In Nevada’s Senate race, Republican Sharron Angle and Democrat Harry Reid began airing new commercials Aug. 26. Angle’s attack ad pictures Reid in a "love triangle" with President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and repeats some familiar but misleading claims.
Like Angle’s, Reid’s ad covers familiar ground. All of its claims are rooted in true statements or proposals. But Reid goes too far in one case. Angle did not say that "Medicare and Social Security violate the Ten Commandments."
Issues: Social Security
‘Privatizing’ Social Security?
In episode 25, we debunk President Obama’s claim that leading Republicans in Congress want to privatize Social Security. Plus, we look at dueling ads from the Pennsylvania Senate race, and we tackle claims related to the controversy over the Islamic center and mosque in New York.
For more on the stories discussed in this episode, see:
Obama’s (Latest) Social Security Whopper Aug. 16
Toomey’s Stimulus Charge Doesn’t Add Up Aug. 13
DSCC Wrong on Toomey’s Wall St.
Obama’s (Latest) Social Security Whopper
President Obama claimed that Republican leaders are pushing to make “privatizing Social Security a key part of their legislative agenda” should they regain control …
Americans United for Change
Democratic-leaning group originally formed in 2005 to oppose President George W. Bush’s Social Security proposal.
Reid Attacks Angle on Social Security
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.”
Halter Questioned On Misleading TV Ad
In an MSNBC interview today — the day of the June 8 Democratic primary runoff in Arkansas — Lt. Gov. Bill Halter was questioned about a TV ad that we here at FactCheck.org said made misleading claims about Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s position on Social Security cuts.
MSNBC reporter Andrea Mitchell, who interviewed Halter, called the ad "the biggest controversy right now." Mitchell showed a clip of "Pauline," which features an elderly woman claiming that Lincoln has threatened to cut Medicare and Social Security if re-elected.
Halter’s Ad: Misleading Senior Voters
In the final week of Arkansas’ June 8 runoff campaign for the Democratic Senate nomination, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter is running a misleading ad against Sen. Blanche Lincoln that accuses her of "cutting Social Security" and threatening to cut Medicare and Social Security in the future. For sure, there are differences between the two candidates. Lincoln is a strong supporter of reducing the deficit, and is on record as wanting to find "greater efficiencies" in entitlement programs,
Congress Did Not Raise Its Pay, Deny Seniors Increase
Chris Cates, a Republican congressional candidate in Georgia’s May 11 special election, says in a new TV ad that Congress voted to give itself a pay raise, while denying senior citizens on Social Security a cost-of-living increase. He’s wrong on both counts.
https://static.video.factcheck.org/vid/GatesFedUp.mp4
In “Fed Up,” an ad that started running May 3, Cates gives a litany of complaints about Congress, including that it has “gold-plated health insurance” (a matter of opinion, but members of Congress receive the same health care plans as federal workers ),
Mis-Tweets on Twitter
Mis-tweet
v. To use Twitter to mislead your followers.
For providing false and misleading information, a 30-second TV spot crafted by a seasoned media consultant is still king. But there’s another medium this campaign year that makes …
Retribution Fabrication
Q: Did Congress raise its own pay for 2010 while voting to deny an increase for Social Security recipients?
A: No. A chain e-mail calling for "retribution" in the fall elections makes false claims and uses fabricated figures.