Even Fox News Calls Out Debicella’s Deception

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 15, 2010

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Liz Kerr, 203-275-9715

Even Fox News Calls Out Debicella Deception

Greta VanSusteren: “I hope your opponent sees that this is not an Election Day conversion…”

BRIDGEPORT, CT—Dan Debicella is so desperate in his attempt to advance his political career by winning a seat in the United States Congress that he is making claims about Jim Himes’ record that even Fox News can’t swallow. In a Himes appearance last night on the Fox News program On the Record, host Greta VanSusteren came to Himes’ defense saying, “I hope your opponent sees that this is not an Election Day conversion and goes back and looks at your letter as I did.” This is the same Fox News that is owned by News Corp., a company that recently gave $1 million to the National Republican Party.

With her comment, VanSusteren is referring to a letter that Himes, along with seven other Members of Congress, sent to President Obama in January, urging that the existing tax rates from 2001 and 2003 be extended to help fuel economic recovery. In an article that appeared in the Greenwich Time yesterday, Debicella manipulated a quote from Himes, attempting to distort Himes’ position on the issue.

“Dan Debicella will stop at nothing to advance his own political career, and now he’s taken to distorting Jim’s record to the point that Fox News even comes to his defense?” asked Himes’ campaign manager Mark Henson. “It’s unfortunate that Debicella is unwilling to have a real debate on the issues because Connecticut families and businesses can’t wait for the Debicella for insert-elected-office-here campaign to finally recognize that jobs aren’t a partisan issue.”

Debicella deliberately and deceptively cut short a quote of Himes’ comments at a New Canaan town hall meeting held on August 12 to show Himes saying about the tax cuts for households earning more than $250,000 per year: “I’m still looking at it— I would say let them expire.”

In reality, Himes’ answer reiterated his position that economic conditions and the impact a change could have on small businesses would guide any possible vote regarding the extension of cuts for households making over $250,000 per year. The tape shows Himes saying:

“Here’s where I am right now (on the Bush tax cuts). I think for under ($)250,000 for households, under ($)200,000 for individuals, I think we need to contemplate at least a one or two year extension of the tax cuts. The last thing we need to do now is take dollars out of the pocket of our middle class. On the ones that are in excess of $250,000, I’m still looking at it. I would say let them expire but for one thing, which is that there are a lot of small businesses running their tax returns into personal tax returns at that level—this gentleman here—so I need to look at that small business tax cut…”

This is just one of the many falsities that have come to define Debicella’s campaign. Dan Debicella claims he is pro-environment, but he has the worst environmental voting record in the Connecticut Senate over the last 10 years, according to the League of Conservation Voters. He says he’s the right choice for women, but he was one of only three state senators to vote against a bill requiring hospitals to offer rape victims emergency contraception. Finally, Debicella says he voted against requiring health insurance companies to provide coverage for tests to find bone marrow donors for cancer patients because the “mandates” would unduly increase health insurance premiums; in reality, the requirement would have only raised premiums by 72 cents per year.

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