Credibility

One more point about the challenge facing conservatives. In just the past week, two stories came to my attention that go directly to the crucial issue of credibility.

The first story concerns a TV ad paid for by the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity targeting a Democratic House representative from the Detroit area who is running for the Senate. In the ad, a woman with cancer says Obamacare made her health insurance so expensive she couldn’t afford it. The Detroit News found the woman and found out she has signed up for coverage under Obamacare. Under her old plan, she spent $13,200 on premiums alone. Under her new plan, she will spend at most $11,952, including premiums, co-pays, prescription drugs and other out-of-pocket expenses.

The second story comes from the recent Conservative Political Action Committee meeting in Washington. Congressman Paul Ryan told a moving tale about a little boy who qualified for the free school lunch program but wanted his meal in a brown paper bag, because that would show he “had someone who cared for him. This is what the left doesn’t understand.”

The Washington Post’s Fact Checker blog thought the story sounded too good to be true. They were right. On top of that, the little boy is now a grown man, and works with a group called No Kid Hungry that connects poor children with federal support programs. (To Ryan’s credit, his office admitted the mistake and apologized.)

It’s just too easy these days to check facts, and there are too many people doing it to take the risk of looking foolish and further tarnishing your brand. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.