A pro-Bachmann PAC misleads viewers when it says Rick Perry doubled the size of Texas' budget from 2000 to 2010. When adjusted for inflation and population, the total Texas budget increased by 21 percent during that time. Excluding federal funds, however, state spending actually went down by 6 percent.
The ad also says the Texas governor this year is "spending more money than the state takes in." That's true, but the state is required to balance the budget.
Sept. 2: Scott Brown, Texas Jobs, Wis. Taxes
A Preemptive and False Attack in Wisconsin
A conservative group falsely paints former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson as a “champion of Obamacare.” In fact, Thompson criticized the new health care law at the time of its passage, calling it “the beginning of a government-controlled health care system.” Lately, he has called for it to be “repealed, replaced and rewritten.”
An ad from the conservative Club for Growth Action also accuses Thompson of “massive tax and spending increases” when he was governor. The truth is that the total state/local burden on Wisconsin taxpayers went down during his tenure,
Texas-Size Recovery
Presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry has boasted of significant job growth in his state in the past few years. And for good reason: It’s true. While Texas clearly hasn’t avoided the recession, the state has done well in terms of …
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Aug. 23-29
This week, readers sent us comments about Gov. Rick Perry's statements about secession, a special election in Nevada and an ad attacking Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts.
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.
‘Bobblehead’ Scott Brown?
A misleading liberal ad attacks Sen. Scott Brown as a yes-man for “Wall Street and the national Republican agenda.” The truth is that Brown was one of only three Republican senators to vote for the controversial Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. And the Massachusetts senator votes contrary to other Republican senators once every five or six votes, a more independent record than all but a few in his party.
The ad is the work of MassUniting,
Aug. 26: Public Debt, Secession, Obama Bus
Obama’s Canadian-American Bus
Q: Was President Obama's tour bus made in Canada?
A: The shell of the $1.1 million bus came from Canada, but it was converted for the Secret Service by a company in Tennessee.
Taxing the Truth in Nevada
Truth and context are taking a beating in a special election in Nevada to fill a vacant House seat. Both sides are adding some new twists to familiar talking points — and giving voters a peek at campaign …
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Aug. 16-22
This week, readers sent us comments about the meaning of "on par," regulations proposed by the Environmetal Protection Agency and past letters about payroll taxes.
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.