Fact Checker: Vetting claims from Pat Murphy TV ad

Introduction

'One candidate on the right side of history. The other using deceptive attacks to cover up hers. There's Pat Murphy. Lifelong Democrat. Raised the minimum wage. Expanded health care for Iowa kids and protected choice. But Monica Vernon, through Hillarycare, Iraq War, attacks on Social Security - Monica voted for, gave money, was even elected as a Republican.”

Source of claim: A television ad paid for by Pat Murphy for Iowa, the campaign committee for Dubuque Democrat Pat Murphy's 1st District U.S. House run.

Analysis

Former Iowa House Speaker Pat Murphy and former Cedar Rapids City Council member Monica Vernon are facing off in a Democratic primary Tuesday.

First, Murphy has been a Democrat since Oct. 29, 1977, when he first registered, according to the Dubuque County Auditor's Office.

Next, he cites three accomplishments:

Murphy co-sponsored a bill in January 2007 increasing the state minimum wage to $6.20 as of April 1, 2007 and $7.25 as of January 1, 2008, according to VoteSmart.org.

Murphy's campaign staff claimed he authored a bill in 2004 to expand medical coverage for uninsured Iowa children through a program called Healthy and Well Kids of Iowa, or Hawk-i. The Fact Checker could not substantiate this claim and his staff did not respond with supporting documentation. But he voted to establish Hawk-i in 1998 and several bills over the years to expand coverage.

According to Iowa legislative archives, Murphy voted in 2000 for a bill that prevented insurers from denying contraceptive coverage to women, and as Speaker in 2009, his campaign staff said, Murphy helped thwart amendments that would have cut funding for family planning as part of House File 811.

Now for his claims against Vernon.

Vernon was a registered Republican from Jan. 19, 1982, until switching parties to Democrat on May 5, 2009, according to the Linn County Auditor's Office.

She has donated to multiple Republicans over the years including, most recently, $500 to Mary Lundby for Senate in 2006 and $155 in two contributions to the Linn County Republican Women organization in 2006 and 2007, and $100 in 2008 to the Linn Eagles, a group devoted to electing Republicans, according to Iowa campaign disclosures.

In federal elections, she donated $250 to Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, in 1994, and $250 to Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, in 1995, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Vernon has at least four partisan votes on record, having participated in Republican primaries in 1994, 1990, 1988 and 1986. Vernon was still a Republican when elected to Cedar Rapids City Council in 2007, although it is a non-partisan seat.

Murphy's ad implies Vernon's party registration and campaign contributions are evidence she opposed Democrats on key issues over the last few decades, such as by supporting the Iraq War, opposing a health care plan led by First Lady Hillary Clinton and supporting a plan to privatize Social Security.

In the case of the health care, Murphy aide Michael McLaughlin pointed to Vernon's donation to Gramm, who fought the Clintons on the health care plan.

McLaughlin also pointed to Vernon's husband, William Vernon. He was a member of the Republican Party of Iowa's state central committee and made several donations to the party and Republican candidates.

Analysis

Murphy is accurate in claiming he is a lifelong Democrat. His accomplishments in the Iowa House also check out, mostly.

For the claims about Vernon, she does have a past as a Republican. But claiming Vernon was elected as a Republican - while semantically accurate - omits the fact that Cedar Rapids City Council elections are non-partisan.

It is also a stretch to connect Vernon's party affiliation during the 1990s and 2000s to any role in national Republican Party priorities. Aside from her contribution to Gramm, her donation history does not show contributions to the national Republican Party or former President George W. Bush. And, we could find no past statements of hers indicating a position on the issues mentioned in the ad. We score the claims measured in Murphy's ad a C.

Criteria

The Fact Checker team checks statements made by an Iowa political candidate/office holder or a national candidate/office holder about Iowa, or in advertisements that appear in our market. Claims must be independently verifiable. We give statements grades from A to F based on accuracy and context.

If you spot a claim you think needs checking, email us at factchecker@thegazette.com.

This Fact Checker was researched and written by B.A. Morelli.