Says Mitch McConnell credits Republicans "for recent economic improvements" even though they took control of the Senate only "days ago."
On Jan. 9, 2015, two days after a new Congress was sworn in, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore tweaked new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with this tweet: "McConnell credits @GOP for recent econ improvements despite just gaining Senate control days ago. #RevisionistHistory" Sounds pretty silly. An economic recovery occurring just because Republicans took over the Senate days earlier? So, did the Kentucky Republican really say what the Milwaukee Democrat said he did? Just about. McConnell’s claim Moore reacted to comments McConnell made two days earlier on the Senate floor, after he took over as majority leader: "After so many years of sluggish growth, we’re finally starting to see some economic data that can provide a glimmer of hope. The uptick appears to coincide with the biggest political change of the Obama administration’s long tenure in Washington: the expectation of a new Republican Congress." So, McConnell was saying a recent economic uptick appears to "coincide" with "the expectation of a new Republican Congress." PolitiFact National rated that McConnell claim False, even leaving aside the question of whether McConnell was crediting the GOP for the uptick. Key statistics show the recovery was under way well before September 2014. That’s when a consensus emerged expecting that Republicans would win enough seats in the November 2014 elections to win a majority in the Senate. Moore’s claim Moore’s characterization of McConnell’s remark went a bit further. She said McConnell was crediting the GOP for a recovery because it had taken control of the Senate "days ago." But that expectation would have been in place a couple of months earlier, following the elections -- or perhaps a couple of months before that, as it became clear the GOP would win back the Senate. Our rating Moore said McConnell credits Republicans "for recent economic improvements" even though they took control of the Senate only "days ago." McConnell did say the recovery coincided with the expectation of the GOP taking over the Senate. But that expectation was months earlier, not days. We rate Moore’s statement Mostly True. To comment on this item, go to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's web page.
['Mitch_McConnell', 'Republican_Party_(United_States)']