How to Become a ‘Spin Detector’
Welcome to Spin Detectors! The 2012 campaign season is well under way, and we could use your help monitoring the candidates and potential candidates running for president, Congress and governor. We are asking you to consider becoming a “Spin Detector” for FactCheck.org. We want you to send us campaign materials …
More >>
Republican Mailers Mislead in New Mexico
New Mexico’s Republican Party misleads in two mailers attacking the state’s Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, two-term Rep. Martin Heinrich. One mailer states that “New Mexico workers have a jobs problem.” But the state’s unemployment rate is 6.4 percent, well below the national rate, or the 8 percent figure the flier …
More >>
State Amendment Scare Tactics
In a TV ad to Michigan voters, a group goes too far when it claims a proposed state constitutional amendment to protect union rights “would eliminate safety rules for school bus drivers.” The ad also fails to tell the whole story when it claims the amendment “could prohibit schools from …
More >>
NRCC Claims Democrat Will End Medicare
The National Republican Congressional Committee misleads in a TV ad that claims a Democratic candidate for Congress supports “eliminating Medicare entirely.” David Gill, who is running for a House seat in Illinois, supports a universal health care plan that would cover all Americans — ending the need for a stand-alone …
More >>
Rush’s Ruse in Missouri
In a campaign-funded radio ad to Missouri voters, Rush Limbaugh claimed the state’s lieutenant governor “banned taxpayer-funded travel for politicians” when he led the state Senate. Not really. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who is Limbaugh’s friend, spearheaded a moratorium on paying travel expenses for state senators, not all “politicians.” The ban affected …
More >>
Mailers Mislead on ‘Obamacare’ Opt-Out Amendment
A conservative group misleads Kansas voters in campaign mailers that claim a failed proposal to amend the state’s Constitution would have allowed residents to opt-out of “Obamacare.” No state law can do that. The U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause explicitly states that federal law is the “supreme Law of the Land.” The …
More >>
Senator Mangles Facts on Drilling Moratorium
In an email to constituents, Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana claims “the Obama administration shut down the entire offshore oil and gas industry” after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. That’s not true. The administration halted the drilling of all new wells for one month. And the Interior Department …
More >>
Florida Primary Flier Frames Republican
In a primary battle between two House Republicans, a Florida congressman claims in a campaign mailer that his opponent was someone President Barack Obama “counted on” to “approve” stimulus spending. Not really. The mailer’s target, Sandy Adams, is a freshman congresswoman who arrived in Washington nearly two years after the …
More >>
Group Blows Fuse With Electric Bill Claim
A conservative group goes too far in TV ads that claim a new EPA regulation on coal power plants will make Ohio’s electric bills “skyrocket.” Utility officials say it’s too soon to determine how big the impact will be. Nationally, projections from the Energy Information Administration show only a slight …
More >>
PAC’s Email Spreads Energy Conspiracy Theory
In a fundraising email, a conservative PAC claims President Barack Obama is raising natural gas prices to pay for failed green energy companies. But the letter offers only false claims and twisted facts to support this conspiracy theory. The email says Solar Trust of America, a now-bankrupt company, received “the second …
More >>
Bachmann Mailer Misrepresents Jobs Report
In a mailer to her constituents, Michele Bachmann incorrectly claims a new trade agreement with South Korea – which she supported — will “create almost 1,000 jobs” in her Minnesota congressional district. Bachmann misreads a report produced by the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs. The report states that 1,001 …
More >>
Congressman’s Slippery Cell Phone Claim
A congressman’s Web video goes too far when it portrays a program that subsidizes cell phone service for very low-income persons as a government giveaway that is costing taxpayers billions. The video also misleadingly claims Arkansas Rep. Tim Griffin is “reforming” the program. His proposed legislation — the “Stop Taxpayer-Funded Cell …
More >>
Blurring the Record in Utah
A group supporting Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch claims in a TV ad that a Republican challenger “voted to allow state employees to double dip, collecting a pension and a pay check.” That’s a gross exaggeration. Hatch’s opponent, former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist, actually authored a bill in the state Senate …
More >>
Inflated Claims in North Carolina Budget Battle
A conservative group omits some important details in a TV ad attacking North Carolina’s lame-duck Democratic governor and praising the Republican-controlled state General Assembly during a partisan budget battle. The ad says the legislature added state funding for “2,000 more teachers” and that its budget “adds teachers.” But the legislature’s …
More >>
Truth-Twisting Tweets
In tweets to her followers, Nevada Rep. Shelley Berkley claims her Republican opponent for U.S. Senate voted to “kill Medicare” and to “effectively ban contraception.” Both statements are untrue. Sen. Dean Heller supported failed Republican legislation that would have substantially changed Medicare — in 2022 — to a program that …
More >>
Bogus Bipartisan Claims
In a mailer to constituents, a Republican congressman claims 27 “bipartisan bills” have passed the House but “hit a brick wall” in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But most of the bills are not very “bipartisan.” A majority of House Democrats voted against all but five of the 27 proposals, sometimes overwhelmingly. …
More >>
Cloudy Contraception Costs
Is the Obama administration correct when it claims its contraception mandate will be “cost neutral” for insurance companies? Or are the critics right when they say Catholic institutions will pay a hidden cost in the form of higher premiums when their insurers are required to give “free” contraceptives …
More >>
Want to know more about the congressional and presidential candidates? Here are some sites we recommend:
