AD CHECK: Dave Spence Sinks to New Lows with Blatantly False Claims

September 28, 2012

ST. LOUIS, MO — Dave Spence’s new ad makes patently false claims about Missouri’s economy and Governor Nixon’s record. After repeating claims about Missouri’s economy that were debunked yesterday by KMOV as “false,” the new ad asserts that Harley Davidson’s “jobs went to another state” because Governor Nixon “refused” to meet with the company’s executives. Both claims are demonstrably false.

Governor Nixon did, in fact, speak with Harley executives, later brought them into Jefferson City for a 2-hour personal meeting and again met with leadership when he toured the plant. And instead of building a factory or creating jobs in another state, Harley Davidson decided to keep its plant in Pennsylvania and actually reduce its workforce there. Meanwhile, contrary to claims in Spence’s ad, Harley Davidson’s existing plant in Kansas City is up and operating, with more than 800 workers.

“The fact is that Missouri led the Midwest in job growth last month and today there are over 800 workers at Harley Davidson plant in Kansas City, but Dave Spence’s false and dishonest attack ads shouldn’t surprise anyone. After all, this is the same guy who was caught falsifying his academic credentials and misleading voters about his bank’s $40 million bailout from Washington,’” said Oren Shur, Nixon’s campaign manager. “Dave Spence’s increasingly desperate attacks don’t stand up to scrutiny – and they will fall flat with voters who know that while Governor Nixon was balancing the budget every year and protecting Missouri’s perfect AAA credit rating, Spence was helping to run a St. Louis bank that took a $40 million bailout from Washington and refused to pay it back.”

False Claim: Nixon “refused” to meet with Harley Davidson.

Point by point rebuttals:
http://jaynixon.com/2012/09/ad-check-dave-spence-sinks-to-new-lows-with-blatantly-false-claims