Analysis: The claims presented in this ad range from the hyperbolic to outright distortion of the facts.
The claim that Murphy gave "huge" bonuses to executives employs a claim that was debunked in an earlier ad watch, which called the use of "huge" to describe the bonuses as "overstated."
The claim that Murphy supported a "loophole letting AIG executives keep their bonuses" does not capture the nuance of the issue. Murphy strongly supports the federal stimulus bill, which included an amendment that places heavy restrictions on executive compensation for companies that take government, but exempted restrictions for contracts from last year - including the AIG bonus contracts. Lawyers at both the Treasury Department and AIG had concluded that the firm would risk a lawsuit if it scrapped the payments.
The outright distortion in the ad comes in the form of text that appears on the screen: "Murphy supports the law giving bonuses to AIG executives," attributed to a March 17 Associated Press story.
That claim is wholly incorrect. The federal stimulus package does not "give" bonuses to AIG executives. Moreover, the Associated Press never made that assertion. The AP story stated Tedisco's opinion about Murphy and AIG, which the ad then paraphrased as if the reporter wrote it as fact.
Of all the failings of this ad, the misrepresentation of a trusted news source's reporting is sloppy at best and deceptive at worst. Campaign ads represent the character of a candidate. Tedisco does himself a disservice by airing this one.
Ouch.
