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2012 Players Guide
FactCheck Mailbag
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Jan. 24-30.
See letters from previous weeks“ It is this very nitpicking of the facts that has contributed to the divisiveness this country is experiencing now. ” Take Our Quiz
Viral Spiral
Gingrich’s Inflated Gasoline Claim
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, …
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CBO Offers Its Two Cents on Federal Pay
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 …
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McCain’s Erroneous Earmark Attack
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 …
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The Gingrich Counterattack in Florida
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 …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged abortion, health care, medicare, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, taxes
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More Florida Fouls
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 — …
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Gingrich Spanish Radio Ad Pulled
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 …
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Liberal Union Joins Attack on Romney in Florida
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 …
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Refereeing the Republican Response
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 …
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Factual Flubs in Florida
The four remaining candidates debated once again, this time in Tampa, Florida — where facts took a beating. Mitt Romney falsely claimed the Navy is smaller now than at any time since the start of World War I. (It had fewer ships as recently as four years ago.) And Newt …
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