The bipartisanship attack
Posted: Thursday, September 04, 2008 10:33 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro
In his speech tonight, McCain plans to go after Obama on a lack of bipartisanship.
“I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again,” McCain will say, according to prepared remarks. “I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not."
But when Joe Lieberman tried this line of attack on Obama, fact-checkers called the “claim false.”
“In the Senate he has not reached across party lines to get anything significant done, nor has he been willing to take on powerful interest groups in the Democratic Party," Lieberman said.
“But we've found several instances of legislation that Obama passed in concert with Republican lawmakers,” Politifact wrote. Politifact cited three instances - working with Tom Coburn, a McCain supporter on a creating a databse “of federal contracts and grants;” with Dick Lugar on a law that “won enactment of a 2006 law (PL 109-401) that allowed the United States to export nuclear fuel, technology and reactors to India for the first time in three decades;” and “with Lugar on a Senate bill that authorized the president to carry out a program to provide assistance to foreign countries to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Another part of the measure was intended to stop the spread of conventional weapons, notably shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles that the legislation refers to as man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS. The bill's provisions were incorporated into a House bill that passed later that year and was signed into law in January 2007 (PL 109-472).”
And its conclusion: “These bills arguably meet the threshhold of significance, particularly the two measures with Lugar on important foreign policy issues. Since Obama is a Democrat, and Lugar and Coburn are Republicans, that seems to qualify as reaching across party lines. We find Lieberman's claim False.”
Last week, Politifact called it “Half True” when Nancy Pelosi said “Obama has bridged partisanship to bring about significant reform.”
Kirk Dillard appeared in an ad for Obama, the first one he launched of his presidential campaign, largely for their work together in the state Senate on ethics reform. “Still, by most indications Obama compiled a Democratic voting record in Springfield,” Politifact wrote. And Obama did not join the small bipartisan Gang of 14.
Additionally, two Republicans facing re-election have made political ads, praising Obama. Gordon Smith of Oregon cut two ads, mentioning Obama. Chris Shays aired one praising both Obama and McCain.
