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Viral Spiral
FactCheck Mailbag
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of March 19-25.
See letters from previous weeks“ Criticizing the Democrats for citing the only available study on gun purchases for its age seems wide of the target. ” -
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2012 Players Guide
Romney’s Big Night
TAMPA, Fla. — In a speech heavy on anecdotal history but short on policy details, Mitt Romney avoided major falsehoods in making his case to the American public while accepting the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention. Even a key Democratic strategist, Bill Burton, a former press secretary for …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged Clint Eastwood, Jane Edmonds, middle class, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republican National Convention, taxes, welfare
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Ryan’s VP Spin
TAMPA, Fla. — Paul Ryan’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention contained several false claims and misleading statements. Delegates cheered as the vice presidential nominee: Accused President Obama’s health care law of funneling money away from Medicare “at the expense of the elderly.” In fact, Medicare’s chief actuary says the …
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Santorum’s Distorted ‘Dependency’ Claims
Rick Santorum blames President Barack Obama for “a nightmare of dependency with almost half of America receiving some sort of government assistance.” But the same could have been said of George W. Bush. In fact, the Census Bureau reported that in the third quarter of 2008, under Bush, “nearly half …
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Christie’s Fact-Free Keynote
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie largely avoided factual claims in a Republican convention keynote address that was heavy on generalities, opinion and platitudes. The pugnacious former prosecutor exaggerated a bit, though, when he bragged about his accomplishments as governor, and he repeated the common but false claim that the president’s …
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Spin Detectors: Help Us Monitor the Conventions
Political conventions are like shopping malls of political spin — one-stop bazaars brimming with suspect claims from politicians. And we want you to do a little window-shopping for us this year. Spin Detectors is asking readers to help us monitor both political parties in Tampa and Charlotte. Robert Farley, FactCheck.org’s deputy …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
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Winning? Super PAC Compares Republican to Charlie Sheen
In a new TV spot called “Tiger Blood,” a Democratic super PAC compares a Florida Republican Senate candidate to party boy actor Charlie Sheen. Winning? Not really. The video ties together a shocking list of allegations against Connie Mack IV, and most are true. But when closely examined, there’s less …
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Again with the Wheelchair
First the Republicans claimed President Obama’s health care law taxes “sick puppies,” and now Mitt Romney’s campaign claims the law taxes “wheelchairs.” Wrong again. At issue is a new 2.3 percent excise tax on certain medical devices. The tax is set to kick in next year to help offset the …
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GOP Attack on Tim Kaine’s ‘Shortfall’ Falls Short
A conservative group claims former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine “left us with a $4.2 billion shortfall.” Not exactly. The state did face a $4.2 billion gap in the biennial 2010-2012 budget, but Kaine submitted a balanced budget proposal days before leaving office, as required by law. And the last budget …
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Medicare’s ‘Piggy Bank’
Republicans claim the president’s $716 billion “cuts” to Medicare hurt the program’s finances. But the opposite is true. These cuts in the future growth of spending prolong the life of the Medicare trust fund, stretching the program’s finances out longer than they would last otherwise. Mitt Romney has claimed that …
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