest hit on Obama a score of "four Pinocchios."
At issue is Fisker Automotive, a company that applied for a $529 million in federal loans during President Bush's second term. The money was approved after Obama took office. In phase one, Fisker would use $169 million to build electric cars in Finland with parts made in America. The phase two, Fisker would use $359 million to build electric cars in America.
Priebus, visiting Philadelphia today, repeatedly said Obama's administration had given more than $500 million to build cars in another country. And he repeatedly tried to link the money to Obama's federal stimulus program, not the program started under Bush. Both claims are inaccurate.
As the Post noted, Fisker drew only $193 million of the money before the U.S. Department of Energy froze the funding because of problems the company had in meeting deadlines.
Priebus focused on the fact that one of the venture capitalists in the Fisker deal has raised money for Obama's campaigns as an example "influence peddling" in the White House. He refused to discuss the fact that another venture capitalist in the deal has been a donor to Republican candidates for president
And, though he repeatedly complained that the Fisker auto production in America never happened, Priebus said the money dedicated to fund that manufacturing should not be given to the company.
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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