2011 - Page 9 of 37 - FactCheck.org

Recycled Spin at New Hampshire GOP Debate

October 11, 2011

At the latest debate, the Republican presidential candidates repeated several claims they’ve made before. The candidates participated in a roundtable-style discussion at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where they reiterated false and misleading lines about the federal health care law, the debt ceiling debate, job creation and more:

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney repeated his talking point that the health care law in his state only affected 8 percent of the population — or just the uninsured —

Idaho Newspaper’s Inspired Effort

October 11, 2011

The Times-News of Twin Falls, Idaho, says it likes to check the many press releases it receives for “both spin and accuracy” before publishing them. We applaud that effort. In fact, a release from Republican Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho was recently the subject of a full-page fact check for the paper’s Sunday opinion page.
The Times-News received an Oct. 4 press release announcing that Crapo had joined Republican Rep. Peter Roskam of Illinois to introduce legislation capping the capital gains and dividend tax rates at 15 percent.

Issa Sought ‘Yes’ on Loan Request

October 10, 2011

Rep. Darrell Issa, who has accused the administration of “political interference” to benefit a solar energy company, has falsely claimed that a letter he wrote to the Energy Department on behalf of a California car maker merely requested a decision — “yes or no” — on the company’s loan application. In fact, the California Republican wrote to “express support” for the company’s loan to develop an electric car. He wrote that approval of the loan would “greatly assist a leading developer of electric vehicles in my district”

Americans for Prosperity

October 10, 2011

A conservative group founded by billionaire businessman and political activist David Koch.

Change in Military Funeral Protocol?

October 10, 2011

Q: Did Obama order the military to drop the words “on behalf of the president of the United States” when presenting the flag to the next of kin at funerals?
A: A chain email that makes that claim is wrong. Spokespersons for the Defense Department and the armed forces say that no change was ordered.

Obama’s Solyndra Problem

October 7, 2011

President Obama exaggerated when defending his administration’s approval of a $535 million loan guarantee to Solyndra, a now-defunct solar company.
Obama referred to Solyndra’s loan at an Oct. 6 press conference as “a loan guarantee program that predates me.” That’s not accurate. It’s true that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 created a loan guarantee program for clean-energy companies developing “innovative technologies.” But Solyndra’s loan guarantee came under another program created by the president’s 2009 stimulus for companies developing “commercially available technologies.”

Clearing the Air on Perry’s Record

October 7, 2011

Texas Gov. Rick Perry cites partly cloudy statistics to back up his boast that Texas is doing just fine cleaning its air on its own — without the EPA. Perry boasts that “we cleaned up our air in Texas more than any other state, during the decade of the 2000s.” …

Oct. 7: Democratic Majorities, Super PACs, Health Care

October 7, 2011

Make Us Great Again

October 6, 2011

Make Us Great Again is a “super PAC” supporting Rick Perry’s presidential bid.

Obama No ‘Different’ Today on Taxes

October 5, 2011

An American Crossroads TV ad claims Obama’s position on taxes is “different” than it was in 2009. It isn’t.
The conservative group began airing a new TV ad in St. Louis on Oct. 3 in advance of the president’s fundraising trip to Missouri. The ad, titled “Don’t,” urges Obama not to raise taxes. But it distorts the president’s position on taxes two years ago by taking a snippet of an Obama interview in August 2009 and using it out of context.