Fact Check: Did Guinta Sign Climate Agreement?

the 'splanation (0.00 / 0)

In 2007 Guinta was the Mayor of Manchester.  This is a non-partisan office & he was running (and governing) as a centerist in a mostly Democratic city.  Also in 2007, Barack Obama was not President, and there was no "Tea Party."

In 2010, Obama is President, and Guinta is running for Congress as a Republican.  Although Guinta might move back to the center if he is nominated, he is not yet nominated... and to get nominated he needs the Teabaggers' support.  Hence his abandonment of his earlier support for the Kyoto protocols.  

I am not questioning Guinta's sincerity: I am sure he is sincerely committed to winning the GOP nomination, and hence he is moving far to the right.  He will be just as sincerely committed to winning the General Election if nominated, and if need be he will back off from his current position.

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by: TimothyHorrigan @ Sat Jul 17, 2010 at 23:20:08 PM CDT

I always have found (0.00 / 0)

speaking only for myself, that the hardest thing about lying is remembering what stories you told to whom when.

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by: Lucy Edwards @ Sun Jul 18, 2010 at 06:00:38 AM CDT

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It's easier, if you just say whatever your listeners want to hear. (0.00 / 0)

Easier still when you can hire someone to speak for you and that someone, like a puppet, is not too bright.

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by: hannah @ Sun Jul 18, 2010 at 11:14:45 AM CDT

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So, (said I, pointing out the obvious) (4.00 / 1)

if these guys all actually signed, there must be a copy with the signatures in existence somewhere, right?

Or will the aforementioned spokesperson then claim the signature is a forgery?

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by: GreyMike @ Sun Jul 18, 2010 at 01:12:25 AM CDT

Busted. (4.00 / 2)

Great catch.

That Guinta. What a "grandstander."

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Sun Jul 18, 2010 at 05:57:43 AM CDT

and of course Guinat was Mayor during the stimulus... (0.00 / 0)

Guinta's last term as mayor ended almost a year after Obama became President.  One of the highlights of Obama's first year was a multibillion dollar stimulus program.

The City of Manchester was eligible for stimulus (or "ARRA") money and some ARRA bucks did somehow end up being accepted and spent while Guinta was Mayor.  He has predictably been taken to task by his opponents for this, and he defended himself on his blog a few days ago.

He began defending himself by complaining:  

Reports are circulating that I supported the stimulus plan and requested stimulus monies as Mayor of Manchester. Nothing could be further from the truth. These reports are no doubt being spread by one of my opponents who hopes that by distorting my conservative record, he can gain a political advantage [my note: oooh, shocking! shocking!].

He claims:

As Mayor, I never once asked for stimulus nor put together a stimulus wish list. I never lobbied the Governor or any other official in public or private to send stimulus funds to Manchester. Instead, I asked that State to restore Rooms & Meals and Revenue Sharing, and advocated that they instead cut spending to balance the budget.

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by: TimothyHorrigan @ Mon Jul 19, 2010 at 11:02:06 AM CDT

Guinta says he never asked for stimulus money (0.00 / 0)

Frank Guinta's statement could come back to bite him in the rear end:

"As Mayor, I never once asked for stimulus nor put together a stimulus wish list. I never lobbied the Governor or any other official in public or private to send stimulus funds to Manchester."

If some official shows that Guinta DID lobby him, then Guinta is proven to be a liar. But even if Guinta never lobbied any official, he still looks bad: the money was available and he didn't go after it.  That's dereliction of duty.  He could very justifiably taken the position that his city needed to go out and grab its share of the ARRA money while it was available, regardless of whether or not ARRA was such a great idea or not.  But instead he chooses (truthfully or not) to claim he never even bothered to go after any of the money.  

Tens of millions of dollars of stimulus money did end up in the Queen City, even if Guinta never asked for it.  The school district alone got almost $13M, and that's less than half of what came into the city.

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by: TimothyHorrigan @ Mon Jul 19, 2010 at 13:17:34 PM CDT

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