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 Lately, he has called for it to be “repealed, replaced and rewritten.”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,
Month: August 2011
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.
What Perry Really Said About Secession
The Obama team falsely suggests Texas Gov. Rick Perry advocated secession. Perry's actual remarks have been mischaracterized. Perry entertained a reporter's question about secession after a tea party rally in 2009, and warned that "if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what may come out of that?" But he's made clear all along that "we've got a great union" and there is "no reason to dissolve it."
Perry has carelessly commented that Texas has a unique right to secede from the union,
Biden Bungles Talking Point on Debt
Joe Biden mistakenly claimed Americans own 85 percent of U.S. Treasury securities during his visit to China. Americans own 54 percent of the U.S. public debt — that is, the amount of debt held by the public. They own 69 percent of the total debt, which includes money the U.S. government owes itself.
At several stops in China, Vice President Biden sought to reassure the Chinese that their investments in U.S. treasuries are safe.