Nonprofit group's 'Truth Squad' says anti-bridge ad from Willow Run Tea Party distorts truth
The ad hints that Snyder shipped jobs to China during his time at Gateway.
The ad alleges Snyder shipped jobs to China while he was CEO at Gateway and implies that the Chinese have been hired to complete many public projects in the United States.
In a news release, the think tank says its Truth Squad examined the ad and concluded, “the ad misstates Snyder's record at Gateway and uses fear-mongering to imply the Chinese government is taking over Michigan and the rest of the United States.”
The analysis notes that Chinese firms have won contracts for some public projects in New York and elsewhere, but said American union workers will do most of the work on U.S. soil.
Efforts to build a new bridge, which would be privately financed and publicly owned, between Detroit and Windsor, Canada, are opposed by Matty Maroun, who owns the Ambassador Bridge, the only current automobile crossing over the Detroit River. Many Republican legislators also oppose it.
Watch the ad below.
Comments
Gordon
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 1:28 p.m.
Tea party distort the truth? How many member drink tea? Fear mongering? Naa, it's the tea leaves telling them. The bridge just had new entrances and repairs done by the lowest bidderr - recently. The TV ad campaign has to cost a small fortune telling us that the bridge will be un-profitable. I wouldn't want my name & face associated with the TV campaign like a young politician. Funny, why soo many delays and lines backed up on public roads trying to get thorough a narrow (privately owned) bottle neck?
tdw
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 12:55 p.m.
Ok Libs , who do you hate more Synder or the Tea Party ?
Cassandra
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 12:28 p.m.
As usual, the nattering nabobs of negativism either don't know what they're nattering about, or they've actually fallen for the agitprop of the Morounarchy. I did not vote for Gov. Snyder -- but I like his M.O.: He seems to be one of the few adults in a sandbox full of children. He doesn't waste time in being drawn into groundless arguments by people who wouldn't believe him if he gave them the correct time of day or told them that the sun was going to set tonight. Rather, he just goes ahead with his projects, which, if they work out, will speak for themselves. And if they don't work out, then the voters can speak for themselves. Did anyone stop to wonder why Moroun has poured millions of dollars into political "contributions," fraudulent TV ads, public relations campaigns, spin doctors, and frivolous lawsuits in opposition to the NITC bridge? And why are the Koch Bros. and the Tea Party so much against a publicly owned Downriver bridge? One Morounista, when the NITC bridge was referred to as The People's Bridge, said that was communistic. If The People's Bridge is "communistic" does that mean that one man owning a chokehold on an international bridge is fascistic? Just asking . . .
clownfish
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 11:32 a.m.
Funny how the Snyder supporters don't trust his business judgment on this one! Lt Gov Calley, a good Christian republican, has testified that traffic will increase, that the MI tax payer will not be on the hook and it will be good for MI business. And the people that voted for him say he is lying! Gotta love it.
clownfish
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 11:27 a.m.
This ad is from a group related to the "people" that put fake "Eviction notices" on Detroiters homes last spring. Why, if their argument is sound on it's own, do they have to resort to such extortions/false information? '' If the bridge is such a bad idea, why do the Marouns want to build one? Oh, right, because it is a good idea and will create revenue! Seems the "run the govt like a business" crowd has done yet another flip-flop.
trespass
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 10:54 a.m.
The idea that Michigan taxpayers are not paying a dime for the bridge is nonsense. 90% of the cost will be paid for with Federal highway dollars (US/Michigan taxpayers). Federal road funds are limited and the amount will not be increased because we build the bridge. Those dollars will be diverted from all other road projects in Michigan for years to come. This does not even include the expected cost over runs. Testimony before the legislature stated that the true cost of the bridge was more likely to be between $3.5 and $4.5 billion (remember the "big dig" in Boston).
trespass
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 10:47 a.m.
The head of the Canadian intelligence service, Richard Fadden, says that Canadian politicians have be corrupted by China. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMBFln17mUM&feature=player_embedded" rel='nofollow'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMBFln17mUM&feature=player_embedded</a> The new bridge is part of the "NAFTA Superhighway" <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_SuperCorridor_Coalition" rel='nofollow'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_SuperCorridor_Coalition</a> Snyder is in China to "build relationships" and he vows to return within a year. <a href="http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-57577-263102--,00.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-57577-263102--,00.html</a> Both Gov. Snyder and Lt. Gov Calley have said they would have no problem with China building and operating the bridge. The traffic over the current bridge has decreased from 13 million cars/yr to less than 8 million cars/yr. Thus the purpose of the bridge has nothing to do with needing more capacity. It is about relocating traffic so that it does not go through downtown Windsor. That is not a problem for American taxpayer to pay for.
snapshot
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 5:22 a.m.
