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BAD NEWS BERNIE: Another Bad Week For “Pants On Fire” Bernie Moreno

Columbus, OH – It’s been another bad week for “pants on fire” Bernie Moreno, as new reporting revealed Moreno has been lying about selling Chinese-made cars, bragged about donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to ban abortion on top of saying he’s “100% pro-life,” and still refuses to answer the long list of questions piling up about his “dubious claims” and the “inconsistencies” that are “dogg[ing]” his campaign. 

NEED-TO-KNOW THIS WEEK:

🚗 BERNIE’S BUICKS LIE DEBUNKED: Bernie Moreno was caught lying to Ohioans, again. Moreno repeatedly claimed he “refused to sell a Buick SUV model made in China” – but new reporting found Moreno’s dealership “did sell the Chinese-made SUVs,” “promoted the vehicles on social media,” and even posted a customer testimonial promoting the Envision. More of what they’re saying:

❌ BERNIE’S ABORTION BAN: Moreno bragged about donating “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of his own money to try to ban abortion, saying that “spending your own money… tells you what you actually believe” – and in Moreno’s case, that means a total ban on abortion. He’s also repeatedly supported a national abortion ban – which would overturn the will of Ohio voters, described himself as “100% pro-life with no exceptions,” and voted to ban abortion without exceptions for rape or incest in Ohio last year by voting against Issue 1.

🤐 RADIO SILENCE FROM MORENO: The list of questions piling up for Bernie Moreno keeps getting longer and longer – but Moreno is still radio silent about the “dubious claims” and “string of inconsistencies” that are “dogg[ing]” his campaign. Reminder of the questions Moreno owes Ohioans answers to: 

1. Why are you lying to voters by claiming you never sold Chinese-made SUVs?

2. Why are you lying about shutting down Cleveland State’s Confucius Institute? 

3. Why are you lying about escaping socialism?

4. Why did you claim you “didn’t take handouts” when reporting shows you got your dealership at a steep discount? Will you make documents around the 2005 insider deal available?

 🗞️ WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING / WATCHING:

  • Spectrum News: Senate candidate Bernie Moreno sold SUVs made in China for years, but tells Ohio voters he refused to do so
  • Cleveland.com: “Fact check: Spectrum News’s Taylor Popielarz reports that auto dealers that Moreno previously owned sold a Buick SUV model manufactured in China, despite the Republican Senate nominee touting his refusal to do so during campaign appearances. The issue has to do with the Buick Envision, which Moreno’s dealerships promoted and sold from 2014 until 2019.”
  • Cleveland.com: “Bernie Moreno argued for national legislation banning abortion… and previously has described himself as ‘100% pro-life without exceptions’ […] [Moreno] described himself as ‘100% pro life with no exceptions’ and said abortion is ‘murder’ during an interview that year with Breitbart News.”
  • Cincinnati Enquirer: “Moreno’s primary campaign was dogged by negative reports surfacing, such as his having settled a series of wage theft lawsuits and getting caught shredding a case document.”
  • David Niven: “Sherrod Brown is known and respected. Bernie Moreno’s a car dealer with a record of unfair labor practices. It’s not a favorable comparison for Moreno.”
  • Split Ticket: “Moreno has some skeletons in his closet…Before announcing his run, Moreno was also involved in a series of wage theft lawsuits during which he was formally rebuked by a state judge for shredding potentially relevant documents.”
  • Columbus Dispatch: “I am concerned that we voted against a statewide abortion ban only to now have Bernie Moreno running for Senator from Ohio. He has already stated he will vote for a national abortion ban. Remember come November a vote for him is a vote for a national abortion ban.”
  • Forbes: “Moreno described himself in a 2021 Breitbart interview as “100% pro-life with no exceptions” and said during a March debate he would support federal restrictions on abortions”
  • American Journal: Bernie Moreno bragged at a February forum about donating $100,000 to an anti-abortion group…Moreno pointed to the contribution while touting his anti-abortion record…“I’ve given hundreds of thousands of dollars of my own money to pro life causes,” Moreno said. “I’m 100% pro-life myself, unapologetically pro-life.”
  • Split Ticket: “Moreno has…described himself as absolutely pro-life — not necessarily a popular position in a state where pro-choice activists won two consecutive victories in 2023.” 

🐤 TWEET OF THE WEEK: 

🎶 CODA: “Moreno’s campaign, in a statement, acknowledged to Spectrum News that his dealership did sell the Chinese-made SUVs.” 

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WHAT OHIOANS ARE SAYING: “A Vote For Moreno Equals National Abortion Ban”

Columbus, OH – Ohioans are noticing that “vote for [Moreno] is a vote for a national abortion ban.” Bernie Moreno has repeatedly supported a national abortion ban, said he is “100% pro-life with no exceptions,” and voted to ban abortion without exceptions for rape or incest in Ohio last year by voting against Issue 1. 

Read more:

Columbus Dispatch: A vote for Moreno equals national abortion ban

Anna Birr

April 12, 2024

  • I am concerned that we voted against a statewide abortion ban only to now have Bernie Moreno running for Senator from Ohio.
  • He has already stated he will vote for a national abortion ban. Remember come November a vote for him is a vote for a national abortion ban. 

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What Ohioans Are Reading About The “String Of Inconsistencies” “Dogging” Bernie Moreno

Columbus, OH – There is a “string of inconsistencies” “dogg[ing]” Bernie Moreno as new reports expose he’s lied about everything from selling Chinese-made SUVs, to getting rid of Cleveland State’s Confucius Institute, to “escap[ing]” socialism, to lying about his business origin story.

