George Will Calls Out Washington Post Fact-Checker

NewsBusters.org ^ | September 3, 2012 | Noel Sheppard

[Kaslin]

Since Wednesday, the Obama-loving media have been working overtime trying to disprove a number of statements made by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan during their respective speeches at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

On ABC's This Week Sunday, George Will called out Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler for claiming Ryan had mislead Americans about a GM plant closing in Janesville, Wisconsin (video follows with transcript and commentary):

George Will Calls Out Washington Post Fact-Checker

MATTHEW DOWD, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: From my perspective, what happened at this convention is that nobody is calling on it, or maybe a few people are calling on it. Paul Ryan, what he did in his speech, I think, so stretched the truth, and I like Paul Ryan, I have a lot of great respect for Paul Ryan, but the (INAUDIBLE) that he said about closing the GM plant, which closed before Barack Obama took president, about the Simpson-Bowles bill which -- Simpson-Bowles, which he opposed, and then all of a sudden you see faults Barack Obama for, at some point the truth should matter.

GEORGE WILL: At every particular and what he said about the GM plant was right. He did not say it closed before Obama became president. The one who said that was the so-called fact checker at The Washington Post who got it wrong. He said it was closed in December 2008. In fact it was making trucks in April 2009.

DOWD: George, the way he -- when anybody that is watching that that didn't know the facts of it, anybody watching that speech, whether they -- as I say, just like the welfare thing, anybody coming away from that believes one thing.

And you're saying the fact may be right, he was trying to convey that Barack Obama was responsible for the closing of the GM plant, and that isn't true.

WILL: He said, "especially in Janesville, where we were about to lose a major factory" - entirely true.

Indeed. Here's the relevant portion of Ryan's speech:

President Barack Obama came to office during an economic crisis, as he has reminded us a time or two. Those were very tough days, and any fair measure of his record has to take that into account. My home state voted for President Obama. When he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it, especially in Janesville, where we were about to lose a major factory.

A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that GM plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said: “I believe that if our government is there to support you … this plant will be here for another hundred years.” That’s what he said in 2008.

Well, as it turned out, that plant didn’t last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day. And that’s how it is in so many towns today, where the recovery that was promised is nowhere in sight.

[Kaslin]

The entire article is in the link

[Dilbert San Diego]

Well, the liberal view is out there, that Ryan’s speech was full of lies.

I don’t see a single lie in what Ryan said.

The liberals are all over him because he was a member of the Simpson-Bowles commission, and how dare he criticize Obama over that, when Ryan voted against the commission recommendations.

Well, it’s a truism, but a fact that, Democrats run against the Republicans. Republicans have to run against both the Democrats and the media.

[Kickass Conservative]

“MATTHEW DOWD, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST”

Same as:

“ADOLPH HITLER, JEWISH RABBI”

Matthew Dowd, his picture is next to the word “tool” in the Dictionary.

[mike_9958]

Who cares if Ryan voted against Simpson - Bowles.... he’s not the president. What would his vote do ?

[Dilbert San Diego]

Well you have to be liberal to understand the reasoning.

The reasoning is that, while the president didn’t do anything about Simpson-Bowles, that Ryan as a member of that commission voted against the recommendations, meaning that Ryan wouldn’t have done anything with the recommendations either, if Ryan had been president.

I think it’s absurd reasoning, but that’s how liberals view this issue.

Ryan’s vote, and the votes of others on the commission, were meaningless anyway, in terms of legislation. It was all up to the president to review their findings, and then work with Congress to pass appropriate legislation. Obama did nothing. The liberals simply want to deflect blame.

The liberals also don’t want to admit that Obama has piled up trillions in new debt. It’s not his fault according to liberals.

[Republican Wildcat]

What Ryan said was 100% accurate. He even gave the title to him of “candidate Obama” and said the speech was given in 2008 during the campaign. Then he said the plant closed and remains closed so the promised recovery has not come. With the introductory context he even went out of his way to say Obama was not responsible for the closure of the plant but was responsible for his empty rhetoric and failure to bring a recovery as the plant remains closed.

Those who are saying Ryan lied are the ones who are lying. Ryan did not lie - and absolutely no credible case can be made that he did.

[KansasGirl]

Ryan voted against the debt commission’s recommendations because it wanted to raise taxes, and then offered his own plan. What plan has Obama offered?

[bronxville]

The marxistmedia rotate to “factcheck” outfits. The *pants on fire outfit* was filled with pulitzer prize winners while the managers were ex-pulitzer board members. I checked them out a few years ago.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Obama can’t be worried about offering a plan of his own.

