Our 2006 = Awards - FactCheck.org

Our 2006 Awards

We laughed, we cried. Now that the campaign is over, we = recognize=20 some notable ads we didn't examine before.

November 7, 2006

Modified:November 7, 2006

Summary

All year we've focused on what was = true or=20 false in the flood of 2006 campaign advertising, and we wrote about = those that=20 we found twisted, distorted, misleading or fabricated. Now, as = we wait=20 for the ballots to be counted, we look back on some of that ads that = caught our=20 attention for other reasons.

We offer these FactCheck.org awards just for=20 fun.

Analysis

Here they are, the=20 FactCheck.org Awards for 2006. We present them in no particular order, = and with=20 no claim of scientific accuracy. These are just our opinions. Feel free = to agree=20 or not, as you please.

Charlton=20 Heston Award for Worst Impersonation of Moses
Winner: Colorado No on=20 42

3D"Heston This ad, set "somewhere in the mountains of = Colorado,"=20 features a Moses-like figure speaking hyperbolically to God about the = supposed=20 evils of ballot initiative 42, which would amend the state Constitution = to=20 provide for an annual increase in the minimum wage that's pegged to = inflation.=20 "An annual minimum wage increase in stone for eternity," moans the faux=20 Moses.
This is exaggeration of Biblical proportions. There's no=20 Constitutional amendment, state or federal, that can't be undone, though = it's=20 harder than getting rid of a pesky statute. Remember Prohibition? (No, = we don't=20 either, thank goodness.) That was also known as the 18th Amendment to = the U.S.=20 Constitution, which went into effect in 1920. It was repealed by the = 21st=20 Amendment, which took effect almost 14 years later.

Busiest=20 Supporting Actor
Winner: President Bush

3D"Best President Bush was far and away the most = frequent supporting=20 actor =96 in Democratic ads. His name or image have = appeared in=20 at least 186 Democratic ads since Oct. 1, by our count, and we probably = missed=20 some that appeared in smaller TV markets not covered by the = Campaign=20 Media Analysis Group. The strategy is clear: whether they're = referring to a=20 Republican candidate as a "supporter" of the "Bush agenda" or as a=20 "rubberstamp," Democrats believe the President's low approval = ratings are a=20 stone they can use to sink their opponents. The Democratic = Senatorial=20 Campaign Committee's ad, "Together," which began running on Sept 19, is = a=20 classic of the genre.

Busiest Supporting = Actress
Winner:=20 Hillary Clinton

3D""=20 Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York got the most = mentions in=20 Republican ads holding forth the supposed horrors of a = Democratic-controlled=20 Senate. We counted 11 since Oct. 1. This one from GOP Senate = Candidate=20 Pete Ricketts in Nebraska is typical, saying Democrat Ben Nelson will = "vote to=20 put Democrats in charge," including Sen. Clinton who "wants higher=20 taxes."

The runner-up for this award is "San = Francisco=20 Liberal Nancy Pelosi," who is mentioned in at least 6 GOP ads as a = reason=20 not to vote for a Democrat who would in turn vote to make her Speaker of = the=20 House.

Kinkiest = Action=20 Figure
Winner: Kinky Friedman

3D""=20 Independent Jewish Cowboy Kinky = Friedman, who's=20 running for governor of Texas, used the "Kinky Friedman Action = Figure" as a=20 major element of his campaign strategy. The plastic Kinky had the = following=20 responses to tough questions from reporters in this ad:

On border = issues:
"I'll keep=20 us out of war with Oklahoma."

On getting the = Democrats and=20 Republicans to work together:
"I'm running for Governor, not = God."

It is = unclear=20 whether the doll comes with karate chop action or hair you can style=20 yourself.

