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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Jeb Bush’s Jobs Claim

Jeb Bush’s Jobs Claim

In touting conservative policies in Republican-controlled states, Jeb Bush claimed, “The Southeast is leading a renaissance in American manufacturing.” Not so. The Midwest has experienced a 9 percent increase in manufacturing jobs since the sector began its recovery in February 2010.

Democrats Distort Vote on Climate Change

Democrats Distort Vote on Climate Change

A Democratic video says 240 House members “voted in 2011 that climate change was a ‘hoax.’ ” Not exactly. The 2011 vote was ultimately a referendum on who should set climate change policy — the Environmental Protection Agency or Congress. It was not a vote on whether climate change is a “hoax.”

Lindsey Graham’s ‘Enemy Combatant’ Exaggeration

Lindsey Graham’s ‘Enemy Combatant’ Exaggeration

Sen. Lindsey Graham exaggerated when he claimed “all the information” that led to the capture of Osama bin Laden came from “enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Bay.” Detainees provided “key information” about bin Laden’s “courier network,” but “other sources” provided “other intelligence” that ultimately led to his capture and death, intelligence officials have said.

Biden Revises NRA History on Background Checks

Biden Revises NRA History on Background Checks

Vice President Joe Biden exaggerates when he waxes nostalgic about the “good old days” — a time when “everybody, including the NRA, thought background checks made sense.” Biden’s office says he was referring to the NRA’s support for background checks in the early 1990s and its stated support for expanding background checks to include gun shows in 1999.

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NRCC’s Sneak Preview of 2014

NRCC’s Sneak Preview of 2014

In a sneak preview of the 2014 campaign, a GOP ad in North Carolina says Rep. Mike McIntyre “voted to spend $1.8 trillion on Obamacare” and “keep Obamacare’s taxes.” Spoiler alert: The ad is misleading.

Rand Paul Exaggerates His Filibuster ‘Victory’

Rand Paul Exaggerates His Filibuster ‘Victory’

Sen. Rand Paul says it “took 13 hours of filibuster” to finally force the Obama administration “to say, no, we won’t kill noncombatants in America.” In fact, Attorney General Eric Holder said “no” at a Senate hearing shortly before Paul began his filibuster.
“After much gymnastics I am very glad to hear that it is the opinion of the Department of Justice that it would be unconstitutional to kill a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil if that individual did not pose an imminent threat,”

Rangel’s Assault Weapons Whopper

Rangel’s Assault Weapons Whopper

Rep. Charlie Rangel falsely claimed there are “millions of kids dying, being shot down by assault weapons.” In fact, fewer than 100,000 persons younger than 20 years old died of gun violence, including suicide, over a 30-year period through 2010, government data show. About two-thirds of those deaths — or nearly 65,000 — were homicides.
That’s for all guns, not just assault weapons. We don’t know how many of them were killed by assault weapons, but federally funded studies have shown that such weapons are used in a small percentage of crimes.

Cruz, Paul: A Menagerie of Misinformation

Cruz, Paul: A Menagerie of Misinformation

Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul got laughs at the federal government’s expense at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, but the facts don’t jibe with the jokes.

Cruz accused the EPA of “trying to use a lizard to shut down oil and gas production” in West Texas to set up a one-liner about lizard boots. But the jab — an old campaign joke — no longer has any basis in fact. The federal government decided against listing the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as “endangered”