August 30, 2010 10:02 am ET filed under Blog
Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - August 29, 2010
August 30, 2010 9:59 am ET filed under Fact Check
Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - August 29, 2010
Sunday on Face The Nation, Republican Senate hopeful Joe Miller (AK) stoked fears about Social Security's finances and Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS) wrapped his sugary drawl around a variety of sour attacks on Democrats' economic policies. Miller claimed "the trust fund is empty," but in reality Social Security holds assets of $2.5 trillion and is solvent through the Baby Boomers' golden years. Later, Gov. Barbour dissembled about the cost-cutting Affordable Care Act — the bill actually reigns in health care spending while expanding coverage dramatically and cutting the deficit — and suggested Democrats aren't creating jobs despite the expert consensus that the Recovery Act and other measures saved millions of jobs and turned the economy around.
May 07, 2010 3:28 pm ET filed under Blog
Rep. Tom Price: Americans Want Me To Take Away Their Medicare
March 15, 2010 1:38 pm ET filed under Fact Check
Rep. Ryan Fills Health Care Op-Ed With Distortions
On March 15, 2010, Rep. Paul Ryan published a wildly misleading op-ed in the Washington Post. In it, he uses false attacks to smear the Democratic plan to reform health care and lies about the would-be effects of two of his own proposals, the Patients' Choice Act and Roadmap for America's Future.
March 01, 2010 10:27 am ET filed under Blog
"159" List Shows What The GOP Finds Unnecessary About Health Care Reform
February 22, 2010 5:31 pm ET filed under Blog
Rep. Ryan Doubles Down On His Privatization Scheme
February 18, 2010 4:12 pm ET filed under Fact Check
New 60 Plus Ad "Deals" From The Bottom Of The Deck
The anti-health care reform group 60 Plus has released a new round of misleading ads in 18 Congressional districts across the country. Just like their previous ads, however, 60 Plus takes advantage of America's senior citizens and airs little more than misleading information.
February 12, 2010 11:36 am ET filed under Fact Check
Rep. Ryan's "Roadmap" Mixes & Matches The Worst Policies Of Bush And McCain
On January 27, 2010, Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, the ranking member on the House Budget Committee, released a "Roadmap for America's Future" budget proposal. Despite Ryan's efforts to frame the plan as fresh and new, a quick glance shows his ideas are simply mixed and matched from the worst policies of President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain.
December 14, 2009 3:19 pm ET filed under Fact Check
60 Plus Association's "Courage" Ad Lacks The Courage To Tell The Truth
The conservative, anti-health care reform group 60 Plus is airing a new round of ads alternately attacking or thanking senators for their votes on a recent McCain amendment. The big thinkers at 60 Plus failed to notice, however, Sen. McCain's decades of disgraceful votes that have slashed Medicare for America's seniors.
December 07, 2009 6:04 pm ET filed under Fact Check
The Republican Party's Medicare Hypocrisy
While Democratic health care reform proposals bolster Medicare by virtually eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, Republicans rely on a false line of attack, insisting legislation would lead to benefit cuts. Despite their hollow rhetoric, Republicans have a long track record of philosophically opposing Medicare and actively seeking to reduce its funding.
December 04, 2009 6:59 pm ET filed under Fact Check
House Republicans Have Voted To Cut Over $1 TRILLION From Medicare Since 1991
While Republicans in both chambers of Congress continue to spread the falsehood that Democratic health care reform cuts Medicare (it doesn't), House Republicans have in fact voted to cut $1.02 trillion from Medicare since 1991 - on top of their refusals to increase payments to Medicare physicians.
December 03, 2009 4:18 pm ET filed under Fact Check
Sen. McCain Continues To Mislead Americans On Medicare Changes
In a December 3, 2009 op-ed in USA Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) expressed his disdain for proposed changes to Medicare Advantage in the Senate health care reform bill. However, it is obvious that Sen. McCain failed to do any thorough research on the topic before penning the piece.
December 01, 2009 3:48 pm ET filed under Fact Check
Contrary To What He Says, McCain Has Spent Most Of His Career Voting AGAINST Patient Protections
While addressing Sen. Durbin on the Senate floor on December 1, 2009, Sen. John McCain asserted his long history of defending American patients. Unfortunately for McCain, his record proves otherwise.
December 01, 2009 12:31 pm ET filed under Video
Sen. Coburn's Message To Seniors: "You're Going To Die Sooner"
During his December 1, 2009 floor speech, Sen. Tom Coburn had a message for senior citizens: the Democratic health care reform legislation will cause you to die sooner.
December 01, 2009 11:52 am ET filed under Fact Check
Republican Senators Have Voted To Cut $1.31 Trillion From Medicare
During Senate debate this morning, several Republican Senators took to the floor to encourage passage of the McCain amendment and to discuss their wrong interpretation of Medicare funding in the Democrats' health care reform legislation. What is most interesting about this morning's debate is that these senators who falsely accused Democrats of cutting Medicare have themselves cut Medicare by $1.31 trillion during their collective tenure in Congress.
