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The PolitiFact guide to Medicare attack lines

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Angie Drobnic Holan, Louis Jacobson - May. 06 (Fact Check) - Barack Obama has slashed Medicare by $500 billion. Mitt Romney and House Republicans want to end Medicare. And a new board is going to ration care so Washington can waste more money. Believe any of that? You shouldn’t. But it’s what the political ads likely will be saying between now and Election Day in November. We have some advice for voters sorting out the claims: Believe nothing you hear in a 30-second TV ad. Here are a few facts about Medicare: • It’s the government-run health insurance for Americans over age 65. • It’s a Canada-style, single-payer system. Liberals love that; conservatives don’t. • It has approximately 50 million people on its rolls. • That 50 million will grow to 80 million as baby boomers retire. Paying for that will be a challenge. Those realities about Medicare have sparked a full-fledged political brawl for 2012.

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Fall Preview: Obama vs. Romney (and Ryan)

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Eugene Kiely - Apr. 07 (Fact Check) - President Obama says Mitt Romney has embraced a budget that could throw hundreds of thousands of children out of Head Start classrooms, eliminate air traffic control services in some places, and “ultimately end Medicare as we know it.” Romney says that’s just “rhetorical excess”

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Super Tuesday guide: Finding truth in the attacks

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

PolitiFact - By Becky Bowers - Mar. 04 (Fact Check) - As 10 states prepare to vote on Super Tuesday, here’s PolitiFact’s guide to the multimillion-dollar ad blitz. With the field down to four Republican contenders, campaigns and super PACs are attacking their opponents with hot-button allegations about supporting Planned Parenthood, Obamacare and even Nancy Pelosi that are designed to strike fear in the hearts of Republican voters. There's been some piling on. We've seen several examples where two (or more) candidates have made the same attack. The one candidate who hasn't been attacked much: Ron Paul. He's has been busy attacking others — but we didn’t find ads attacking him. ... >>More

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Players guide 2012 campaign

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson, team - Mar. 04 (Fact Check) - The 2012 campaign cycle marks the first presidential election since the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that allowed corporations and unions to spend more freely in federal elections. The loosened campaign finance rules, coupled with an intense competition between the two major parties, have served only to embolden independent political groups that hope to influence the 2012 races. Below is a list of most major groups that have been active or expect to be active in the 2012 federal elections. Many of these groups can accept unlimited donations. Others can accept unlimited donations and avoid disclosing their donors. There’s even a new breed of so-called independent groups that advocate solely for a single presidential candidate.

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Mind-Blowing Charts From the Senate's Income Inequality Hearing

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Josh Harkinson - Feb. 10 (News Report) - In another sign that Democrats have embraced income inequality as a cause célèbre, the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing on the subject today. The committee's ranking Republican, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, managed to look concerned during two hours of testimony about the kneecapping of the Middle Class—not that it should have been all that difficult. Here are some of the hearing's most striking charts ...

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57% of Republicans Should Just Be Democrats

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

readersupportednews.org - By Andrew Belonsky - Feb. 04 (Poll) - 'The White House hopeful should really consult with his party's less fortunate members: according to a Pew Research poll, 57% of lower-income Republicans - families that make less than $30,000 annually - think the government does 'too little' for their ranks.' Andrew Belonsky, Death and Taxes

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How Americans really feel about drugs - Media Criticism - Salon.com

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Salon - By David Sirota - Jan. 05 (News Analysis) - As dishonest as this kind of agitprop is, it unfortunately — but predictably — continues unabated. This is, after all, the golden era of agitprop — a moment in which wars are no longer wars, corporations are people

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The Whoppers of 2011

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson - Dec. 21 (Fact Check) - Despite what you may have heard in 2011: The new health care law won’t cost many jobs (and they’ll be poorly paying jobs at that). Republicans aren’t proposing to “end” Medicare (and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden has signed onto a modified version of the GOP plan). Most of the “millionaires” who would pay higher tax rates under a Democratic proposal aren’t job-creating small-business owners. President Obama’s mother didn’t really fight to get health insurance coverage as she was dying. And there was plenty more spin and deception in 2011. Obama claimed he pays a lower tax rate than a teacher. Michele Bachmann endorsed a claim that HPV vaccine causes mental retardation. Joe Biden claimed rapes quadrupled in Flint, Mich., after police layoffs. And that’s just some of the nonsense we debunked.

