Throughout the political season, 9NEWS will hold those who run political ads on our networks accountable for what they say.
The first ad we'll examine comes from the Perlmutter campaign.
It only makes one claim attacking Coors. In a rare display of standing by an attack, Perlmutter delivers the claim himself on camera.
CLAIM: As CEO of CoorsTek, Coors outsourced manufacturing jobs to Asia.
This claim is arguable.
During the time Joe Coors was CEO, CoorsTek bought a manufacturing plant in Korea.
As the ads shows on screen, CoorsTek officials did tell investors in a conference call. that the idea was to "manufacture low-cost product in Asia for our US customers."
The company stresses that this was an expansion and that it did not send any of its US jobs overseas as part of the deal.
How you interpret this claim depends on how you interpret "outsourcing."
Did CoorsTek open plants overseas so it could cut jobs in the US? The company says no.
Did it make things in Asia rather than pay more to have them made in America? It appears they did.
Perlmutter supporters would argue CoorsTek could have created US jobs instead.
A second anti-Joe Coors ad from AFSCME People, tries to show that Coors' wealth makes him out of touch with voters. The 9NEWS Truth Test team puts these claims to the test.
CLAIM: Millionaire Joe Coors is proud to be part of the richest 1 percent of Americans.
Both claims are all true. Coors is a member of the 1 percent, and he stated that he is proud of this fact.
It is true that Joe Coors is a millionaire. In May, the Denver Post reported that Joe Coors has family assets worth between $132.8 million and $478.1 million. He is the great-grandson of Adolph Coors, the founder of the Coors Brewing Company. If he wins the race for Colorado's 7th seat, he could become the wealthiest member of Congress.
Although the top 1 percent is generally measured by income, The New York Times measures the top 1 percent by net worth. The threshold for making it into the top 1 percent for net worth is $8.4 million, or 69 times the median household's net holdings of $121,000. Joe Coors' net worth puts him well in the range to be a member of the 1 percent.
In this clip from a Jefferson County Republican Women Event, Joe Coors does state that he is proud to be a "one-percenter."
The Coors campaign does not argue with this claim.
"Joe has worked very hard and is proud of the success that he and his family achieved and wants every American to have the same opportunity," said Coors campaign representative Michelle Yi in a written statement.
CLAIM: The extreme plan Coors backs would help the top 1 percent and hurt the rest of us.
This claim is arguable. The claims are directed at Mitt Romney's budget plans.
His campaign tells us that Joe Coors endorses the framework of Romney's budget plan.
This campaign ad cites an ABC News Story from August 14th that focuses on Paul Ryan's tax plan. It is true that this tax plan would help the top 1 percent because the marginal tax rates would be lowered for all taxpayers, the top 1 percent would reap a larger benefit in dollars.
Under the Romney-Ryan tax plan, the candidates would broaden the tax base to eliminate some tax expenditures and then lower the marginal tax rate for taxpayers. The elimination of these tax expenditures, depending on which tax expenditures are eliminated, could result in a tax increase for the middle class.
We have previously reported on the lack of specifics in the Romney plan which have complicated efforts to Truth Test claims made against Romney.
CLAIM: Joe Coors supports a plan that results in a $1,358 tax hike for middle class families.
This claim is also arguable and relates to a past version of the Ryan plan, which Coors has indicated a liking for but has not endorsed.
Under Paul Ryan's tax plan, "most Americans making less than $200,000 would see a tax hike under the budget of Ryan proposed," according to a study from the Joint Economic Committee.
It shows that the House Republican Budget for the 2013 fiscal year would raise taxes by $1,358 for jointly-filing households earning between $50,000 and $100,000.
This is not the same thing as a review from the oft-cited Congressional Budget office.
CLAIM: Joe Coors supports a plan that results in a $265,000 tax cut for millionaires.
The final claim of this ad is also arguable. The study reference in the ad found that millionaires would experience large tax cuts, the numbers in the ad might be exaggerated.
The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities study states that "people who make over $1 million a year would get an average tax cut of $250,000 in 2015."
Additionally, the Tax Policy Center released a study that claims that taxes will be cut for millionaires, but not by as large of a margin as the CBPP's study. The TPC study estimates that taxpayers with their income over $1 million would see their after-tax income increased by an average of $175,000.
Neither study mentions a $265,000 tax cut, however.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)