AFP adds Wisconsin to its roadshow of misleading ads

October 17, 2014

To understand the relationship the Koch brothers’ political arm, Americans for Prosperity, has with the truth, you needn’t look any further than the group’s scorecard on PolitiFact. During this midterm cycle, the group has racked up a consistent stream of “mostly false” and “false” ratings for their claims in ads. A toddler taking a “true or false” quiz is more likely to get a “true” than this outfit, which has also employed paid actors to spout falsified stories about the Affordable Care Act.

The latest “mostly false” rating was issued in response to a misleading mailer AFP is circulating in Northern Wisconsin. According to the mailer, Republican Governor Scott Walker’s administration is responsible for the region’s mining economy “moving forward” and for more people “getting good, high-paying jobs.” Per PolitiFact, AFP’s citation for this claim is Senate Bill 1, a controversial bill partially written by a mining company with significant interests in Northern Wisconsin and signed into law in 2013. As PolitiFact notes, “taken together, that suggests a boom in jobs related to the iron ore mine.” And yet, when they dug into the claim further, PolitiFact only found evidence of about 10 miners who are employed at the new iron ore mine project, which is in its early stages. PolitiFact notes that AFP claims that it also was including sand mining in its claim, yet the bill cited was specifically related to “metallic” mining.

Given that Scott Walker is a favorite of the Koch brothers and their allies, it’s hardly a surprise that AFP is sending misleading campaign mailers on his behalf. The “mostly false” mailer is especially subversive when you consider the mining project and Senate Bill being referenced. There are numerous questions about whether the bill was part of a pay-to-play scheme, after the mining company Gogebic Taconite gave $700,000 to the Koch-affiliated Wisconsin Club for Growth in support of Walker’s 2012 campaign in the recall election, before the bill the company helped author was signed into law early in 2013.

In effect, not only is AFP Wisconsin misleading voters about Scott Walker’s mining job creation record, they’re inflating the benefits of an early-stage project involving a company whose donations to another Koch outfit and ties to the Walker administration are being called into question.

Paid for by American Bridge 21st Century Foundation