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Florida Democrats say Mitt Romney dismissed middle-class tax cuts as 'little Band-Aids'

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

PolitiFact - By Becky Bowers - Dec. 07 (Fact Check) - As the president pressured Congress to extend his payroll tax cut, Florida Democrats issued a statement calling Republican opposition "shameful." "With Republicans like Mitt Romney belittling middle class tax cuts as nothing more than 'little Band-Aids,' the Republican Party is sending a clear signal to the American people: they are willing to raise taxes on middle-class Americans just to pay for more tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires and big oil," says a quote from Florida Democratic Party executive director Scott Arceneaux.

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Flipping Through DNC Playbook on Romney

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Eugene Kiely, Lori Robertson, Robert Farley, Brooks Jackson, D’Angelo Gore, Scott Blackburn, Lalita Clozel - Dec. 01 (Fact Check) - The Democratic National Committee casts Mitt Romney as an untrustworthy flip-flopper in a lengthy Web video, but pads a long list of examples with some falsehoods and distortions. It's true that Romney has changed or modified his position on some major issues -- including abortion, a federal assault weapons ban and Reaganomics, as the DNC says. But the video strains the truth ... More >>

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Mitt Romney's views on climate change have changed, says DNC

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

PolitiFact - By Angie Drobnic Holan - Nov. 30 (Fact Check) - Global warming has become a hot potato, at least for Republican presidential candidates. We’ve seen candidates for the Republican nomination question whether there’s scientific consensus on climate change, but those statements are at odds with the facts.

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US presidential candidates raising cash ahead of election season

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

OpenGlobe - By Tempodivalse - Sep. 28 (News Report) - Friday is an important day for the hopefuls in the US presidential race. That's when the third fiscal quarter ends, and candidates are obliged to post their past three months' financial reports. OpenGlobe takes a closer look at where each politician stands financially.

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Barbara Boxer says 400 richest taxpayers saw incomes grow by 400 percent, tax rates fall by 40 percent

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Louis Jacobson - Sep. 21 (Fact Check) - During a Sept. 20, 2011, interview with Al Sharpton on MSNBC, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., sought to highlight how America’s richest taxpayers have benefited economically in recent years. "The top 400 earners in this country are worth more … than half of the American people," Boxer said. "And since 1995, the top 400 wealthiest families have seen their incomes go up 400 percent and their tax rates go down 40 percent." We checked the first part -- that the top 400 tax payers saw their incomes grow by 400 percent -- in March 2010, giving it a rating of True. ...

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Progressives Unveil Proposal to Challenge Obama in Primaries

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - Sep. 19 (News Report) - 'The proposal, which has been endorsed by over 45 distinguished leaders, seeks to have a slate of six candidates run against President Obama, each representing a field in which Obama has never clearly staked a progressive claim or where he has drifted toward the corporatist right. 'Without debates by challengers inside the Democratic Party's presidential primaries, the liberal/majoritarian agenda will be muted and ignored,' said Ralph Nader.' Single Payer Action

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Outside groups spend $1.65 million on House races in Nevada, New York

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

iWatch News - By Aaron Mehta, Josh Israel - Sep. 14 (Investigative Report) - Outside groups and national party committees spent $1.65 million on the special congressional elections in New York and Nevada, according to an analysis by iWatch News . Just under half the total poured into the races in the final week. In both races, the Democratic Party nominees have led in terms of direct campaign contributions. In Nevada, Kate Marshall (about $748,000 reported) has out-raised Republican Mark Amodei (about $659,000), while in New York David Weprin (about $684,000) has more than doubled the campaign cash of his opponent Bob Turner (about $323,000). But in a possible harbinger of campaigns to come, the two Republican candidates received a huge boost from spending by outside groups, partially making up for what the candidates could not raise in direct contributions. Both Republicans won.

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The Payroll Tax Holiday: Talk about a Ponzi Scheme!

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Common Dreams - By Wendy Mink - Sep. 09 (News Analysis) - Is President Obama trying to kill Social Security without explicitly saying so? He put Social Security "on the table" for consideration by his Deficit Commission -- even though Social Security has not contributed to creating or sustaining the deficit/debt in the first place. He kept Social Security on the table when he made a deal to delegate deficit reduction authority over entitlements to an undemocratic Super Committee. Now, in a speech reportedly about jobs, he proposed to extend and increase the ill-considered FICA tax cut he embraced last December -- a tax read more

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What Perry Really Said About Secession

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Robert Farley - Aug. 24 (News) - The Obama team falsely suggests Texas Gov. Rick Perry advocated secession. Perry's actual remarks have been mischaracterized. Perry entertained a reporter's question about secession after a tea party rally in 2009, and warned that "if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what may come out of that?" [...]

