The new political ad from the Protect Freedom Political Action Committee is an attack ad aimed at Lt. Gov. Brad Little and Boise businessman Dr. Tommy Ahlquist. It is also an endorsement for Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador.
The Protect Freedom PAC is based out of Virginia. Their official website says they focus on supporting pro-freedom and pro-liberty candidates across the country. Also, according to their website, they also function "to set up to support current and future allies of U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R, KY)."
To be clear, the Labrador campaign has nothing to do with this ad.
The first claim in the ad says, "Ahlquist says he supports Trump but didn't vote for him.”
We've been over this a few times during our ad-check series, but once again. In the 2016 presidential election, Tommy Ahlquist did not vote for Donald Trump, he wrote in Marco Rubio. As president, Ahlquist says he does support Trump and thinks he is doing a great job.
The second claim says Ahlquist “flip-flopped on Common Core and spending."
Ahlquist has been criticized by some for changing his position on repealing state education standards known as Common Core.
In July 2017, it was reported in an Associated Press article that Ahlquist supported repealing the state's education standards. The Ahlquist campaign responded to that article saying his comments were taken out of context.
But, AP reporter Kimberlee Kruesi later tweeted out the full quote Ahlquist gave her. Kruesi confirmed to KTVB that Ahlquist said in the interview, "Common Core needs to go away completely. I think it's failed. It's failed my family. It was not the right answer for Idaho."
Since last July, Ahlquist has been consistent in saying he believes Common Core has been a disaster but that he does believe in effective standards that ensure Idaho kids are prepared for Idaho jobs.
On the claim of a flip-flop on spending, Ahlquist from the very beginning of his campaign has said if elected governor he will cut $100 million in the first 100 days in office.
Ahlquist and his campaign has since clarified that goal saying the idea is not to necessarily get rid of $100 million from the state budget but to eliminate $100 million in wasteful spending that could be better spent in the budget elsewhere.
The Ahlquist campaign tells KTVB that the confusion on the wording comes down to Ahlquist not being a lifetime politician. Ahlquist campaign manager David Johnston says,"Tommy is not a politician and doesn't speak politician perfectly."
Some call the situation a flip-flop on a campaign promise to cut money from the state budget, others say it's just a clarification, ultimately though it's up to the voters to decide.
The next claim in the ad says that Brad Little Voted to increase funds to Planned Parenthood.
During his entire political career, Brad Little has made it clear that he is pro-life and that he has never supported Planned Parenthood.
The claim that Little voted to fund Planned Parenthood, however, goes back to a 2005 "yes" vote that Little made on Senate Bill 1140.
That bill looked to provide and expand family planning services for low-income women with the plan to help cut down on unintended pregnancies, the rates of miscarriages, stillbirths and abortions.
The bill didn't pass, but could have allowed state money to go to organizations for family planning, pregnancy care, and contraceptives. The bill makes it clear though that the services mentioned in the bill did not include abortions.
So while it is possible the bill could have allowed some money to go to Planned Parenthood, Little was not endorsing the organization with his vote.
Claim four says Little voted to “add $200 million in new taxes.”
During the 2006 special session, Little voted "yes" on House Bill 1 which raised the state sales tax from 5 percent to 6 percent.
According to information from the Idaho State Tax Commission, that cost taxpayers an estimated $210 million in the first full year.
So we can VERIFY he voted for the increase, but at the same time in 2006, the Legislature agreed to pass the 2006 Property Relief Act, which reduced property taxes by $253 million.
So in total, the net cut for taxpayers made by the Legislature that year was $43 million. This has commonly been called the 2006 tax shift.
The ad ends by saying, "Labrador defends life, the 2nd Amendment, borders and health care freedom.”
The rapid-fire claims at the end of the ad are all true. We can VERIFY, Labrador is pro-life, a defender of gun rights, an advocate for a border wall, and a supporter of health care freedom, namely being a critic of Obamacare.