Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of political ad fact checks we are publishing heading into the November 4, 2014 general election.
“Million” is 30-second commercial that claims Bruce Braley’s views on taxes are too extreme even for members of his own political party.
The Claim: The ad “Million,” from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, ties Congressman Bruce Braley to votes that President Obama was in favor of. It then claims Congressman Bruce Braley’s views on taxes are too extreme, even for President Obama.
What you need to know: The tax claims are referring to one vote: Braley’s “No” vote on the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. The tax package had many provisions, but the part that was controversial included extending the Bush tax cuts to all Americans. The cuts were set to expire January 2011.
Some Democrats, including Congressman Braley, were opposed to the tax cuts being extended to people making more than $250,000.
In a press release prior to the vote Braley said:
“As the tax cut package takes shape, I want to reiterate my support for a tax cut extension for every American family on incomes up to $250,000. I continue to fight for an extension of unemployment benefits, especially during the holiday season. I remain extremely concerned that extending Bush’s tax cuts to the wealthiest 2% of Americans will explode the deficit.”
Though there was push back from some Democrats, the President was in favor of passing the bill because he said while he didn’t like extending the tax cuts for the wealthy, he had to find a compromise to make sure middle class Americans weren’t hit with tax hikes in 2011.
The ad sources a Washington Post story from December 7, 2010. A Washington Post article from that day wrote about the President, “He dismissed his Democratic critics as “sanctimonious” and obsessed with staking out a “purist position.” He said they hold views so unrealistic that, by their measure of success, “we will never get anything done.”
The ad sources a Bloomberg article when claiming, “Obama said Braley’s tax vote could kill more than a million jobs.” On December 11, 2010 a Bloomberg article quoted the President as saying that failing to extend the tax cuts could cost the nation “well over a million jobs.”
What’s next: We will fact check an ad targeting Joni Ernst, Republican Candidate for U.S. Senate.
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Watch for our Political Ad Fact Check reports Wednesdays and Sunday nights on News 8 at 10 p.m.
