Issues: Economy

American Future Fund: “What Does The Wisconsin Flag Think About Tammy Baldwin?”

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In an ad featuring animated figures on the Wisconsin state flag, American Future Fund attacks Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who is currently running for U.S. Senate. The two figures on the flag discuss Baldwin’s vote for the Affordable Care Act, which reduces the deficit and improves care for seniors, and the national debt, which has been driven up by Bush policies and the recession – not by Tammy Baldwin.

Read more after the jump.

Restore Our Future: “Debate”

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The latest ad from Restore Our Future contrasts Mitt Romney’s “life in the private sector” with familiar distortions of President Obama’s record. In reality, the “failed stimulus” helped rescue the economy from the recession, kept the unemployment rate from rising even more, and cut taxes for millions of Americans. Obama also inherited a projected deficit above $1 trillion, driven by Bush policies and the recession, and Republicans have consistently rejected the president’s deficit-reduction efforts.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Stop Wasteful Spending”

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An ad from Americans for Prosperity declares that Washington could “learn a lot from Wisconsin” about “how to tighten their belts,” presumably a reference to Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-union “budget repair” bill. The ad criticizes Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) over the national debt, citing her support for the Affordable Care Act – which, in fact, reduces deficits. In reality, the main drivers of the debt are Bush policies, including tax breaks for the wealthy that Baldwin opposed, and revenue losses from the Great Recession.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Has President Obama Earned Your Vote?”

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Americans for Prosperity softens its usually harsh tone with an ad that features former Obama supporters explaining why they are disappointed with the president’s performance. However, the ad still features several misleading statements that echo common attacks on President Obama’s record from AFP and other conservative groups.

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Crossroads GPS: “With A T”

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Crossroads GPS is running an ad in Wisconsin, titled “With A T,” emphasizing the trillions of dollars added to the national debt since Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) took office. But while Crossroads focuses on Baldwin’s support for the “failed” Recovery Act, which helped prevent an even more devastating economic collapse, President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy and the recession fueled the increase in debt over the last decade. As a member of the House, Baldwin voted against the tax cuts Bush passed in 2001 and 2003.

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Crossroads GPS: “Cost”

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A Crossroads GPS ad attacks Virginia Senate candidate Tim Kaine for supporting the sequestration defense cuts, but Kaine has made it clear that he wants to find a deal to avoid the cuts and has even laid out a specific proposal. In reality, the deal Kaine supported was a bipartisan plan to raise the debt ceiling and avoid default on our loans – a deal that also created a committee to propose a deficit reduction strategy and imposed sequestration as an incentive to avoid failure. That panel ultimately failed because its Republican members refused to consider tax increases, even after Democrats offered several concessions on spending cuts.

Read more after the jump.

Crossroads GPS: “Doing”

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Even though Ohio’s unemployment rate has fallen for 11 straight months, dropping more than 3 percentage points from its recession-driven high, Crossroads GPS suggests that the state’s economy is getting worse and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is responsible. To support its case, the conservative group distorts the facts about two policies Brown supports – health care reform and ending tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans – and attacks him for supposedly backing an energy bill he ultimately opposed out of concern for Ohio jobs.

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Crossroads GPS: “Cost You”

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Crossroads GPS starts its latest attack on Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) by asking why the debt has increased since Jon Tester took office, and then provides all the wrong answers. Contrary to the ad’s claims, Bush policies and the recession have driven the increase in debt since Tester took office, and the Affordable Care Act actually reduces deficits. Crossroads also misrepresents Tester’s vote to extend middle-class tax cuts as a ‘tax hike’ on small businesses.

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Crossroads GPS: “No Dice”

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Crossroads GPS accuses Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) of supporting “billions in wasted spending projects that didn’t help Missouri,” citing as evidence Recovery Act grants that went to California, Vermont, and Texas. However, those three projects cost less than $30 million combined, and the Recovery Act funds were distributed all across the country to help turn the economy around. The ad further misleads by blaming McCaskill, instead of costly Bush policies and the recession, for driving up the debt.

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Restore Our Future: “Another Month”

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In an ad titled “Another Month,” Restore Our Future mashes up news headlines and video clips of President Obama to paint a misleading picture of the economy. In reality, the private sector has gained 4.5 million jobs over the last 29 consecutive months of growth, including 172,000 in July. While the continuing decline in government employment has slowed the recovery, the economic situation has improved significantly since Obama inherited an economy that was shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs per month in early 2009. That turnaround was aided by the Recovery Act, which helped stave off a deeper collapse, created jobs, and cut taxes for millions of working Americans.

Read more after the jump.