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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
A Guide to the New Hampshire Debates
The remaining Republican presidential candidates meet Jan. 7 for a prime-time ABC News/Yahoo!/WMUR-TV debate at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. Less than 12 hours later, they meet again for an NBC News/Facebook debate on “Meet the Press.” Here are some possible lines of attack to expect, based on what …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged china, earmarks, Freddie Mac, health care, Illegal immigration, Iran, Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Restore Our Future, Ron Paul
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Romney’s Shaky Job Claims
Mitt Romney has taken to saying that he created more than 100,000 net jobs through his work in the private sector, and more jobs as governor than President Obama has created since taking office. But the first claim is unproven, and the second is misleading. It’s true that the private …
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Paul, Santorum Stretch Truth on Iran
Iran is very much in the news, with President Obama signing legislation that imposes new sanctions against Iran, which has warned it may retaliate by closing a key oil route. But there was more heat than light on the critical issue of Iran from two GOP presidential candidates this weekend: …
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Our Year-end Appeal
Update: As of Jan. 1, our total stood at $83,607. We will be processing additional late-arriving paper checks in the days to come, and will update again in a few days when we make our regular quarterly financial report. Thanks to all who made year-end donations. Your gifts will make …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
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A Historian’s Perspective on Gingrich & Lincoln
Newt Gingrich wrongly claimed the Dred Scott decision “ruled that slavery extended to the whole country.” It did not. The ruling stated that Congress had no authority to ban slavery in new territories, but it stopped short of applying the ruling to all states. Gingrich also claimed that President Lincoln …
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Bachmann Wrong on Social Security, Jobs, Debt
Michele Bachmann argued that “my facts are accurate” at the Dec. 15 debate, but a few days later, she got several facts wrong. On “Meet the Press” the presidential candidate had a couple of exchanges with host David Gregory over the validity of her statements on Social Security and the …
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White House Displays ‘Washington Monument Syndrome’
The White House misleadingly suggests that the Republicans’ plan to pay for a payroll tax cut would result in “forcing cuts to things like education and medical research.” The bill passed by House Republicans mentions no such cuts. And while the bill may or may not require cuts to discretionary …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged budget, discretionary spending, education, White House
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The Final Iowa Debate
The final Republican presidential debate in advance of the Jan. 3 first-in-the-nation Iowa party caucuses produced a few claims we found worthy of quibbling over. Gingrich challenged Bachmann’s factual accuracy regarding the former speaker’s record on abortion — but we found Bachmann was mostly correct. On the other hand, Bachmann …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged campaign 2012, Jon Huntsman, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul
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Gingrich Makes a Mess with Janitors Claim
Newt Gingrich got it wrong when he claimed “an entry-level janitor gets paid twice as much as an entry-level teacher” in New York City. An entry-level “cleaner” is the closest thing to Gingrich’s description of an “entry-level janitor,” and someone in that position is paid substantially less than an entry-level …
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