SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Democratic Party used a fast food chain's iconic burger to label the Republican candidate for Utah's 4th Congressional District.
They said Mia Love told a number of "Whoppers" in her debate against Democrat Doug Owens, which was held at the University of Utah on Tuesday.
Utah Democratic Party Chair Peter Corroon put a burger down each time he listed what he considered an untruth told by Love in the debate.
He said the worst statements, the so-called "Double Whoppers" were claims that she had not advocated for the elimination of the Department of Education and for the cutting all federal student subsidies.
"If you're running on your record and saying you did things you didn't do, you should be taken to task for it," Corroon said.
To prove his point, Corroon displayed a Love campaign brochure from her 2012 run for the 4th Congressional District. Under the heading, "Mia's Initial Plan," is a list of programs to cut in order to save money in the federal budget. On the list "End K-12 education subsidies" and "End student aid and all other programs."
Owens said he was unaware of Corroon's "Whopper" press conference until he saw it on FOX 13 News. He said he thought it was "funny."
"Yeah those are whoppers, and I'm not talking about the hamburgers," Owens said.
The Mia Love campaign provided a response to the claims made during the press conference. That response is reproduced in its entirety below:
"Mia Love’s Response to the Democrats’ October 15th Press Conference
The Democrats are desperate following their candidate’s poor performance in last night’s debate. The unsubstantiated charges they are making today are nothing more than that: unsubstantiated. These charges are nothing more than retreads from the 2012 campaign.
I will keep the promises that I made to Utah’s 4th district by continuing to run a positive, issues-oriented campaign. I remain committed to showing by example that I can end the dysfunction in Washington and effectively represent Utah values. In response to the Democrats’ desperate attacks, here are the facts:
My Record as Mayor of Saratoga Springs
During my mayoral term, I pursued an agenda focused on reducing city spending, promoting economic growth, and implementing sound fiscal policies. I have experience with balancing budgets and creating a business-friendly environment. Our property taxes in Saratoga Springs only pay for police and fire protection—nothing else. Despite the recent economic downturn, my city continues to hold the highest bond rating possible for a city of its size. (Contrast that with the federal government’s credit rating downgrade.) We were also recently named #1 in Utah for livability in a study based off economic and growth factors.
In recent years, Saratoga Springs has received numerous prestigious budgetary awards. For the past three years, the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) has awarded Saratoga Springs with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, which is given to government entities that satisfy nationally recognized budgetary guidelines. Only a handful of cities and towns in Utah receive this award each year.
My Position on Student Loans
I want higher education to be available to all who wish to attend college, and I will only support education policies that achieve that goal.
The virtually unlimited flow of money into the federal student loan program has dramatically raised the cost of tuition, and I am concerned that this will further limit higher education options. When the federal government took over the student loan industry, it promised that tuition rates would not skyrocket. Unfortunately, the exact opposite has happened.
I have never claimed that I want to get rid of student loans. In fact, I want to encourage more loan options for students. As reported in the Deseret News, I support increasing competition on student loan rates by allowing college students to choose between federal, state, private, and commercial student loan and grant programs.
My Position on Education
As a mother with three children enrolled in public schools, education is extremely important to me. I want education decisions to be made by our state, our school districts, our parents, and our teachers. Quite frankly, I trust Utah over Washington bureaucrats when it comes to knowing what is best for the students in our state.
According to last night’s debate, my opponent remains OK with keeping much of the education decision-making and control in the hands of Washington bureaucrats. Unlike him, I oppose our education dollars coming back to Utah with all kinds of strings and federal requirements attached.
These are my proposals to improve education in Utah:
- Eliminate the disparities between the salaries of Department of Education bureaucrats and the salaries of our Utah teachers.
- Keep the control over education decisions local.
- Oppose any one-size-fits all federal education program that bind the hands of our teachers."
