Meehan and Lentz Debate – Closing statements Fact Check

If you were unable to see the Meehan – Lentz debates live, you can see their closing statements, unedited on YouTube.

The crux of each candidates points are summarized as follows:

Bryan Lentz:

• “The truth is … you can not cut taxes for millionaires and reduce the deficit.”
• “The truth is … that we are not going to create jobs here in the United States if we continue tax policies that encourage the shipment of jobs overseas.”
• “The truth is … that we must invest in education, so we have a trained work force, so that people have a path in the middle class.”
• We must invest in our infrastructure.
• You can not do this, if on the campaign trail, you promise tax cuts to rich people and tax cuts for corporations.
• Says that Meehan and Christine O’Donnell are both endorsed by the Tea Party
• Expressed his opinions about Meehan:
  • Says Meehan has been a “politician for 30 years”
  • Says that Meehan would not vote for programs keeping our Pre-K programs open
  • Says that Meehan would vote with the NRA, and against legislation which keeps dangerous guns out of the hands of criminals
  • Says Meehan goes with ideology and rhetoric over “real needs”
  • Says Meehan would vote “no” against the small business lending act

Pat Meehan:

• Defends his position by stating that Lentz bases accusations on “what he says” as opposed to what he actually stands for
• Defended his career as a prosecutor stating it is not a “political” position
• As District Attorney, he worked on things which made a difference in people’s lives
• Says he brought together people of both parties, without any concern for party affiliation
  • Issues like violence in urban areas, along the Route 222 corridor, where he worked with Democrat mayors, and “others in the region” to look at solutions which resolved the issue they faced at the moment
• People are out of work, have uncertainty about the future
• “In fact, more parents believe that the future of their children is going to be less … less well for them than they had it themselves. That’s a staggering statistic to believe that we’ve lost the sense of confidence in the future of this country.”
• Develop a “vibrant” economy based on the principles of a free enterprise.
• Expressed his opinion of Lentz:
  • Stated Lentz wrapped himself around the very policies that Nancy Pelosi has been supporting since the very beginning:
  • Not just the health care bill, but the public option
  • The “job killing cap and trade” legislation
  • Billion dollar budgets that he has advocated … the kinds of things that have put us in in this economic situation
• States that what we need in Washington right now is “genuine dialog” and it will not happen unless we have a Republican voice in congress

Factual analysis:

• Lentz:
  • Pat Meehan has been a Republican politician since 1979, working for Republican candidate David Marston, so Lentz’ claim that he has been in politics for 30 years is accurate
  • Meehan publicly came out against the small business lending act so this suggestion by Lentz is accurate
  • Meehan’s campaign manager argues to keep tax cuts for those making more than $1 million in income per year (cached article has been removed from DelcoTimes … for some reason) also accurate
  • Meehan has been endorsed by the Independence Hall Tea Party PAC and the Delco Patriots (a Tea Party organization) also accurate
  • The NRA has endorsed Meehan, however, Meehan has deliberately not taken a position on House Bill 2536, so technically Bryan is inaccurate here
    
• Meehan:
  • States he created the Route 222 program, however the reference on the DOJ website is dead on Wikipedia:
    • “The program aimed not only to increase arrests, but also to fund school programs and community centers to educate youth about the alternatives to gang life.” (No source given)
    • The web site for the Route 222 Anti-Gang Initiative is also shutting down
    • The legislation did include Democrat mayors, so Meehan is accurate here
  • “More parents” is not a statistic.
  • Lentz has come out in favor of a public option for the health care bill, so Meehan is accurate here
  • Unfortunately, the presidency of George W. Bush is more to blame for the “current economic crisis” than Democratic policies (seeing it started in 2007), so Meehan is inaccurate
  • Depending on who you ask, Cap and Trade creates jobs or kills jobs (Carly Fiorina flip-flopped on Cap and Trade, in favor when John McCain was behind it, and against it when it was the Democrats), so Meehan is inaccurate
  • While claiming himself as a bringing together both parties, he advocates having a Republican “voice” in congress. Toss-up.

Obviously, voters can make their own choices based on the candidates performance:

For the video on YouTube, visit: Meehan/Lentz Debate Closing statements

Unfortunately, that version of the video is rather poor audio, for a higher quality version from the Lentz campaign, click here.