Chamber of Commerce ads pulled after falsely praising Republicans

RAW STORY
Published: Wednesday August 2, 2006

The United States Chamber of Commerce yesterday altered ads -- pulling one entirely -- in support of Republican incumbents in Congress, RAW STORY has learned.

The Seattle area ads, which had praised the lawmakers for backing a Medicare reform package, had been found to contain factual inaccuracies. The Chamber pulled similar ads in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania last week.

The ads, praising Dave Reichert (R-WA), claimed, “Reichert supported the Medicare Part D Law,” adding that “thanks to Dave Reichert, 713,000 Washington seniors now benefit from drug coverage.” Reichert was not in office at the time the law was considered.

The campaign earlier placed ads thanking Republicans Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Mike Sodrel (R-IN) for helping pass the legislation. Neither of them were in office at the time the laws were considered. Sodrel stated in 2004 that he did not support the bill.

Another ad praised Steve Chabot (R-OH) for his support--even though he actually voted against the plan.

According to a report filed by the Associated Press, the Chamber of Commerce has spent $20 million on the ad campaign.

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[Editor's note: A teaser headline for this story erred in stating that a court decision had forced the change. The significant error was based on a miscommunication with sources. RAW STORY apologizes for any confusion this may have caused, and is taking steps to prevent similar mistakes in the future.]