November 12, 2009 2:20 pm ET filed under Fact Check
60 Plus Airing New Round Of Misleading Anti-Reform Ads
In a series of three very similar ads, the right-wing group 60 Plus has attacked the pro-reform votes of Congressmen Snyder (D-AR), Hill (D-IN), and Pomeroy (D-ND). Just like their other ads, however, this series is full of misleading information and scare tactics.
November 04, 2009 5:29 pm ET filed under Fact Check
60 Plus Ad Uses The Greatest Generation's Achievements To Scare People Into Opposing Reform
The right-wing seniors' group 60 Plus has put together a new ad opposing health care reform. Instead of providing seniors with the correct information that health care reform will benefit them and their families, 60 Plus chose to use scare tactics to inspire America's seniors to fight progressive health care reform.
October 28, 2009 3:41 pm ET filed under Blog
Emailed Medicare Data Is Misleading And Incomplete
In an unsurprising move, some conservatives have sent around partial study results on health insurance denials in order to strengthen their argument against the public option.
October 26, 2009 5:32 pm ET filed under Fact Check
Rep. Boehner Still Pushing False Talking Points To Frighten Seniors Into Opposing Health Care Reform
Contradictory to the Minority Leader's statement, the inclusion of a public option in health care reform will not hurt America's older citizens - it will help seniors have a more positive experience with Medicare.
October 16, 2009 11:58 am ET filed under Blog
Heritage Blog Argues Against Additional Funding For Medicare
October 14, 2009 9:28 am ET filed under Email Checker
Email: "NO Cost of Living Allowance" for Seniors!"
The following email has been widely forwarded and has been reposted numerous times on conservative blogs. Media Matters Action Network has written a response to the text below. Please feel free to copy and paste it and send to your friends.
August 26, 2009 12:12 pm ET filed under Fact Check
New RNC "Research" Conducts An Experiment On The Public's Tolerance For Misleading Information
On August 25, 2009, the RNC released a new "research" document titled "Obama's Experiment On...Seniors With Medicare." In reality, the RNC is conducting an experiment on how many misleading "research" points they can slip past the American public.
August 24, 2009 10:51 am ET filed under Fact Check
RNC Chairman Steele's Op-Ed Attempts To Distract Seniors From The Truth
On August 24, 2009, RNC Chairman Michael Steele wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post regarding seniors' health care and outlining the GOP's "Seniors Health Care Bill of Rights." However, instead of offering real solutions or finally agreeing to cooperate with Democrats, Steele's piece spreads falsehoods and misinformation with the goal of derailing efforts to help America's senior citizens.
August 08, 2009 11:30 am ET filed under Fact Check
60 Plus Ad Is Chock Full Of Misinformation
On Friday August 7, 2009, the conservative 60 Plus organization released an ad meant to encourage senior citizens to oppose health insurance reform. However, lacking any factual support for their argument, 60 Plus relies entirely on misinformation and scare tactics in order to activate seniors into opposing reform.
August 07, 2009 10:03 am ET filed under Blog
RedState Is In The Business Of Spreading Disgusting Rumors
July 28, 2009 2:34 pm ET filed under Fact Check
RNC "Research" Tries To Portray Democrats As Encouraging Euthanasia
On July 28, 2009, the RNC released a research document titled, "What 2 Watch 4: Obama Vs. Seniors," that asserts "Obama's Government-Run Health Care Experiment Will Be Devastating For Seniors." However, like other recent GOP assertions that the Democrats' plan to reform health insurance will hurt America's seniors, this document is grossly misleading.
July 28, 2009 2:07 pm ET filed under Fact Check
Rep. Foxx Says Health Care Reform Will Cause Seniors To Be "Put To Death By Their Government"
On July 28, 2009, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) stated on the floor of the House that the Republicans' health care reform legislation, unlike that of the Democrats, would not put seniors "to death." Besides being a reprehensible accusation, her words are blatantly false.
July 24, 2009 4:01 pm ET filed under Blog
Rep. Boehner Comes Out Against Providing Seniors With Choices
On July 23, 2009 House Minority Leader John Boehner released an outrageous statement saying that Democratic efforts to reform health insurance will result in the encouraged euthanasia of America's senior citizens.
May 13, 2009 4:58 pm ET filed under Fact Check
Sen. DeMint's Social Security Alarmism Is Four Years Too Late
On May 12, 2009, Sen. Jim DeMint released a statement accusing Democrats of ignoring the issue of Social Security's long-term solvency. Yet when Republicans had the chance to ensure Social Security's solvency for 75 years, they chose tax cuts over ensuring retirement security for American seniors.
April 15, 2009 12:09 pm ET filed under Fact Check
GOP's "Savings Recovery Act"
On April 15, 2009, House Minority Leader John Boehner previewed the Republican Party's "Savings Recovery Act." While the preview offers absolutely NO details on what the actual legislation will include, Americans have every reason to be skeptical.
