TIPA - Truth In Political Advertising

ACCURACY = 6.8 out of 10.0. This advertisement received a decent rating for accuracy. It lists a string of claims, both about Salazar as well as Coors. Most of these claims have a solid basis in the facts.

FAIRNESS = 5.5 out of 10.0. Although most of the claims made in the advertisement are accurate, assertions made about Coors wanting trillions of dollars in tax breaks for the wealthy are intentionally and unfairly exaggerated.

RELEVANCE = 7.5 out of 10.0. The advertisement addresses tax cuts and social security, issues that are of key importance to many Americans.

OVERALL = 6.5 out of 10.0. Although this ad does a decent job of shedding light on Ken Salazar’s platform and support by local newspapers, it unfairly and inaccurately frames his opponent’s position.

The advertisement “Agree” begins with stating that a large number of Colorado’s major newspapers have formally endorsed Salazar’s candidacy, praising his problem solving abilities, common sense, and position on tax cuts for the middle class.

“Agree” then shows newspaper clippings that claim Pete Coors wants “2 Trillion dollars to privatize social security,” and “4 Trillion dollar tax break for millionaires.” In essence, the advertisement is illustrating that Salazar is a run of the mill, average Coloradoan who rides his horse around in the crop fields, while Coors is a wealthy businessman who is only interested in making profits, and helping his privileged friends.

As one Advisory Panel member described the ad, “This ad simply illustrates various endorsements for the candidates and a statement on the issue of taxation as reported in the media. It is refreshing compared to the personal attack ads that daily bombard us these days.”

The TIPA uses a "1" to "10" rating scale for Accuracy (with greater accuracy reflected by a higher rating), Fairness (with a higher rating indicating a greater degree of fairness), and Relevancy (with a higher rating meaning the advertisement was most relevant to the U.S. Senate campaign). The Rating System is presented in detail on the TIPA Web site.

ACCURACY RATING. “Agree” received a decent Accuracy rating of 6.8. While it does highlight Salazar’s stance on a few major issues, it also intentionally exaggerate ad oversimplify Coors’ position on tax breaks and social security.

A valid criticism of the ad’s accuracy came from one Advisory Panel member, “I don't claim to have the facts, which means the numbers, but round numbers in the trillions typically are gross miscalculations. However, even if the numbers are inaccurate, Coors' positions are fairly stated, albeit oversimplified.”

Alternatively, another panelist applauded the ad’s accuracy by stating, “This ad is literally accurate and striking for the small number of issues it covers: tax cuts and Social Security privatization. Coors has indeed called for making the Bush tax cuts permanent and for privatizing social security. ”

While Democrats rated the ad a solid 8.2, Republicans (5.7), and Independents (6.0), felt the facts were somewhat skewed.

FAIRNESS RATING. Even with the ad’s primary focus on positively promoting Salazar, the ad only received a Fairness score of 5.5 out of 10. Coors positions were intentionally overstated to make Salazar appear to be more in touch with the average voter.

However, a knowledgeable panel member explained, “While this ad is certainly true on its face - the papers listed have all endorsed Salazar, the comments made about Coors were either taken largely out of context or appear to possibly be untrue. The article from the Post, where ‘Coors favors families of wealth’ was lifted from a quote that read, ‘Coors endorses [tax] policies that favor families of wealth...’. While true, it's definitely taking that one piece of truth and stretching it to imply that Coors and all his fat cat rich cronies would benefit the most from Coors as Senator. The article also goes on to point out that Coors actually favors keeping the tax cuts that are already in place. It also points out (in the same paragraph) that BOTH Salazar and Coors are in favor of eliminating the estate tax which could benefit nearly any property owner, not just the extremely wealthy. The article goes even further to point out that Coors agreed with Salazar on a $10 million cap. The commercial claims that Coors supports a $2 trillion expenditure to privatize Social Security and it then cites the Presidential Commission to Strengthen Social Security 2001 - which when I looked it up yielded no mention of Coors (that I could find) anywhere.”

The ad's Fairness ratings reflected a bit of a partisan bias with Democrats rating the ad a 6.8, while Republicans and Independents gave the ad poor scores of 4.6 and 4.7, respectively.

RELEVANCE RATING. This ad received a Relevance score of 7.5 . The ad addresses topics that are of importance in policy debate, and of importance to most voters. The middle class want a candidate who will give them a tax break, as opposed to the wealthy, and Salazar, in this ad, did a good job of illustrating that distinction between himself and his opponent.

A Panel member who scored the relevance quite low stated, ‘Agree’ received a low relevance rating because much of it is subjective opinion. Papers have endorsed Salazar and have called him ‘the salt of the earth candidate.’ This tells me nothing about his stand on issues or why he should get my vote. I'll give it relevance credit for mentioning tax cut differences.”

Independents thought the ad was strikingly relevant (9.0), while Democrats thought the ad was quite relevant (7.4) and Republicans slightly less so (6.9).

OVERALL RATING. “Agree” is a refreshing shift away from the typical attack ads. Its overall score was 6.5, illustrating that the ad brings up relevant issues and gives the public positive and accurate information about Salazar’s stance on those issues, although it also skews Coors’ stance unfairly at the same time.

The ad was reviewed by one panelist who expressed, “Don't know if the quotes about Coors were taken out of context. Other than that, pretty good as it’s a positive commercial.”

Another panelist praised the ad, saying, “Strong basis in facts, good contrast between the candidates on issues.”

“Agree” is an example of the type of commercial that TIPA would like to see candidates use more often in the future to bring more positive and accurate information to voters.

(C) Copyright 2004 by the Democracy & Media Education Foundation. All rights reserved. Reproduction, duplication, transmission, or conveyance of this document – in whole or in part – without the express written consent of the DMEF is strictly prohibited. Bona fide print and electronic Press organizations, however, may quote this Report as long as proper attribution is given (i.e., “The Truth In Political Advertising Project”) and the quotation or reference accurately reflects the contents and conclusions of this Report. For questions, please call Zachary Adler at (303) 449-5043 or send an e-mail to Zachary@TIPAP.org. Thank you.