In the New Mexico governor’s race, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, a Democrat, distorts Republican Susana Martinez’s 10-year record as district attorney.
An ad claims that her conviction rate in murder cases is "the worst in New Mexico," and the Denish campaign says that rate is 60 percent. But the Denish camp simply used the wrong statistics and came up with invalid figures. In fact, figures from an official state agency show Martinez won nearly 96 percent of her murder cases.
This week, readers sent us comments about illegal immigration, Obama’s oil spill speech and FactCheck’s heavenly provenance.
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.
The Father’s Day political talk shows contained a stretch here, an exaggeration there, misimpressions left everywhere. Here’s what we found.
All Studies Don’t Agree
On CNN’s "State of the Union," Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Independent, bragged about the supposed benefits of the climate-change bill he has introduced with Democratic Sen. John Kerry:
Lieberman: And, look, our comprehensive bill, according to all of the independent studies will create half a million new jobs a year,
In episode 16 of FactCheck Radio, we look at some overstatements from the president in his speech on the BP oil spill. And we talk about false and misleading remarks from Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina and White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod on "Meet the Press."
(Click the play button below to listen to the podcast. Or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.)
For more on the stories discussed in this episode, see:
Fact-Checking Obama’s Oil Speech
Democratic Sen. Harry Reid’s reelection campaign on June 11 released an ad attacking GOP nominee Sharron Angle for wanting to “get rid of Medicare and Social Security” — a charge she called “nonsense” in a June 14 interview with Fox News commentator Sean Hannity. It’s true that Angle has proposed phasing out Social Security and Medicare.
The Reid campaign, however, cannot support its claim that her plan to replace government-run Social Security with privately managed investments “cuts benefits for everyone coming into the system.”
Q: Did Congress slip a $150 to $250 monthly tax into the new health care law to pay for home care for the elderly?
A: No. The new CLASS Act program is voluntary. Premiums are estimated to be $123 per month for workers who choose to participate. It covers home care for those who become disabled at any age,
In his oil spill speech, President Barack Obama praised "a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill." A chorus of Republican critics denounced the same thing as a "job-killing energy tax." Both sides know that battles are won or lost on how an issue is framed. And the truth is more complicated than either side admits.
House Republican Leader John Boehner issued his statement even before the speech was given:
Boehner: President Obama should not exploit this crisis to impose a job-killing national energy tax on struggling families and small businesses.
In his June 15 speech to the nation on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama overstated some things, including how quickly he assembled a government team to work with BP. Here are some statements that we found to be less than accurate.
Administration Response
In explaining the administration’s response to the oil spill, Obama said "just after the rig sank, I assembled a team of our nation’s best scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge —
This week, readers sent us comments about massages for inmates, climate change, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter’s position on Social Security and a continued misunderstanding about Arizona’s S.B. 1070.
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.
One nice thing about winning a Webby Award is that you needn’t bother making a long list of everyone you should thank from the podium – nor do you have to suffer through anyone else’s odes to early mentors or monologues about climate change.