AFP Has A Lying Problem

June 9, 2014

Last week, Brad Woodhouse penned an op-ed for CNN as part of our ongoing efforts to expose the truth about the self-serving agenda of the Koch Brothers and their political groups, like Americans for Prosperity. Apparently AFP didn’t like that, because today, CNN published a rebuttal from their president, Tim Phillips. Phillips, claims that really AFP’s work is all about fighting for policies “that would give every American the best shot at a better life.” It remains unclear how shifting a greater tax burden onto working families, slashing Medicare and Social Security, and abolishing the minimum wage would help “give every American the best shot at a better life.” But there is even more concrete dishonesty in Phillips’ op-ed:

Look no further than Obamacare for proof. It has been nothing but a burden on hard-working American families. The country deserves to hear their stories. For months, we’ve worked with middle-class families in states like Arkansas, North Carolina, Michigan, Louisiana, and elsewhere. Obamacare canceled their plans and forced them to buy health insurance that they didn’t want and couldn’t afford. … Their response? Call these people liars.

The real liars, of course, are Americans for Prosperity. And that’s according to fact-checkers. AFP’s prime example of how they are fighting to improve people’s lives better is to point to their work telling the stories of those affected by the new health care law. But they didn’t even tell real stories–they used paid actors in AlaskaLouisiana and Colorado. And one ad after the next, after the next has proven to be false. In fact, check out AFP’s entire scorecard on PolitiFact. ZERO of their statements are rated “True” or even “Mostly True.” Two are rated “Half-True” and the remaining twelve are “Mostly False,” “False,” or “Pants on Fire.” If AFP is just trying to give every American the best shot at a better life, how come everything they say is a lie?

Paid for by American Bridge 21st Century Foundation