Frank's Fabrications

Frank Guinta is a conservative Republican, which is reason enough not to vote for him as far as I'm concerned.   But I started this blog to highlight where former Rep. Guinta distinguishes himself above and beyond the fairly high level of awfulness of his party. 

I do lots of Internet commenting during elections and I usually get Frank's ethical lapses in a sentence, e.g. here: 

First Foster's endorses Frank Guinta, who still can't explain how he loaned his campaign $355,000 he didn't have, ran for RE-election with robocalls claiming he was the challenger, and (as AP reported) staged job fairs that were sham events where no one got jobs and seniors, women and veterans were exploited for photo ops then sent to us all as official correspondence at record taxpayer expense.

It's hard to fit all of Frank's bad acts into a sentence, as you can confirm by checking the old posts in this blog. It leaves out so much, including Rep. Guinta's dissembling about the Tea Party and the Sequester.   And it's really only current through 2012 -- I haven't updated it.

Fortunately, I just got this email from the Democrats where they've gathered Rep. Guinta's fabrications, as they refer to them.   I give it here to you:

Fabrications by Frank and Frank’s Friends 2014

 

Corruption Schmurruption: At debates and in a TV ad, Frank Guinta has been trying to dodge his ongoing investigation by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

• He has been using a “look here, not there” approach, claiming he has been cleared by the House Ethics Committee—which is not the same as the FEC. He points to a standard form he received from the Ethics Committee, but this form, requiring all Members of Congress to report their income, has nothing to do with a specific investigation into Frank’s finances due to a complaint.  The House Ethics Committee in fact has no jurisdiction over any actions taken by candidates before they are sworn in as Members of Congress, and therefore House Ethics has not exonerated him for campaign finance law infractions.
• Background: http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/mostcorrupt/entry/frank-guinta  

  

Dodging His Do-Nothing Record:  Last week, Guinta claimed he had “3 bills” with his name on them signed into law (separately, and not as provisions of larger bills).

• The Congressional record shows that NONE of Guinta’s nine bills (two of which were actually authored by Carol) were signed into law.

  

Affordable Healthcare Whoppers: 22,000 People did not lose their health insurance, and no, Members of Congress are not exempt from the health care law. 

• Politifact debunked the 22,000 claim way back in January, noting that New Hampshire’s 22,000 Anthem “individual policyholders did have a chance to keep their same network of hospitals and doctors next year,” thanks to Carol’s hard work.
• Mailers and TV ads have claimed that Shea-Porter voted (with other Democrats) to exempt herself from the Affordable Care Act.  This is not just false, but Politifact rated this one a Pants on Fire lie.  According to Politifact, “Section 1213 of it requires members of Congress and congressional staff, starting in 2014, to buy health plans created by the health care act or offered through the state exchanges the act establishes.”

  

Middle Class Tax Tall Tales: Shea-Porter does not want to raise middle class taxes, and has supported legislation to lower taxes for small businesses.

• Guinta voted for the Republican Budget, which raised middle class taxes by more than $1,000. He also voted against the fiscal cliff compromise, which made the Bush tax cuts permanent for the middle class. If Guinta had gotten his way, we would have gone over the fiscal cliff and every single American would have seen their taxes go up substantially.
• Shea-Porter has voted to cut taxes for small businesses and has introduced legislation to lower small businesses’ taxes, too. Politifact rated Guinta's claim that Shea-Porter wants to raise taxes on small businesses false.  

 

Bungling On Big Oil Agenda: Guinta claims Shea-Porter voted for an energy tax that would raise each family’s costs by $3,100. He also claims that Shea-Porter doesn’t support an all-of-the-above energy strategy.
 

• On a “national energy tax,” Politifact has rated Guinta’s outrageous claim false, twice.

  

First-Class Travel Fiction:  Mailers and TV ads have claimed that Members of Congress, including Shea-Porter, voted to fly first-class on the public dime.  

• This false claim was debunked by the Washington Post fact checker.  The tale begins when Republicans inserted a “poison pill” section (Sec. 608) into the Ryan Budget – which every Democrat voted against – that prohibited first-class flying.  Republican mailers claim this vote means Democrats favor flying first class.  But of course all it means is that Democrats opposed the Ryan Budget, which turned Medicare into Voucher-care, and was a complete non-starter for Democrats.  The fact checker gave this fiction “4 Pinocchio’s” (the rating they reserve for outrageous whoppers), calling it a “smarmy tale of congressional political games.”  

  

“Free Health Care for Life” Fantasy:

• This false claim derives from another “poison pill” inserted by Republicans into the Ryan Budget – which every Democrat voted against:  “Retirement benefits for Members of Congress should not include free, taxpayer-funded health care for life” (Sec. 608).  Shea-Porter voted against the Ryan Budget, which turned Medicare into Voucher-care, and was a complete non-starter for Democrats, and so Republican attack ads claim that Shea-Porter therefore supports health care for life.  No, Shea-Porter was just voting against the Ryan Budget’s damaging cuts to the middle class and the vulnerable, and against privatizing Medicare.  This is absurd logic and a fantastic falsehood.  Political rated a similar claim made about a Republican congressman a Pants on Fire lie.

  

$700 Billion Cut to Medicare Myth:  This one is an oldie.  Some ads and mailers attack Shea-Porter by claiming she cut $700 billion from Medicare.  

• The Washington Post fact checker found this claim false, finding that, “The savings mostly are wrung from health-care providers, not Medicare beneficiaries — who, as a result of the health-care law, ended up with new benefits for preventive care and prescription drugs” and concluding that the so-called cuts “did not come at the expense of seniors.”  To highlight an absurdity of this false claim, the Ryan Budget “retains virtually all of the Medicare ‘cuts’ contained in the health-care law.”  

  

Frank’s “Independence” Fable:  The National Republican Campaign Committee claims that Guinta is the “independent” candidate.  

• Politifact has debunked this claim:  “Guinta scored a 96 percent partisan unity with Republicans during his term in Congress, which is hardly evidence of a big contrast. We rate the claim Mostly False.”   

  

Frank’s Fictional Record Supporting Women

• Guinta aired a TV ad about himself that alleged he had a record of supporting women, including equal pay for equal work, but Guinta did not bother to cosponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act. He also voted for a terrible version of the Violence Against Women Act, which excluded Native American, immigrant, gay, and college abused women, and even voted against an amendment to protect abused women’s confidentiality and so save them from their batterers.