ANNAPOLIS, MD – Larry Hogan held his first press conference of the campaign season at his Annapolis headquarters this morning to refute Anthony Brown’s “deceitful” ad campaign.
“[Anthony Brown’s campaign] is the most deceitful, most dishonest campaign that I have ever witnessed in my entire life,” Mr. Hogan, standing next to three easels displaying the ads, told a dozen reporters. “Each of Anthony Brown’s campaign ads are completely false and are filled with absolute lies. Yesterday, the Baltimore Sun editorial page suggested that I not let Anthony Brown define me with these false statements—that I ought to try to set the record straight. That’s exactly why we called this press conference this morning; we’re taking that advice.”
Hogan then laid out each of the false claims featured in Brown’s campaign literature and television ads, which have aired in both Baltimore and Washington media markets (the following quotations are taken verbatim from the ads), and refuted them directly:
1) Lie: “Larry Hogan opposes a woman’s right to choose. He wants to ban abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.” (Brown TV ad: “Dangerous”)
Truth: “That is an absolute lie. It’s not my position now, and it’s never been my position. … I have repeatedly said I would do nothing as governor to take away a woman’s right,” Hogan said. “We’re not going to roll back any laws. I have repeatedly said that this issue was decided by the voters of Maryland back in 1992. For Anthony Brown to try to scare women … is absolutely disgraceful.”
2) Lie: “Larry Hogan would take our kids backwards. He says, [Hogan voiceover] ‘We just simply can't afford this universal pre-K,’ and instead, Hogan would spend twice as much [screen shows $300 million] on huge corporate giveaways every year, putting corporations ahead of kids.” (Brown TV ad: “Universal”)
Truth: “First of all, I support pre-K. I’m not for taking one single penny out of pre-K. And I’m not planning on taking $300 million from kids and giving it to corporations. I have said that I support universal pre-K. I think it’s a wonderful idea. I said, ‘Who could possibly be opposed to it?’ I’ve also said, ‘We simply can’t afford it right now.’ … We’ve got a dead economy, we’re losing jobs, our state has raised 40 taxes on struggling Maryland families. Anthony Brown is … promising $7 billion in new spending programs, including universal pre-K for everyone, with absolutely no detail whatsoever on how he’s going to pay for it. In fact, he’s telling you he’s not going to raise taxes. That’s absolutely not true.”
3) Lie: “Larry Hogan is opposed to a law that keeps guns off our streets. Hogan even opposed common-sense background checks …” (Brown TV ad: “Dangerous”)
Truth: “I have talked about and criticized this administration for the fact that over the past eight years, [Maryland was] one of the only states in the nation that wouldn’t report mental illness to the federal system. We were one of the only states where we were making it easier for people with mental illnesses to get guns. … I have been pushing for instant point-of-sale background checks and us joining the federal instant background check system. Never have I ever supported … giving guns to the mentally ill or stopping background checks. It’s completely false.”
4) Lie: “Hogan … supported massive college tuition increases.” (Brown TV ad: “Never Stop”)
Truth: “I have never supported one penny of tuition increases ever, at any point in my life. As a matter of fact, over the past three-and-a-half years, I have been the leading voice of opposition to the O’Malley-Brown increases in tuition.”
Before answering questions from reporters, Hogan said the ads were “a perfect example of why so many people of both parties are disgusted with politics and politicians. … If Anthony Brown is willing to blatantly lie throughout this campaign, how can he be trusted in public office? Today, I am calling on Anthony Brown to stop these outrageous lies and, for once, to take responsibility and pull down the false and dishonest ads.”
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