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Truth in Politics
Nov. 23rd, 2011 12:54 amYesterday, while nosing around the non-partisan political news verification website Politifact, I did something I hadn't done before: I clicked through and saw all the claims they had fact-checked by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. After looking at the stats, I asked myself, "What might the Republican equivalent look like?"
I did a very quick look at four different national associations for each major party: the congressional committee, the senatorial committee, the governors' committee, and the national committee. In the cases of one senate committee and one governors' committee, each had little of their claims checked by the association, not enough to provide anything close to a statistical sample; and it is unfair to look at the opposition based on something non-statistical.
As an arbitrary line has to be drawn somewhere, I'm putting anything listed as at least "Half-True" as an organization attempting to be truthful. I'll give separate numbers for "Mostly True" and up. Thing is, the numbers are staggering.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee numbers are not thrilling. They have 1 mostly true, 4 half true, 3 mostly false, 2 false, and 3 "Pants On Fire!" Not a great record, with only 38% statements attempting truthfulness under the attempted truth standard, or a sad 8% under the more strict essentially accurate standard.
Then comes the National Republican Congressional Committee's numbers: 2 mostly true, 1 half true, 7 mostly false, 7 false, and 2 "Pants On Fire!" They attempted truthfulness a mere 16% of the time, and can only claim to have been essentially accurate a mere 11%. They are, in short, deliberately lying through their teeth more often.
OK, but that's Congress. What about the Road to the White Hut? Err, House? Let's do some numbers. The DNC attempted to be truthful 76% of the time -- that's double Congress -- and was essentially accurate 35% of the time. The RNC, by comparison, attempted to be truthful some 54% of the time, and was essentially accurate 25% of the time.
This is just one site. That said, it is a rigorous site that explains the facts behind a story very well. And the facts behind these facts say that the GOP is trying to lie more often.
Or maybe Stephen Colbert's right: facts have a well-known liberal bias.
I did a very quick look at four different national associations for each major party: the congressional committee, the senatorial committee, the governors' committee, and the national committee. In the cases of one senate committee and one governors' committee, each had little of their claims checked by the association, not enough to provide anything close to a statistical sample; and it is unfair to look at the opposition based on something non-statistical.
As an arbitrary line has to be drawn somewhere, I'm putting anything listed as at least "Half-True" as an organization attempting to be truthful. I'll give separate numbers for "Mostly True" and up. Thing is, the numbers are staggering.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee numbers are not thrilling. They have 1 mostly true, 4 half true, 3 mostly false, 2 false, and 3 "Pants On Fire!" Not a great record, with only 38% statements attempting truthfulness under the attempted truth standard, or a sad 8% under the more strict essentially accurate standard.
Then comes the National Republican Congressional Committee's numbers: 2 mostly true, 1 half true, 7 mostly false, 7 false, and 2 "Pants On Fire!" They attempted truthfulness a mere 16% of the time, and can only claim to have been essentially accurate a mere 11%. They are, in short, deliberately lying through their teeth more often.
OK, but that's Congress. What about the Road to the White Hut? Err, House? Let's do some numbers. The DNC attempted to be truthful 76% of the time -- that's double Congress -- and was essentially accurate 35% of the time. The RNC, by comparison, attempted to be truthful some 54% of the time, and was essentially accurate 25% of the time.
This is just one site. That said, it is a rigorous site that explains the facts behind a story very well. And the facts behind these facts say that the GOP is trying to lie more often.
Or maybe Stephen Colbert's right: facts have a well-known liberal bias.
