The FactCheck Wire

‘Soft’ on Rape? Nonsense

In one of the most blatantly false attack ads of the political season, an outside Republican group blamed a former assistant district attorney now running for attorney general in Pennsylvania of going “soft” with plea deals in two rape cases she never actually handled. In one case, the ad says, …
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Dems Mislead on McMahon’s Tax Stance

A TV ad funded by two Democratic PACs falsely claims Linda McMahon’s “tax plan hurts middle-class families.” Actually, her tax plan would reduce the marginal income tax rates for middle-income families — married couples earning roughly between $70,700 and $142,700 — while keeping the current rates the same for everyone …
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Scary Medicare Claims

A new TV ad in Florida harkens back to the notorious “death panel” falsehood. It wrongly claims Medicare benefits could be “rationed” and seniors denied treatment by the new health care law. In fact, the law specifically forbids rationing or restriction of benefits. American Crossroads, a super PAC launched with …
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Romney Ad on China Mangles Facts

A Romney ad strains the facts when it suggests the Obama administration’s refusal to “stand up to China” and label it a currency manipulator has cost the U.S. 2 million jobs. The jobs figure is unrelated to currency manipulation. It is an International Trade Commission estimate of jobs that could …
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Romney, Obama Court Moms, Distort Facts

Mitt Romney and President Obama each distort the facts in TV ads aimed at young mothers: Romney’s ad falsely attributes the nation’s $16 trillion debt all to Obama when it says “your share of Obama’s debt is over $50,000.” The total public debt was $10.6 trillion when Obama took office, …
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Brown ‘Lying’ About Abortion Stance?

An abortion rights group says that Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts is “straight-up lying” in a new ad that says he is “pro-choice, and he supports a woman’s right to choose.” That’s wrong. Brown has consistently said he is a supporter of abortion rights dating back to 2004, and …
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NRCC Attack Ad Misleads Iowa Voters

A Republican TV ad falsely claims that businesses “are forced to drop health care coverage” and families are “losing health care benefits” under the new federal health care law. “That’s what’s happening,” the ad says. But that’s not happening now. The claim is based on a July survey of corporate …
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Dependency and Romney’s 47 Percenters

Mitt Romney was wrong when he said the 47 percent of Americans who pay no federal income taxes are “dependent on the government.” Most of them are working people who simply do not earn very much money. Romney also assumed that all of those in the 47 percent who pay …
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Double Whopper, No Beef

The Romney campaign crams two howling falsehoods into a very few words: It accuses President Obama of being personally responsible for actions by the Federal Reserve Board, which is independent. It claims Obama is “spending your tax dollars” in the Fed’s latest move to buy mortgage-backed securities, when in fact …
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Crossroads Colors Kaine’s Cuts

Two ads from Crossroads GPS paint incomplete and misleading pictures of Tim Kaine’s support for cutting education and defense spending. One ad says that “when Tim Kaine proposed harsh funding cuts for Virginia schools, one Democrat called it ‘a kick in the teeth.’ ” It’s true that the top official …
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