Joe Biden falsely claimed on multiple occasions that the number of reported rapes in Flint, Mich., has skyrocketed since 2008 — providing different accounts at different events that do not square with FBI data.
Biden’s Whopper in Flint, Mich.
Romney’s ‘Magnet’ Charge Attracts Scrutiny
Mitt Romney claims that Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s support for an in-state tuition program has acted as a “magnet” to draw illegal immigrants to Texas. But there is strong evidence to the contrary.
Romney, GOP debate, Oct. 18: You put in place a magnet to draw illegals into the state, which was giving $100,000 of tuition credit to illegals that come into this country, and then you have states — the big states of illegal immigrants are California and Florida.
A ‘Risky’ Trio for Seniors?
An ad approved by Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska twists the facts about what three potential GOP opponents have said about Social Security and Medicare.
While showing a photo of an elderly couple, the ad accuses Jon Bruning of embracing a Medicare plan that could “raise your rates and cut your benefits.” But only those 54 years old or younger would have been affected by the plan.
It says Deb Fischer “would also cut Medicare.” But that’s based on her support for a bill that specifically exempted Medicare spending,
Americans United for Change
Americans United for Change is a liberal group whose message closely mirrors that of the Obama White House.
Las Vegas Smackdown
Republican candidates hammered each other for two hours in a lively Nevada confrontation — and often strayed from the facts.
Cain denied that his tax plan would boost taxes for 84 percent of Americans, or fall heavily on those with lower incomes. A new study by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says just that.
Santorum and Bachmann denounced Cain’s 9 percent “business flat tax” as a European-style “value-added” tax, which Cain also denied. The TPC study agrees with Santorum and Bachmann.
Obama’s Spin on Jobs Bill
President Obama exaggerates when he claims “independent economists” say his jobs bill “would create nearly 2 million jobs.” The median estimate in a survey of 34 economists showed 288,000 jobs could be saved or created over two years under the president’s plan.
Obama also claimed one economist said the Republican jobs plan “could actually cost us jobs.” That economist said he did not have enough information to provide a jobs estimate, although he added that focusing on cutting spending “could be harmful in the short run.”
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Oct. 11-17
This week, readers sent us comments about Herman Cain’s “9-9-9” tax plan and deficit spending in the United States.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
Ohio Group Won’t Take ‘No’ for Answer
A pro-business group in Ohio committed an audacious misappropriation of an elderly woman’s emotional opposition to the state’s new collective bargaining law. The group’s TV ad uses her story of how firefighters saved her great granddaughter’s life to make it appear she supports the law that she actually wants repealed. The dishonest editing caused a number of Ohio TV stations to stop running the ad on advice of their attorneys.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican,
Just the Fracking Facts
Rick Perry said he would “create another 250,000 jobs by getting the EPA out of the way” of natural gas drilling. But the EPA isn’t currently in the way: The very study on which Perry relies assumes that all of those jobs will result if current regulations are not changed.
In a speech at a steel plant in Pittsburgh on Oct. 14, the Texas governor outlined a sweeping plan to create over a million jobs by increasing American energy production.