• Font Size    
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

New Attack Ad On Bob Schaffer Gets A Reality Check

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +    Comments
Aug 6, 2008 9:34 pm US/Mountain

New Attack Ad On Bob Schaffer Gets A Reality Check

Reporting
Raj Chohan
DENVER (CBS4) ― The topics of school vouchers and big oil come together in a new attack ad targeting Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer. The 30 second spot called "sale" comes from the National Education Association Fund.

The AD states: Who does Bob Schaffer stand with? His campaigns have taken $180 thousand from big oil and gas.

This claim is true. According to opensecrets.org, Bob Schaffer has taken about $180,000 in campaign contributions from oil and gas related interests since 1996. That's a fraction of the roughly $9 million he's raised over the course of three campaigns.

AD: And he voted to give them billions in tax breaks.

This claim is also true. As a congressman, Schaffer voted for the 2001 energy bill, which included nearly $14 billion in tax breaks for the oil and gas industry. The bill also included billions in tax incentives for research and development into renewable energy. Still, fossil energy got the lion's share of the tax breaks.

AD: Now it turns out Schaffer is in the pocket of his pro-voucher friends too. Schaffer was paid by a big oil company to push for vouchers.

This is spin. The ad implies Schaffer's support of vouchers is causally driven by his political donors. In fact, Schaffer has long been a proponent of school vouchers, which he argues would provide low-income children an alternative to poorly performing public schools. The fact that he's worked for energy executives who also support school vouchers may reflect nothing more sinister than like-minded interests teaming up in pursuit of a mutual goal.

AD: Diverting money away from public schools for private schools.

This claim is also true. The NEA Fund has long opposed vouchers because they divert public tax dollars away from public schools.

AD: Then on the Board of Education, Schaffer helped one of his big pro-vouchers contributors keep a tax payer contract

The claim is true, but there is some spin. While on the Colorado Board of Education, Schaffer did vote to keep open a poorly performing charter school. It was a vote that forced Denver Public Schools to reconsider its initial vote to close the school. DPS did reconsider, and gave the school a one-year extension. In the weeks after the vote, an executive whose company manages the school gave Schaffer several thousand dollars in contributions for his 2008 Senate campaign. The same donor also contributed to Schaffer's 2004 Senate campaign. The ad implies Schaffer's primary intent was to help a past donor rather than voting on the merits of the measure. There's no evidence beyond innuendo to prove this conclusion. In defense of the vote, Schaffer said he made his decision because he wanted to keep open a school of last resort for inner-city students who would otherwise be dropouts. Three board members agreed with him, three did not.

AD: Bob Schaffer, for the special interests, not you.

Bottom line: The ad is correct in pointing out that Bob Schaffer supports school vouchers and charter schools. It also correctly highlights Schaffer's ties to fossil energy interests. However, the implication that Schaffer has put his "education" vote up for "sale" is rooted in partisan speculation, and ignores Schaffer's long-held conservative positions on public education.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Curious & Controversial News

Add Comment

here. here. Need a log in? Register here
  •  * Will not be displayed with comment
  •  * e.g. (http://www.mywebsite.com)
  •  
  • Click here to refresh with new letters

Show Comments (0)

Close Window Login


Close Window Flag Comment


loading...
You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Reality Check

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Television Stations Inc. All Rights Reserved.