Canada wants the bridge and they've fared pretty well in this economy......they're even giving us 500 million dollars with no strings attached! Why would we even question their proven judgement when our economy and political system is stalemated by special interest groups. An international crossing owned by a private individual should be an embaressment to our country. The feds or Snyder should just "take" it using eminent domain and national security for the public good as a basis. I recommend Maroun tread lightly.
Betty
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 1:30 a.m.
How do you explain the racist, right wing tea party going after a greedy, heartless republican governor?
klondike
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 11:24 p.m.
What I like the most about this ad and Moroun trying to twist public perception through advertising is that it pits a self-serving billionaire businessman against a multi-millionaire tea-party governor whose only call in life is to support his rich self-serving businessman buddies. Karma?
Roadman
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 11:21 p.m.
Michigan voters are now realizing what a mistake they made with Rick Snyder. The Republican primary candidates in August of 2010 split the vote among three conservatives and the Democrats foolishly crossed over to vote for Snyder as a moderate. He stands for big business interests and globalization of the economy - and little else. Business owners no doubt would consider Rick Snyder a darling governor.
Heardoc
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 10:26 p.m.
liberals will be liberals....
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 8:22 p.m.
@clownfish: He doesn't know. Anything he doesn't like he blames on liberals. GN&GL
clownfish
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 11:22 a.m.
? Snyder is being liberal? What does this comment mean, other than you are willing to deride a group of people because you might disagree with them?
David Briegel
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 11:54 p.m.
Just another silly comment from the extreme far right!!!
EyeHeartA2
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 9:19 p.m.
What cracks me up is that the pictures in the ad for the disintegrating roads and bridges are actually pictures of Matty Maroun's dilapidated train station that he refuses to do anything about. Nice, huh? Odd that the guy most opposed to the bridge is the competitor?...or not I guess.
Richard
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 12:56 a.m.
Matty is putting a roof on the train station and replacing the windows among other things. And I don't mean he's going to; its happening right now. He has outrageously expensive restoration specialists working on it as well.
bedrog
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 8:34 p.m.
wow! the 'teaparty" distorting the truth.. D'ya think???
Designated Conservative
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 8:09 p.m.
The Truth Squad needs to retune their accuracy meter a bit. The Willow Run Tea Party Caucus ad shines light what has unfortunately become an already well worn path for state governments with major infrastructure projects. Chinese firms can underbid American firms because the Chinese firms are either subsidized by or owned outright by the Chinese government or Chinese military. With Lansing already taking a financial backseat in decisionmaking to Ottawa for this project, why is it unreasonable to suggest that Gov. Snyder, a man familiar with the Communist Chinese government and business interests, would be willing to accept a low bid from China to do similar work as was done in San Francisco? Also, the Truth Squad tells a big fat falsehood when they claim, "American union labor will carry out most of the work done on United States soil." That was not the case in California, and U.S. trade unions have echoed similar concerns about "imported" Chinese skilled trades on other projects. The most important element of truth implied in the ad and ignored by the Truth Squad is that hiring Chinese firms to work on this project will simply result in the exporting of more jobs to China AND more of tax dollars as well. Whether Gov. Snyder is correct in his assertion that the Canadian government will be on the hook for the cost, this taxpayer would rather see our public dollars (including the loonies) spent locally so that they recirculate and multiply their impact on the local economy.
Ron Granger
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 8:01 p.m.
"privately financed and publicly owned" How many billions are working class taxpayers going to pay for this boondoggle for Snyder's business buddies?
clownfish
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 : 11:20 a.m.
As above, none. If you think the tax payer is going to be on the hook you have been fooled by propaganda that lacks truth. Try seeking new sources of information.
Basic Bob
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 8:55 p.m.
None. Like other toll facilities, it will be paid completely from tolls. You do realize this "tea party" campaign is being financed by a billionaire. So you agree with the tea party and the billionaire on this one? Shocking.
DonBee
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 6:48 p.m.
Matty Maroun owns the bridge, the main train station in Detroit and hundreds of other distressed properties in the city. He does the bare minimum to maintain these facilities (like all the broken windows in the station). The mess that is the approach to the ambassador bridge is a further disgrace to the Maroun empire. He seems to be financing a campaign to keep the bridge from happening, purely to keep the money flowing into his own pockets. Frankly Michigan would be better off without the Maroun empire.
Phil K.
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 11:59 p.m.
"the main train station in Detroit" Not quit. He owns the abandoned Michigan Central station, which hasn't been served by Amtrak since 1988. Detroit's current train station sits just north of Wayne State's campus.
Forever27
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 6:26 p.m.
What is it with the Tea Party and their hatred for bridges?
bedrog
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 8:36 p.m.
Do you mean literal bridges? or metaphorical 'bridges' to possible compromise with other points of view?? Either way, you are right.
Sparty
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 : 6:41 p.m.
What is it with the tea party, period?