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FactChecking Iowa Debate

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Lori Robertson, Eugene Kiely, Scott Blackburn, Lalita Clozel - Aug. 12 (News) - Republican presidential candidates squared off in Ames, Iowa, on Aug. 11, offering claims, criticism and arguments. We found some false and misleading statements among them: Herman Cain denied ever saying that communities have the right to ban mosques. But he did, in fact, say that. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made the misleading claim that his state's "unemployment was below the federal level three of the four years I was in office." Yes, but the state rate was lower than the national rate before he took office and higher when he left. Romney also falsely suggested President Obama has never held a job, saying: "I think in order to create jobs, it's helpful to have had a job." Michele Bachmann wrongly said that raising the debt ceiling gave Obama a "blank check." But the set amount of money will be used to pay obligations Congress has authorized. Ron Paul said the CIA told him that there is "no evidence" Iran is "working on" a nuclear weapon. There's no solid proof, but the International Atomic Energy Agency says there are "possible military dimensions" to Iran's nuclear program. Bachmann also said that Tim Pawlenty "wanted" to institute an individual mandate requiring people to buy insurance in Minnesota. Pawlenty said he was "open to" the idea, but that's not the same as wanting to do it. Newt Gingrich said that one of the moderators was "handpicking" quotes "that fit your premise." But the Fox News anchor quoted Gingrich's comments on Libya accurately.

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Debt Limit Debate Round-Up

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Lori Robertson - Jul. 29 (Fact Check) - The last few weeks have been filled with debate, accusations, stalemate and false claims about the debt ceiling and how -- and whether -- it should be raised. As the Aug. 2 default deadline looms, here's a look at the less-than-factual talking points ...

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14th Amendment: Democratic Senators See Debt Ceiling As Unconstitutional

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Ryan Grim, Samuel Haass - Jun. 29 (News Report) - Growing increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for a deal that would raise the debt ceiling, Democratic senators are revisiting a solution to the crisis that rests on a simple proposition: The debt ceiling itself is unconstitutional.

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Obama groups raise $4-5 million in first two months

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

iWatch News - By Peter H. Stone - Jun. 27 (News Report) - Two Democratic groups seeking big bucks to boost President Obama’s re-election have tapped several high-powered fundraisers to help rope in $4 million to $5 million in the first two months. They’ve also snagged pledges for two to three times those sums towards their joint goal of raising at least $100 million.

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WaPo, FactCheck agree: Wasserman-Schultz threw truth to the wolves

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Hot Air - By Ed Morrissey - Jun. 01 (News Analysis) - DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday, but wound up with egg on her face after her demagoguery on Medicare. Wasserman-Schultz told Harry Smith that the Republican plan for Medicare was to throw young people “to the wolves,” a claim that two media organizations reject as throwing truth to the wolves. First, here’s the claim Wasserman-Schultz made on CBS: “[Republicans] would take the people who are younger than 55 years old today and tell them, ‘You know what? You’re on your own. Go and find private health insurance in the health care insurance market. We’re going to throw you to the wolves, and allow insurance companies to deny you coverage and drop you for pre-existing conditions,’ ” Wasserman-Schultz told CBS’ Harry Smith. ” ‘We’re going to give you X amount of dollars and you figure it out.’ “These are people who have paid for their whole life into the system,” she added. FactCheck takes a look at this claim and entirely rejects it:

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The Democrat's Anti-Union Strategy

Wed, 25 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Op Ed News - By Shamus Cooke - May. 25 (News Analysis) - in the colossal crime being committed against organized labor across the U.S., the Republicans act as the vault busters while the Democrats have a less direct -- but equally guilty -- role in this historic attack against working people. The Democrats are spared a lot of blame in this bi-partisan assault due to the Republican's honesty: they are unabashedly anti-union. On the other hand the Democrats will say they are pro-union while constantly stabbing labor in the back.

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Feingold: Shame on Joe Lieberman

Tue, 17 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Jennifer Epstein - May. 17 (News Report) - 'Former Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold is attacking three of his old Democratic colleagues in Congress, saying they deserve to be shamed for being swayed by corporate influence and 'corruption' into opposing new transparency measures for political donations. Feingold, who is currently being discussed as a possible Democratic candidate for retiring Sen. Herb Kohl's (D-Wis.) seat, took aim at Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), as well as Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).' Jennifer Epstein, Politico

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Minnesota Congressman Paul Ryan Mulling Senate Bid

Sun, 15 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Power Line - By John Hinderaker - May. 15 (News Report) - Now, granted, depending on where you live, Minnesota and Wisconsin may seem more or less interchangeable.

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