Election-rigging oil billionaires apparently think OC is a foreign country
The political world is abuzz today with a $6.1 million ad guy from “Americans for Prosperity”, the Citizens United-fueled independent expenditure machine. AfP, the creature of twisted oil billionaires Charles and David Koch, is unsurprisingly going after the Obama Administration for — lie down on your fainting couch! — “green investment.” (That’s as opposed to, you know, giving public money to subsidize Big Oil.)
As someone who will vote for Obama with some misgivings (misgivings that are getting easier to ignore with every day of the Romney campaign), I probably shouldn’t show you the video of the ad — but I want to be as fair as possible, so here ya go:
The ad is airing only in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Virginia — you know, the states that actually get to choose the President unlike you and me — and attacks Obama for “Billions of taxpayer dollars spent on green energy went to jobs in foreign countries” including Mexico, Finland, and China.
To be utterly fair, the Obama Administration came out with it’s own take-down of the ad, including a rare and precious use of the term “BS” by a Deputy Campaign Manager, here:
That the ad is full of lies has been well-documented, earning a coveted (by opponents of whoever places an ad) “Four Pinocchios” designation from the Washington Post, which says in part:
Another claim — “half a billion to a car company that created hundreds of jobs in Finland” — cites ABC News. That report focused on the fact that engineering and tooling work for a new electric vehicle — funded through the Energy Department — was being done in the United States, but that the vehicles are being assembled at a plant in Finland because the United States did not have right facilities. But ABC noted that Fisker will “ultimately produce 2,500 more jobs when Fisker builds a lower-priced version of the car in Delaware.”
Huh — did you get that? Engineering and tooling done in the U.S.; assembly not done here because of a previous lack of green investment during the “Dark Ages” of 2001-2008. But why do I post this here? Simple:
Fisker Automotive is located in Orange County.
Yep — it’s right up in Anaheim Hills, above the river, tantalizing close to (but not within!) my own Senate district. That map at the top? That’s where they are. Orrrrrrange County!
Those public-investment-related jobs that the oil billionaire Romney supporters are complaining about? They’re going to your neighbors, here in your county, and they’re also making the world a better and cleaner place.
The joke’s on me — most people who see the ad will swallow its lies whole; they’ll never see the Washington Post article or the Obama campaign’s response or even this very Orange Juice post. And that’s why the billionaire oil tycoons are lying: lying pays.
At least you here will know the truth, though! And if you know anyone who works at Fisker Automotive, I’d love to hear them tell their story here!
Love the look of the Fisker Karma…unfortunately, I hate the $100K + price tag. I often see one driving around the office. I hope that they make it. I hope that they can generate an affordable car and be profitable. The Atlantic I believe is the goal although I think it is supposed to be around $50K…not sure how affordable that is. Good luck to them…
Good thing someone “fisked” the advertisement.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisking
I just sent a link to this article to Fisker, hope they come comment!
Right on! Fisker Automotive has accomplished what no other auto maker dared attempt – engineered and developed the world’s first luxury plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and did it right here in Anaheim. The technology that makes the Fisker Karma one of the most efficient and cleanest burning cars on the road will trickle down into lower priced cars, which are also being developed here in Anaheim.
Thanks for coming by! What’s the reaction there to the Koch Bros. ad trying to tell people that the money that helped you actually went to Finland?
I think these guys deserve their own article, this is a pretty cool OC story!
This AFP ad and the response is both part of what I and likely many others get so frustrated with advertising in politics. Both are probably accurate yet are misleading…
AFP claims as it relates to Fisker “half a billion to an electric car company that created hundreds of jobs in Finland.” That is likely true yet misleading. The loan went to a US company, Fisker, which desires to create US (and OC) jobs yet had to have some early jobs sourced to Finland. It seems that AFP wants us to think that the US money went over seas and one can easily make that assumption by the ad, especially in the context of the overall ad. However, the ad actually just says that money went to a company that created jobs in Finland…does not say that the US loan was used for the jobs in Finland nor does it explain that there likely are restrictions that it must be used in the US. Misleading for sure…
Cutter’s rebuttal ad says that “they claim the administration gave money to build electric cars in Finland”…the AFP ad did not claim that. It claimed that a US company received a lot of gov’t money and that same company created jobs in Finland…which on its own is probably true yet in context of the AFP ad is false. She then explains that it was to be used for US jobs…although anyone that knows how to move money around can certainly play games- shorting US funding b/c they know money should be coming for example. Full disclosure would probably also provide information on the troubles that Fisker has had in meeting milestones and laying off US workers….
Politics…its an ugly game.
Again, I do hope that Fisker is successful…I would love to be able to see more of their cars running around the roads and hopefully they are built here in the US.