EDIT: VOTE FOR FORD IN THIS POLL: http://knoxville.wate.com/senate-debate
http://www.newschannel9.com/
Guys, below is a post I got up on our blog rebutting Corker's lies in tonight's debate!
The Congressman was great, but Corky just couldn't tell the truth!
http://haroldfordjr2006.blogspot.com/
Debate #2 Fact Check On Bob Corker
Tuesday night marked the second debate between Congressman Ford and Bob Corker.
And I have to tell you, Congressman Ford blew him away! While Ford won the first debate, this one wasn't even close. On substance, style, and other important attribute, Ford won hands down and that will be reflected in the post debate reaction and news stories.
Just like the first debate, Corker had a trouble with telling the truth. Below are some topics in which Corker was anything but truthful.
Bob Says He Didn't Mean 'Stay the Course'
Once again, Bob tried to explain this lie he told in the last debate. However, the fact remains, Bob has said several times that we should stay the course and keep doing what we have been doing in Iraq.
* “All three candidates opposed setting a deadline for the United States to withdraw from Iraq. ‘I support what we're trying to do as a country ... I think we should stay the course,’ Corker said.” -- 7/16/2006 AP
* I think we do need to stay the course. I think we need to look at victory there as modest. I think having a government set up that is democratic and people [need to be] in place that are able to, again, secure their citizens. The people of Iraq did not ask for us to be there. We are there, we went, and we need to make sure… that they are trained and able to take care of themselves. And then, as soon as that’s done, I do think we need to get the great men and women that are involved in defending our country and defending their county, I think we need to do everything we can, once our mission is accomplished, to get them back as our heroes here in our own country.” -- 9/13/2005 Smithville- Middle Tennessee Times
* "And I think we should stay the course. I think to go back and argue about what we found when we got there, what we didn’t find, has totally, has no business in what, in our dialog today. Our dialog today should be about making sure that we do the things that we need to do in Iraq, so that they can in fact be a democracy.” -- 7/16/2006 WREG Memphis debate
Bob Says We Should Listen To The Generals In Regards To Iraq
Well, maybe Bob needs to practice what he preaches because for months now many top generals have called for Donald Rumsfeld to resign. Yet Bob doesn't support Rumsfeld leaving.
In contrast, Congressman Ford was one of the first members of Congress to call for Rumsfeld to go:
* “For the sake of our country and the safety of our troops, President Bush should accept the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld has lost the confidence of his peers, subordinates and the thousands of men and women who bravely and selflessly serve this country.” -- Harold Ford Jr.
Bob Says He Has Always Demonstrated A Strong Work Ethic
Yet another lie by Bob. He says he is a hard work, but as the record shows he barely even showed up for his final two months as Mayor:
* "Bob Corker has a dismal 55% job attendance rating his last 2 and '½ months as Mayor: Mayor Ron Littlefield was sworn into office on April 18, 2005. According to the Corker campaign between the dates of 02/01/2005 and 04/18/2005, while still Mayor, Bob Corker had 35 campaign events in cities outside of Hamilton County. So that equates not performing his full-time duties as Mayor for 35 out of 77 days. That's just a 55% attendance rating."
Bob Says He Took Swift Action On Illegal Workers On His Work Site
Once again, Bob tried to portray himself as being tough on illegal immigration during this debate. However, when confronted with the fact that he hired illegal workers, Bob once again lied. He said that he took quick action on the matter and was applauded for it.
However, the record says otherwise:
* Corker’s company had been put on notice three times – first by a Memphis City Councilman who complained about illegal workers at the site, and twice by the INS during site visits – before a March 1988 raid yielded the arrest of four illegal workers, according to media accounts and INS documents. Reports of 30 to 50 illegal workers had been made publicly while Corker and Bencor officials maintained that they and their subcontractors were all in compliance with the law, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. When the raid occurred, Bencor quickly changed its message about compliance and blamed a subcontractor that the INS subsequently reported as never having employed the illegal workers, according to stories in the Commercial Appeal.
