9News, Caldara repeated false claim that Obama has not sponsored any legislation that became law

Summary: Covering the Republican National Convention, KUSA 9News and Jon Caldara of Newsradio 850 KOA broadcast versions of the Republican talking point that Sen. Barack Obama has no legislative achievement to his credit, or has not authored a bill that was enacted into law. Neither report mentioned the numerous pieces of legislation Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored that in fact have become law, in Illinois and in the U.S. Senate.

In reporting and commentary on the Republican National Convention, Denver NBC affiliate KUSA 9News and Newsradio 850 KOA host Jon Caldara aired versions of the GOP's claim that Sen. Barack Obama has not sponsored any legislation that became law, but omitted any references to bills he has had passed both in Illinois and in Congress.

On 9News' September 4 Decision 2008: Convention Update broadcast, reporter Adam Schrager uncritically allowed Colorado Republican Party chairman Dick Wadhams to claim falsely that Obama "has nothing to his credit on any legislative achievement. The guy's been in the Senate two years and has nothing to show for it." Later in the broadcast, a segment by reporter Thanh Truong uncritically played video of Gov. Sarah Palin's September 3 speech in which she declared that Obama authored "not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the state senate."

Similarly, commenting during his September 3 KOA broadcast on the RNC proceedings earlier that evening, Caldara suggested that Obama "hasn't sponsored anything that's become law."

In fact, Colorado Media Matters and Media Matters for America have noted legislation Obama authored or helped pass in the Illinois state senate and the U.S. Senate. His Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act of 2007 (S. 713) was incorporated into the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (H.R. 976) that Congress passed, and his S. 2125 ("Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act of 2006") was enacted on December 22, 2006. In addition to legislation for which he was the primary sponsor, Obama worked with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) to pass and secure funding for the Lugar-Obama nonproliferation initiative, which the two senators introduced as S. 2566 on April 6, 2006. Obama also introduced with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) S. 2590 ("Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006"), which was enacted on September 26, 2006.

Further, as Media Matters for America noted, McCain, a co-sponsor of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, thanked Obama for his work on the bill, which sought to "require full disclosure of all entities and organizations receiving Federal funds" -- an amount that totals approximately $1 trillion in federal grants, contracts, earmarks and loans. While signing the bill into law on September 26, 2006, Bush recognized Obama as a sponsor of the legislation, saying, "I want to thank the bill sponsors, Tom Coburn from Oklahoma, Tom Carper from Delaware, and Barack Obama from Illinois." Moreover, in a press release issued upon Senate passage of the bill, primary sponsor Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) referred to the legislation as the "Coburn-Obama Bill." In media reports, the bill also has been referred to as the "Coburn-Obama" legislation or bill.

At the state level, Obama was a co-sponsor of a 1998 Illinois ethics law outlawing political fundraising on Illinois state property and barring lobbyists from giving gifts to state legislators. Obama biographer David Mendell wrote about Obama's work on the bill in his book Obama From Promise to Power (Amistad, August 2007):

Working the bill was an eye-opening experience for the freshman senator. It was a tough assignment for a new lawmaker, since he was essentially sponsoring legislation that would strip away long-held privileges and perks from his colleagues. In one private session, a close colleague angrily denounced the bill, saying it impinged on lawmakers' inherent rights. But Obama worked the issue deliberately and delicately, and the measure passed the senate by an overwhelming 52-4 vote. "This sets the standard for us, and communicates to a public that is increasingly cynical about Springfield and the General Assembly that we in fact are willing to do the right thing," Obama told reporters immediately after the bill's passage. The bill was not a watershed event anywhere but Illinois. It essentially lifted Illinois, a state with a deep history of illicit, pay-to-play politics, into the modern world when it came to ethics restrictions. [Page 124]

Obama also introduced a bill in the Illinois Senate requiring police departments to videotape interrogations of murder suspects within interrogation rooms; the measure was signed into law in 2003. A May 9, 2003, Chicago Daily Herald article (accessed through the Nexis database) reported on Obama's involvement in the bill:

[Gov. Rod] Blagojevich's indication Thursday that he supports the plan is a turnaround from his previous position. The governor previously said he opposed videotaping interrogations but supported taping of confessions.

Blagojevich said he'd changed his mind after being satisfied that Obama had ironed out "some of the practical challenges that deal with the issue of videotaping interrogations."

From the September 4 broadcast of KUSA 9News' Decision 2008: Convention Update:

SCHRAGER: Walk me through in your mind -- what's your lasting memory of tonight?

WADHAMS: I think it was the tone of the event. And contrasting to what we saw a week ago tonight with that self-worshipping rally. It was the seriousness, with Senator McCain addressed the issues tonight. This was not a big pep rally like a week ago tonight.

SCHRAGER: You have heard the criticisms that Senator McCain is just like President Bush. Now, I got about a minute left in this. True?

WADHAMS: It is not true. I mean, he has been his own man. He has always bucked our party when he thought it was right. He has always reached across the aisle for bipartisan solutions. I mean, it is Senator Obama who has nothing to his credit on any legislative achievement. The guy's been in the Senate two years and has nothing to show for it. Senator McCain, he has a very clear record of fiscal responsibility, of fighting against Republican spending increases.

SCHRAGER: Right.

WADHAMS: He was the one who called the shot on that.

SCHRAGER: We need to wrap this up. Dick Wadhams, we will be seeing you as this election goes forward. Thanks for joining us. We'll be right back from St. Paul.

[...]

TRUONG: Then, on the third night came Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin, a hockey mom with attitude.

PALIN [video clip]: I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull -- lipstick.

TRUONG: McCain's vice presidential choice then showed some of that pit-bull mentality when talking about Barack Obama's legislative record.

PALIN [video clip]: It's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the state senate.

TRUONG: Responding to criticism that she only has small-town experience, Palin reminded Republicans of what small towns mean to the country.

PALIN [video clip]: They're the ones who do some of the hardest work in America -- who grow our food, and run our factories, and fight our wars. They love their country in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America.

TRUONG: And McCain is proud to have this pit bull of a hockey mom on the ticket. Thanh Truong, 9News.

In addition to Palin's speech, Caldara discussed that of former Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani and a crowd response to it.

From the September 3 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Jon Caldara Show:

CALLER: I thought Rudy delivered a beautiful speech, and he ended it with a slam-bang, too.

CALDARA: I thought Giuliani teed it up beautifully. I thought his -- he did what needed to be done. And that was to one, give credibility to Sarah Palin. Two, take the shots at Obama for not doing anything. You heard the crowd say "zero," which means he hasn't been the executive of anything, he hasn't been there for too many votes, he hasn't sponsored anything that's become law, he's written a couple books on, couple autobiographies. She made a great dig on that. And I loved how Giuliani did the play on "present" -- a hundred times he voted "present." And I love that, because present is basically the same way of saying, "I abstain."

CALLER: That's it.

CALDARA: And the image of Giuliani is the image of a man in action on 9-11. He will be forever cemented in history as the guy who during 9-11 took action. He was a guy who comforted those people in the city. He helped rebuild the, he was right there.

—E.B. & J.F.B.