He wants to stop the rising of the oceans, and allow the planet to heal. Of course that is more important than worrying about balanced budgets. (sarcasm)

[Dilbert San Diego]

Obama can’t be worried about offering a plan of his own.

He wants to stop the rising of the oceans, and allow the planet to heal. Of course that is more important than worrying about balanced budgets. (sarcasm)

[RobbyS]

Ryan came out with the equivalent of a minority opinion. When members vote, there are always two or more different opinions. Undeniably Obama had his own opinion. Obviously he did like what the majority recommended. He just filed it away and did nothing.

[crusader71]

“Matthew Dowd, his picture is next to the word “tool” in the Dictionary.”

Agreed. Yet another rat from the Bush ship. Sad to say, but it tells you a lot about the horrible personal judgment of Bush. He certainly wasn’t minding the store with the people he surrounded himself with. To have a DC Rino legend like George Will correct you is insult upon injury. Remember, Will threw in the towel on the presidential election 5 months ago....

[crusader71]

“Matthew Dowd, his picture is next to the word “tool” in the Dictionary.”

Agreed. Yet another rat from the Bush ship. Sad to say, but it tells you a lot about the horrible personal judgment of Bush. He certainly wasn’t minding the store with the people he surrounded himself with. To have a DC Rino legend like George Will correct you is insult upon injury. Remember, Will threw in the towel on the presidential election 5 months ago....

[americas.best.days...]

This is how its going to go for the next two months. This
is the media meme.

Paul Ryan=LIAR 2012 as in Sarah Palin=STUPID 2008

ALL media, news,comedy, whatever will be advancing this.

I’ve said before, forget obamma, our guys better start taking it to the media, or we are really doomed. I’m not
really willing to stand up for someone who won’t stand up for themselves. It would be easy to decimate some of these
stupid interviewers. Why don’t they? Only Sarah and Newt
seem to have the ability to do that.

[Kahuna]

Matthew Dowd encapsulates all the wonderful, greasy, slimy and deceitful qualities of today’s beltway liberal. George twisted his panties and he was devastated.

[Kickass Conservative]

The Media loves “Republican Strategists” who hate Conservative Republicans.

Now Dowd just proved that they hate Moderate and Liberal Republicans too.

[WaterWeWaitinFor]

You just can’t fix stupid. Do the Dems really think that Paul Ryan doesn’t CAREFULLY choose the exact, precise words for a good reason? He and Romney are very detailed and have calculated the precise words about the Janesville GM plant to make he dems heads explode.

Just like the theme of “our rights come from God and nature”... I heard one dem say that NO they DON’T come from God and nature. Well, well..... I’ll bet the farm that when both R and R are touting that statement in several speeches it’s a total TRICK statement for the dems. If NOT God and nature... where do your rights come from.... HHHHHHhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm?????????

Gottcha. Perfect set up by R/R team.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Well, I heard that liberal guy, “Toure”, (what is a “toure”), on MSNBC, say that he was offended by Ryan saying our rights come from nature and God. He said our rights come from civil rights legislation which gives full rights to minorities, women, downtrodden. (to paraphrase what he said). He thinks rights come from government legislation, and is offended if anyone thinks they come from other places.

As a good liberal, he doesn’t just disagree with Ryan, he is “offended”. Being offended is the worst thing that a liberal can experience.

[WaterWeWaitinFor]

“He (Toure) thinks rights come from government legislation, and is offended if anyone thinks they come from other places.

As a good liberal, he doesn’t just disagree with Ryan, he is “offended”. Being offended is the worst thing that a liberal can experience.”

I rest my case. The set up was superb and he fell for it. haa.

[TChad]

From the brilliant leftist posters on YouTube I gather that because the Janesville plant was slated for closure during the Bush administration, that Obama had nothing to do with it, therefore Paul Ryan lied. In related news, the DNC has informed the world that 3+3 is now 87.

Obama and his Janesville audience knew that the plant was at risk of closure when he gave his speech at the factory in February, 2008. That was why Obama said "We need to maintain our competitive edge in a global by ensuring that plants like this one stay open for another hundred years, and shuttered factories re-open as new industries that promise new jobs."

Let me rephrase Obama's words as he obviously intended them to be heard: "Elect me and your job here is safe. Even if the Janesville factory closes, we will reopen it and rehire you."

It didn't happen in Janesville or most other places wth similar problems. Obama's promises were empty.

That was Ryan's point, and he was precisely correct.

It would be hard to beat Ed Morrissey's reporting on this:

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/08/30/fact-checking-the-factcheckers-on-ryans-speech/