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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

American Action Network

Founded by a former Republican senator and a former GOP House aide. Leans GOP/Right-center.

American Crossroads

Conservative-leaning group founded with help from Karl Rove and former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie.

Sunday Replay

On this week’s Sunday talk shows, we didn’t find any whoppers, or even major errors, by politicians. But there were still a few missteps about the nation’s economy, a federal judge’s sexual orientation and an economist’s political leanings.
Understating the Underperforming GDP
On ABC’s “This Week,” former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson was slightly off when talking about the nation’s gross domestic product. He said: “You can’t create jobs at a level we need in this economy without about a 4 percent growth rate,

Corporate-Labor Smackdown in Minnesota

Minnesota’s race for governor is pitting corporate money against money from labor unions and wealthy Democrats. So far, the misleading attack ads are all coming from the liberal side, and the corporate side is being badly outspent to boot. The Alliance for …

Tax Cuts, Medicare and Florida Democrats

In episode 23 of FactCheck Radio, we debunk a Republican talking point on the Bush tax cuts being spread by Sarah Palin and former Sen. Fred Thompson. Plus, we examine actor Andy Griffith’s misleading ad for Medicare, and false charges in the Democratic Senate primary in Florida.

For more on the stories discussed in this episode, see:
Sunday Replay   Aug. 2
Thompson Wrong on Tax Cuts, Too  Aug. 5
Mayberry Misleads on Medicare  July 31
Democrat-on-Democrat TV Attacks in Florida 

Angle’s Blame Game, Reprise

GOP candidate Sharron Angle’s latest ad blames rival Sen. Harry Reid for Nevada’s dramatic decline in home value. That’s a real stretch. Angle gets the numbers right, but doesn’t show that Reid is responsible.
In fact, the housing bubble was already starting to deflate by the time Reid became Democratic leader of the Senate.
The ad is another dubious attempt by the Republican tea party enthusiast to pin responsibility for Nevada’s economic woes on the incumbent.

Adler Taxes the Truth

Democratic Rep. John Adler calls his GOP opponent an "irresponsible tax dodger" in a campaign flier. His claims are misleading.
Property taxes are a major political issue in New Jersey, which has the highest median tax burden in the country, according to The Tax Foundation. Its median property tax is $6,320 on a home, outpacing runner-up Connecticut by almost $2,000.

‘Fail to pay?’ Not really.

But did Jon Runyan, a former Philadelphia Eagles lineman,

Thompson Wrong on Tax Cuts, Too

First, it was Sarah Palin. Now, it’s former Sen. Fred Thompson. They’re both touting a highly misleading Republican talking point on the expiration of the Bush tax cuts.
Thompson, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, warns in a new ad sponsored by the conservative League of American Voters: "Folks, America’s economy is struggling and Congress is about to make it a whole lot worse." He’s talking about the "massive automatic tax increase at the end of this year, when the Bush tax cuts expire,"