The "Who=20 Needs Enemies?" Award
Winner: Idaho State Rep. Bill = Sali

3D""=20 State Rep. Bill Sali, a Republican = running in=20 Idaho =92s First=20 Congressional District, appears to have few friends even in his own = party. The=20 quotes in this ad are not only devastating, but accurate, at least = as=20 reported by the press =96 except that state House Speaker Bruce = Newcomb=92s=20 full quote was even better than we=92re told in the ad. =93That idiot is = an absolute=20 idiot,=94 he opined. Forcefully. Newcomb=92s comments were made when = Sali refused to=20 stop talking about an alleged link between abortions and breast cancer = on the=20 floor of the state House last spring, even though a fellow legislator = (the=20 Democratic leader) who was a breast cancer survivor began crying. The = House=92s 11=20 Democrats walked out to protest Sali=92s remarks.

Cult=20 Classic Award
Winner: Vernon Robinson
(Recognized for the body of his work)

3Dshush=20 Taken together, Robinson's ads make up an = anthology he could=20 title, "The Attack of the 40-Foot Liberal." In one that has = received wide=20 (and free!) exposure on cable news programs, Robinson compares = modern day=20 America to the Twilight Zone, illegal immigrants to intergalactic alien=20 invaders, and equates the 1950's show Leave It to Beaver with = "traditional=20 American values." An announcer says, "You can burn the American flag and = kill a=20 million babies a year, but you can't post the Ten Commandments or say = God in=20 public." (Note to Vern: Actually, you can say God in = public. The=20 Supreme Court unanimously overturned that ruling against=20 reciting "under God" in public schools.)
Other Robinson ads = included:

A claim=20 that Democratic incumbent Brad Miller "has no trouble spending = your=20 money=85he would just rather spend it on sex" (we debunked that = claim here = ).
A radio spot in = which=20 Robinson claimed, backed by a mariachi soundtrack, that if incumbent = Democrat=20 Brad Miller "had his way, America would be nothing but one big fiesta = for=20 illegal aliens and homosexuals."
A mutation of = the "Beverly=20 Hillbillies" theme song that closes with this tag line: "Hey all you = illegals.=20 Put your shoes on. Go home. Don't come back now, = y'hear?"

Best=20 Send-up of an Ineffective Federal Mandate
Winner: Phil = Maymin

3D""=20 Libertarian House candidate Phil Maymin, running in = Connecticut's 4th=20 district, ran a cable-only spot spoofing the "stand by your ad" = provision of the=20 McCain-Feingold campaign law. That's the federal requirement that = candidates=20 appear in their own ads and say "I approve this message," or words to = that=20 effect. The idea was to reduce the volume of distasteful attacks and = false=20 accusations by forcing candidates to take personal responsibility for=20 them.
Clearly, that hasn't worked.
In this ad Maymin gets a=20 rubdown from a voter who's clueless about who he is or what a = Libertarian=20 stands for, asking "You're a librarian? . . . You're Joe = Lieberman?"=20 Maymin explains, and then says "I approve this massage."

Best=20 Musical Score
Winner: Ned = Lamont

3D"(scary This ad=92s shrieking strings, = reminiscent of the=20 score in the Alfred Hitchcock classic =93Psycho,=94 seemed to us a = perfect parody of=20 much of this year=92s crop of attack ads, with their over-the-top = appeals to=20 fear. Imagine this score behind, for example, the RNC=92s ad = suggesting that=20 voting Democratic might lead to a terrorist attack with a nuclear = weapon, which=20 we critiqued here , and=20 you get the idea.

The = "Empty Calories"=20 Award
Winner: Americans United

3D""=20 This 15-second ad from a liberal = group funded by=20 labor unions takes the cake (so to speak) for lack of substance. It = shows an=20 elderly couple cutting a single hot dog in half to share for their meal, = while=20 the announcer asks "If George Bush and his backers in Congress privatize = Social=20 Security and cut benefits in half, what will you have to cut in half?" = That=20 wildly misrepresents Bush's proposal, which would not have touched = benefits for=20 anybody currently receiving them or about to receive them, and would = have=20 allowed benefits for future recipients to grow, though more = slowly than=20 under current law. The plan died last year for lack of Republican = support in any=20 case.

-Awards=20 Committee: Brooks Jackson, Viveca Novak, Justin Bank, James Ficaro = and Emi=20 Kolawole

Sources

Footnotes? We don't need = them here.=20 These are just our opinions.