As you may have noticed, FactCheck.org has a new look. It’s been in the works for months, and it’s more than just a facelift. We’ve added some new features. We’ve also tried to make our content easier to read and easier to find.
Here’s some of what you’ll find:
FactCheck Wire items (you are now reading one of them) have become our staple, so they are now much more prominently displayed on the home page, in the left column.
Conservative-leaning group founded with help from Karl Rove and former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie.
A new “super PAC” focused on returning Democrats to the majority in the House.
A liberal-leaning group founded by former DNC chairman Howard Dean.
A liberal-leaning group founded by a MoveOn.org strategist, a former labor organizer and an Internet activist.
Lobbying group representing business interests. Leans Right-center.
Why do politicians persist in peddling exaggerations, twisted facts and outright falsehoods? Here's a theory from a veteran political reporter.
Jon Keller of WBZ in Boston offered up his explanation in his "Keller @ Large" commentary for Sept. 15. It was prompted by our coverage of the recent Republican presidential candidates' debate and our criticism of President Obama's jobs speech.
We were flattered by the nice mention, of course. But what really caught our attention was Keller's conclusion:
Jon Keller,
The GOP presidential candidates debated for the second time in six days — tossing out a variety of false and misleading claims on everything from Social Security to vaccines for sexually transmitted diseases. …
A Democratic ad falsely claims Republican House candidate Bob Turner would cut Social Security benefits for seniors, something Turner says he would not do.
The truth is that Turner has taken contradictory stands, saying he’d preserve both Social Security and Medicare “as they are” for anyone age 55 or over — but also calling for massive budget cuts, elimination of the capital gains tax, and repeal of the new health care law which, among other things,
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,