Bob and his company were put on notice three times. Three. That is hardly quick action. Bob was not applauded. The bottom line: Bob broke the law.
Bob Suggests He Is For A Raise In The Minimum Wage
Once again Bob is flip flopping. He now is acting as though he could support a raise in the minimum wage. However, during the conservative Republican primary, Corker questions the existence of the minimum wage:
* Corker Opposes Any Minimum Wage. During the July 13 Republican senatorial debate in Knoxville, Bob Corker was asked if he supports raising the minimum wage. Not only did Corker say he opposes and increase, he also proclaimed that it was not the government’s business to be setting a minimum wage in the first place. “I think that’s the responsibility of the people in the private sector to govern that,” Corker said. [GOP Senate Debate, 7/13/06; Memphis Commercial Appeal, 7/14/06]
* Corker Opposes Raising The Minimum Wage; Thinks Responsibility Shoudl Fall To Private Sector.“Ed [Bryant] and I agree on the issue, and I do want to say though, as a business person that was worked through out the country, that we consistently, always made sure that the people working with us had a livable wage, and I think that’s the responsibility of the people in the private sector to govern that. I did that in other positions, and yet on this issue, I would say that Ed and I agree.” (7/13/2006 WBIR Knoxville debate)
Further, Corker has a record that suggests that he doesn't care about the minimum wage or the people working on it:
* Corker Raised Pay At The Same Time He Cut City Workers’ Pay. In 2001, Mayor Corker’s pay rose from $118,796 to $122,360. He also accepted pay raises in 2002 and 2003, when he was the only mayor of the state’s four largest cities to receive one. Soon after finding out about his own salary increase, Corker proposed his first budget, which eliminated annual, the automatic cost-of-living increase for city employees, including police officers. Instead of the cost-of-living increase, Corker offered a smaller increase and said that employees should be happy with that. As one police employee said, “That is messing with our livelihood.” [Chattanooga Times Free Press, 7/17/01, 7/03/03, 8/22/01, 10/23/01, 10/2
Bob Tries To Say Lobbyists and Special Interests Have No Influence On Him
However, apparently the special interests understood their deal differently.
* "The Independent Petroleum Association of America’s PAC director, Kelly Philson, said the IPAA has endorsed Corker for the election. “I believe that he is the strongest candidate out there that will be an advocate for domestic producers of oil and natural gas,” Philson said."
Not to mention, Bob has recieved more money from Big Oil than from any other Senate candidate in the nation. I doubt they expect nothing in return.
Bob Said In The Past He Would Not Make Ford's Family An Issue, But He Has In Both Debates
* “You know there’s been a lot of talk and I know that they’re filming this and I know that Harold goes all around the state talking about how that we’re gonna make his family an issue in this race. And I said very quickly in this race early on that I don’t think that’s an issue that ought to be debated around the state. The family that concerns me is the Washington family. The Washington family of John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton, and Ted Kennedy, that he surrounds himself with. And I know whose views you couldn’t uh you couldn’t uh I know that that’s not what we here today believe is the direction that our country ought to go.” (8/22/2006 Hardeman County- Bolivar Courthouse)
* "I just want to say it's not Harold's family in Tennessee that I'm concerned about at all," Corker said at a campaign event in Franklin, Tenn., last week with U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. "It's the Washington family of John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton that has me the most worried." (8/21/2006 Commercial Appeal)
* “Corker denied that he was indirectly making Ford’s family an issue, saying, “What’s important in this race is who Harold Ford surrounds himself with politically.” (8/16/2006 Nashville City Paper)
* “Both Corker and Dole said the problems of Ford's family members will not become part of the campaign. "I can't imagine family members being discussed in this race," Corker said. "I think this race needs to be about our vastly different backgrounds and how we view the world." (08/05/06 AP)