Chuck Grassley Mourns The Death Of His Beloved Vacuum Cleaner
Grassley posted that his longtime vacuum cleaner had become unsafe after an electrical problem.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Crooks and Liars, where this article appeared. The other scores rate the article itself.
Crooks and Liars is a blog with a named author, but this post uses overtly opinionated framing and does not offer much original reporting. It attributes a substantial excerpt to The New York Times, though the extent and terms of that reuse are unclear.
- Source type — A blog has fewer institutional accountability signals than an established newsroom.
- Editorial standards — The post uses openly polemical language rather than a neutral reporting style.
- Author attribution — A named author is identified.
- Transparency — The post credits The New York Times for the quoted account, but provides no further sourcing details.
The post includes specific details attributed to a named newspaper and quotes Grassley’s public statements. Its own political assessment is forceful but unsupported in this short piece, and the borrowed reporting is not accompanied by additional corroboration or a countervailing perspective.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The political portion is largely a one-sided critique by the author, with no response or counterargument. The quoted account of Grassley’s vacuum is not a counterpoint to the political criticism.
- Counterarguments presented — No opposing view of Grassley’s judicial role is presented.
- Loaded language — The author uses highly charged characterizations of Grassley.
- Source diversity — The post includes Grassley’s own personal remarks but no political response or independent perspective on the author’s critique.
The post uses strongly critical language about Grassley and links his judicial role to Donald Trump in a condemnatory frame. The overtly partisan framing is not balanced by opposing perspectives.
- Language tone — The author calls Grassley a destructive force and uses an arson metaphor to condemn his legacy.
- Framing — A light personal anecdote is framed as an occasion to criticize Grassley’s political record.
- Source selection — The post includes Grassley’s remarks about the vacuum but offers no response to the author’s political criticism.
Original publisher not identified
This article may be republished from another publisher, which has not been identified, so the scores are Crooks and Liars's own.
Chuck Grassley posted that his longtime vacuum cleaner, Beth, was no longer safe to use after an electrical problem. Crooks and Liars pairs the personal anecdote with criticism of Grassley’s role in reshaping the judiciary and notes a discrepancy in the vacuum’s reported age.
The post quotes Grassley’s social media announcement that Beth, a vacuum cleaner kept at his Iowa farmhouse, had become unsafe after electrical sparks. Grassley called it a sad day and said the cleaner had worked at his home and his mother-in-law’s home for decades. The post attributes the account to The New York Times.
Author Ed Scarce criticizes Grassley’s judicial record and characterizes his role in reshaping the judiciary to suit Donald Trump’s wishes as destructive. The post also says Hoover did not begin making the Concept Two upright until 1983, suggesting Grassley’s account of the vacuum’s age may be off.
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Part of a bigger story
3 OUTLETSOutlets agree Grassley shared a farewell to Beth, his longtime vacuum cleaner, after an electrical problem made it unsafe to use. Left-leaning outlets use the personal story to criticize Grassley's judicial record and note a discrepancy about the vacuum's age. Right-leaning outlets present it as a humorous, light human-interest story about a longtime appliance.
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