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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
Did Gingrich ‘Slash’ Federal Spending?
Winning Our Future’s new TV ad falsely claims Newt Gingrich “slashed” spending in his four years as House speaker. Federal spending went up 18 percent from 1995 to 2000, the time frame mentioned in the ad. In addition, the ad credits Gingrich for “record-breaking surpluses.” There were surpluses for four …
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Gingrich’s Plan: Nearly Zero Tax for Romney
Newt Gingrich joked that he ought to rename his proposed 15 percent flat tax the “Mitt Romney Flat Tax,” so “all Americans would pay the rate Mitt Romney paid.” Actually, not all Americans. Under Gingrich’s tax plan, Romney would likely pay closer to zero percent. Although he has not released …
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Newt’s Faulty Food-Stamp Claim
Newt Gingrich claims that “more people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history.” He’s wrong. More were added under Bush than under Obama, according to the most recent figures. The former speaker made that claim Jan. 16 in a Republican debate in …
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Turks Object to Perry’s Baseless ‘Terrorist’ Claim
Rick Perry created an international controversy when he claimed, with no basis in fact, that Turkey “is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists.” That may be his opinion, but the fact is that the Republic of Turkey is a U.S. ally and a secular democracy …
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Santorum Wrong on Marriage
Rick Santorum claimed that the Obama administration told an abstinence education group that it could “no longer promote marriage” to at-risk youth “as a way of avoiding poverty.” That’s not true, according to the group Santorum mentioned. At the Republican presidential debate on Jan. 16, Santorum said that Best Friends …
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And Then There Were Five …
In a spirited debate, Republican candidates variously strained the facts on President Obama’s record on trade, tangled with each other over a misleading ad about allowing felons to vote, and erred on the history of the federal income tax. Otherwise, the five remaining GOP presidential candidates pretty much stuck to …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, taxes, trade, voting rights
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Mitt the Ripper?
OK, we get the joke. But there’s a problem with the satirical TV spot that the Stephen Colbert “super PAC” is running against Mitt Romney in South Carolina. Romney didn’t bump off the companies that the ad jokingly claims he did. For those who haven’t been watching the Comedy …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged Bain Capital, Mitt Romney, Stephen Colbert, super PAC
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Gingrich Makes a French Connection
Newt Gingrich attacks Mitt Romney once again, this time in a Web video that bashes Romney for raising taxes, giving money to Democrats (back in 1992) and — sacre bleu! — speaking French. But a few of the claims, besides the French one, could use some context. The one-minute video …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged abortion, campaign contributions, French, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, taxes
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New Hampshire Debates, Take 2
Less than 12 hours after the ABC News/Yahoo! debate in Manchester ended, the Republican presidential candidates were at it again — debating on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” As they did the night before, the candidates at times distorted the truth on a variety of topics, including Medicare, job creation, gasoline …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged fraud, gasoline prices, health care, jobs, Jon Huntsman, medicare, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum
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Romney Hits Turbulence With Boeing Case
A Mitt Romney ad running in South Carolina distorts the truth by claiming that the National Labor Relations Board told Boeing Corp., “You can’t build a factory in South Carolina because South Carolina is a right-to-work state.” That misstates the facts. The NLRB’s acting general counsel actually dropped the case. …
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