On Hannity & Colmes, Conway falsely suggested McCain has been consistent on voting for war funding

Summary: On Hannity & Colmes, Kellyanne Conway falsely suggested that Sen. John McCain has been consistent in voting for funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Purporting to contrast McCain with Sen. John Kerry, Conway asserted: "John McCain never voted against and then voted for, and then voted against and for." In fact, in March 2007, McCain himself voted against an emergency spending bill that would have funded both wars.

On the May 20 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, Republican strategist and pollster Kellyanne Conway purported to contrast Sen. John McCain with Sen. John Kerry, asserting, "John McCain never voted against and then voted for, and then voted against and for," a reference to a comment Kerry made during his 2004 presidential campaign about votes he took on war spending legislation. But contrary to Conway's suggestion that McCain has been consistent in voting for funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as Media Matters for America has noted repeatedly when media have uncritically reported McCain's attacks on Democratic candidates for voting against Iraq war spending bills, on March 29, 2007, McCain himself voted against an emergency spending bill that would have funded those wars.

Conway went on to assert that "[Sen.] Barack Obama has a 'John Kerry' problem. He has the 'conceit of the elite' problem." She added: "He seems like somebody who you could picture windsurfing. ... This is a guy who went to Iowa and said, 'I love Whole Foods,' and ... there's no Whole Foods in Iowa. He said he loves arugula salad. He went to Philly and wanted the cheese -- Swiss cheese on his cheesesteak." In fact, Obama did not say, "I love Whole Foods," nor did he claim that he loves arugula salad or request Swiss cheese on his Philly cheesesteak.

From the May 20 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:

ALAN COLMES (co-host): I want to point out to you, Kellyanne, that a March 2000 Pew survey showed that 51 percent of McCain voters would not vote for George W. Bush. There was a great divide in the Republican Party at that point, and look what happened. Look who became the next president of the United States.

CONWAY: Yes, but John McCain is not John Kerry. See? We have --

COLMES: Well, John Kerry's not running this year.

CONWAY: We have a plausible nominee. And John McCain never voted against and then voted for, and then voted against and for.

COLMES: No, John McCain has flip-flopped on immigration --

CONWAY: But here's the problem for John --

COLMES: He's flip-flopped on a number of things.

CONWAY: But Barack Obama has a John Kerry --

COLMES: Hannity's going like this --

CONWAY: But honestly --

COLMES: -- like he doesn't want to hear it, but that's what --

CONWAY: Alan, in seriousness -- if you guys want to get serious about winning this presidential election, which you won't do, Barack Obama has a "John Kerry" problem. He has the "conceit of the elite" problem. He seems like somebody who you could picture windsurfing.

DOUG SCHOEN (Democratic pollster): Well, you know what?

CONWAY: This is a guy who went to Iowa and said, "I love Whole Foods" --

COLMES: Yeah.

CONWAY: -- and there's no Whole Foods in Iowa. He said he loves arugula salad. He went to Philly and wanted the cheese -- Swiss cheese on his cheesesteak.

COLMES: Look, I -- last I checked, Kellyanne --

CONWAY: OK.

COLMES: -- John Kerry's not running this year. And John Kerry got more votes --

CONWAY: No, but Barack Obama's the --

COLMES: -- than any other candidate ever running except for George W. Bush, by the way.

—M.B.B. & M.G.