| The Wire | Featured Articles | |
Is Santorum the Biggest (Senate) Loser?February 8
Entrepreneur Donald Trump dismissed the surging candidacy of Rick Santorum by claiming that Santorum lost his Senate seat in 2006 by a wider margin than any incumbent senator in history. He’s wrong. In fact, there have been two dozen incumbent senators who have taken worse beatings than Santorum did in … Gingrich’s Inflated Gasoline ClaimFebruary 7
Newt Gingrich exaggerates when he says the Environmental Protection Agency has a proposal “that would raise the price of gasoline by 25 cents a gallon.” Gingrich’s cost estimate comes from an oil industry study of “clean gasoline” recommendations made by U.S. automakers. The EPA has yet to issue a proposal, … CBO Offers Its Two Cents on Federal PayFebruary 3
Federal workers overall get just 2 percent higher wages than private-sector employees holding similar jobs, but they receive 16 percent more in total compensation because of generous benefits. There are, however, great differences in wages and benefits depending on education levels; less-educated federal workers receive higher wages and benefits compared … McCain’s Erroneous Earmark AttackFebruary 1
Sen. John McCain incorrectly claimed that earmarks nearly doubled from $7.8 billion to $14.5 billion in Newt Gingrich’s first two years as House speaker. Actually, the increase was about half that. Furthermore, earmarks first peaked, then declined under Gingrich. By the final year of his speakership, earmarked spending was 20 … The Gingrich Counterattack in FloridaJanuary 27
Now comes the counterattack. After weeks of taking it on the chin in Florida without throwing a punch, the Gingrich side has finally begun to fight back with TV attack ads of its own. Among the new ads is one from a pro-Gingrich super PAC that takes the personal attacks … More Florida FoulsJanuary 27
Newt Gingrich falsely claimed he never favored a federal mandate requiring individuals to have health insurance. Romney repeated a false accusation that President Obama failed to denounce Hamas rocket attacks in a speech to the United Nations. And Santorum insisted that Muslim terrorists are seeking missile bases in Cuba — … Gingrich Spanish Radio Ad PulledJanuary 26
Before we got a chance to write about it, Newt Gingrich yanked a Spanish-language radio ad off the airwaves in Florida. The reason: No, it wasn’t a stellar fact-checking by journalists. Rather, it was Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s complaint that the ad’s criticism of Mitt Romney was “inaccurate, inflammatory, and … Liberal Union Joins Attack on Romney in FloridaJanuary 26
Newt Gingrich is getting help from a surprising ally: the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. The liberal-leaning labor group is running a TV ad in Florida slamming Mitt Romney for profiting personally from a company later convicted of Medicare fraud while he was a director. The ad … Refereeing the Republican ResponseJanuary 25
We concentrated our fact-checking efforts on the main attraction last night — the president’s State of the Union address — but we also found factual fouls in the Republican response from Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. Daniels took a swipe at President Obama for dictating which light bulbs Americans should use … |
 Florida Ad War: Mitt Pounds NewtWe look at the flood of TV ads attacking Gingrich in Florida's key primary.January 26The air wars in a pivotal Florida Republican primary race have so far been a decidedly one-sided affair, with Mitt Romney and a pro-Romney super PAC saturating the airwaves for weeks with a slew of attack ads aimed chiefly at Newt Gingrich. …  The State of Obama’s FactsWe assess what was said, and left unsaid, at the State of the Union address.January 25Summary The president’s State of the Union address got the facts right — mostly. Obama said “the Taliban’s momentum has been broken” in Afghanistan. But targeted assassinations continue, and at least one independent foreign policy expert says the enemy may just be waiting until the U.S. leaves. The president said …  Misleading Claims in Obama’s First 2012 SpotDissembling on ethics, jobs and oil importsJanuary 20President Obama’s first 2012 campaign ad misleads on ethics, “clean-energy” jobs and U.S. dependence on oil imports. The spot uses outdated quotes from groups that said his record on ethics is “unprecedented” and that he “kept a promise to toughen ethics rules.” One of those same …  South Carolina Smackdown. . . And then there were four.January 20Facts were sometimes used as blunt instruments as the four remaining GOP presidential candidates hammered away at each other in the last debate before Saturday’s South Carolina primary. Santorum and Romney tangled …  Facts Strained in ‘King of Bain’Pro-Gingrich super PAC offers one-sided, distorted view of Romney’s years at Bain Capital.January 13A 28-minute political documentary released this week by a pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC presents a one-sided, often distorted and misleading view of Mitt Romney’s years leading the venture capital firm Bain Capital. Interspersed with appropriately eerie music, the video …  Gingrich’s ‘Baloney’-filled Attacks on RomneyA new ad and Web video make misleading claims about the GOP front-runner.January 11Newt Gingrich is out with two new attacks on Mitt Romney: an ad airing in South Carolina that tries to brand Romney as a “pro-abortion” governor, and a nearly three-minute Web video that gauges Romney statements on a “Baloney-O-Meter.” We found a bit of baloney in both … |
| “ | It is this very nitpicking of the facts that has contributed to the divisiveness this country is experiencing now. | ” |