What Ohioans are reading about the “string of inconsistencies” “dogg[ing]” Moreno:

  • Spectrum News: “Moreno says that when he owned a Buick GMC dealership in Beachwood, Ohio, he even refused to sell a Buick SUV model made in China, the Envision…However, Moreno’s dealership did sell the Chinese-made SUVs for several years, and even promoted the vehicles on social media.”
  • Cleveland.com: “Fact check: Spectrum News’s Taylor Popielarz reports that auto dealers that Moreno previously owned sold a Buick SUV model manufactured in China, despite the Republican Senate nominee touting his refusal to do so during campaign appearances. The issue has to do with the Buick Envision, which Moreno’s dealerships promoted and sold from 2014 until 2019.”
  • Columbus Dispatch: “But the timing doesn’t line up. While Moreno did chair the board, his term expired three years before Cleveland State shuttered its Confucius Institute. He also held leadership positions when trustees approved university budgets that funded the program.”
  • Politico Playbook: “Bernie Moreno said an Ohio Confucius Institute closed under his watch. It didn’t,” by the Columbus Dispatch’s Haley BeMiller: “[T]he timing doesn’t line up. While [BERNIE] MORENO did chair the board, his term expired three years before Cleveland State shuttered its Confucius Institute. He also held leadership positions when trustees approved university budgets that funded the program.”
  • The Guardian: “Bernie Moreno…says his family fled socialism when they came to the US from Colombia in 1971, when he was four years old. Though such statements formed a central part of Moreno’s campaign message…they do not withstand historical scrutiny.”
  • WVXU: “Moreno carries baggage into the race…some dubious claims about his family escaping socialism in Colombia when he was a child.”
  • The Guardian: “[Moreno] has made dubious claims in his campaign”
  • Business Insider: “Moreno, an immigrant from Colombia, has frequently touted… his ability to do it all on his own […] yet when Moreno bought his first car dealership in 2005, he got some extra help.”
  • Cleveland.com: “Although GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno says his family fled socialism when it came to the US from Colombia in 1971, the first leftwing Colombian government in modern times didn’t come into power until 2022, the Guardian reports.” 
  • Roll Call: “Bernie Moreno, the Republican nominee in Ohio’s hotly contested Senate race, has long said his family fled socialist Colombia and settled in the United States. But The Guardian examined Moreno’s claim and found that the dates don’t add up…at the time Moreno’s family left Colombia in the early 1970s, there was nothing at all resembling socialism running the country.” 

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Bernie Moreno Bragged About Donating “Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars” To Ban Abortion

Moreno: “I’ve Given Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars Of My Own Money To Pro Life Causes…I’m 100% Pro-Life Myself, Unapologetically Pro-Life.”

Columbus, OH – Bernie Moreno bragged about giving “hundreds of thousands of dollars of [his] own money to pro-life causes” and said “spending your own money, that tells you what you actually believe” – which in Moreno’s case, is a total ban on abortion. Moreno has repeatedly supported a national abortion ban, described himself as “100% pro-life with no exceptions,” and voted to ban abortion without exceptions for rape or incest in Ohio last year by voting against Issue 1.

Read more:

American Journal: Republican Bernie Moreno flaunts $100K donation to anti-abortion zealots

Jesse Valentine

April 9, 2024

  • Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno bragged at a February forum about donating $100,000 to an anti-abortion group.
  • In November 2023, Ohioans voted overwhelmingly in support of Issue 1, a ballot initiative that safeguarded abortion access in the state. Protect Women Ohio, a prominent anti-abortion group, spent millions in a failed bid to defeat the measure. Moreno gave $100,000 to Protect Women Ohio at the height of that campaign. 
  • During a Feb. 19 candidate forum at Findlay University, Moreno pointed to the contribution while touting his anti-abortion record.
  • “​​I’m the only one on the stage that’s actually written a check from their own bank account…I wrote a check from my own bank account for pro life causes. And when you take that action you’re spending your own money, that tells you what you actually believe in that cause.”
  • Moreno appeared to boast about the expenditure again during a March 9 interview with a far-right content creator.
  • “I’ve given hundreds of thousands of dollars of my own money to pro life causes,” Moreno said. “I’m 100% pro-life myself, unapologetically pro-life.”
  • Moreno has voiced support for abortion restrictions that would undermine Issue 1.
  • Moreno has also suggested he would not allow abortions exceptions for victims of rape or incest.

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Questions Bernie Moreno Needs To Answer After “String Of Inconsistencies” And “Dubious Claims” Surface 

Columbus, OH – Bernie Moreno owes Ohioans answers after new reports exposed a “string of inconsistencies” and “dubious claims” “dogging” his candidacy. In recent weeks, Moreno was caught lying about refusing to sell Chinese-made cars even though he “did sell the Chinese-made SUVs,” lying about getting rid of Cleveland State’s Confucius Institute even though “the timing doesn’t line up,” lying about “escap[ing]” socialism, and lying about his business origin story. 

Questions Bernie Moreno must answer after his lies were exposed:

1. Why are you lying to voters by claiming you never sold Chinese-made SUVs? 

2. Why are you lying about shutting down Cleveland State’s Confucius Institute? 

3. Why are you lying about escaping socialism?

4. Why did you claim you “didn’t take handouts” when reporting shows you got your dealership at a steep discount? Will you make documents around the 2005 insider deal available?

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