Issues: Health Care

American Crossroads: “No Slate”

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Calling her an “extreme politician,” American Crossroads suggests Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) voted to raise taxes on the middle-class, citing her support for health care reform. But the Affordable Care Act does not raise taxes on most Americans and actually reduces the overall burden on the middle class. The law also reduces future Medicare spending without cutting seniors’ current benefits. Meanwhile, the rising debt in recent years has been fueled by the recession and Bush policies, such as tax breaks for the wealthy that Baldwin opposed.

Read more after the jump.

Congressional Leadership Fund: “Heartbeat”

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Val Demings was an Orlando cop for decades, ending her career as Chief of Police, before deciding to run for Congress. But you wouldn’t know it from this American Action Network ad that dishonestly attacks “politician Val Demings” over the Affordable Care Act, and says that if she is elected she will raise health insurance costs. From seniors’ care to taxes, AAN’s claims about the ACA and Demings are all wrong.

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Crossroads GPS: “Roadblock”

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Crossroads GPS presents Heidi Heitkamp as an obstacle to Mitt Romney’s agenda in an ad called “Roadblock,” stressing that “every single vote” on the repeal of health care reform and the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy will be crucial. The ad is highly dishonest about each of those policies, falsely claiming that ending Bush’s upper-income tax breaks means taxing small businesses, and accusing Heitkamp of “cutting Medicare spending” even though her opponent voted twice for the same Medicare savings.

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Crossroads GPS: “Blew It”

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Crossroads GPS attacks former Maine Governor Angus King with caricatures of his actual policies and ideas, and comes up short at every turn. The wind energy project he was involved with cut local taxes in half; his education cuts amounted to less than 2 percent of planned school aid; and he reduced Maine’s tax burden over his tenure, while returning the state’s budget to health. He supports the Affordable Care Act, but GPS misrepresents the law’s provisions.

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U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: “What’s Tim Kaine’s Plan For Virginia”

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Claiming Virginia Senate candidate Tim Kaine supports “higher taxes” and “fewer jobs,” an ad from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce attacks him over his support for a cap-and-trade plan and health care reform. But the taxes Kaine proposed during his tenure as governor of Virginia were designed to pay for much-needed transporation upgrades that Virginia’s Republican-controlled House wanted to pay for with long-term borrowing, and although Kaine spoke about the need for a plan to address the threat climate change poses to Virginia, he has not endorsed a specific plan. The Affordable Care Act, meanwhile, leaves the private system intact and does not raise taxes on most Americans.

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American Future Fund: “Hoosier”

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American Future Fund accuses Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) of abandoning “Hoosier values” by supporting “Obama’s costly policies,” such as the Affordable Care Act and the Recovery Act. However, the health care law actually reduces the deficit, and the stimulus bill helped rescue the economy from a deeper recession. Furthermore, AFF suggests that the economy is not improving, but the facts show otherwise: The private-sector has now added 4.7 million jobs in the last 31 months.

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Now Or Never PAC: “Radical Agenda”

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Now or Never PAC attempts to portray Heidi Heitkamp as a pro-Wall Street, environmental radical, who will “rubber stamp” President Obama’s second-term agenda, but the evidence does not support the group’s claims. After all, Heitkamp’s opponent has taken more than 10 times as much cash from Wall Street than she has — and over $600,000 total from the broader finance, insurance, and real estate sector. That makes Heitkamp’s $22,000 from lawyers whose clients include opponents of fracking look fairly insubstantial – especially when Heitkamp is on the record harshly criticizing President Obama on energy policy.

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Now Or Never PAC: “Knock Down The Door”

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Now or Never PAC attacks Arizona Senate candidate Richard Carmona for supporting the “Obamacare takeover,” which the group describes as a “$716 billion cut to Medicare,” and for allegedly opposing tax cuts for small businesses. In reality, the Affordable Care Act relies on the private sector to increase insurance coverage and reduces future spending on Medicare without cutting benefits. Moreover, Carmona supports extending tax relief for the middle class while phasing out tax breaks for top income earners, which would affect few actual small businesses.

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60 Plus Association: “Strengthen”

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The 60 Plus Association is running an ad that features Pat Boone distorting the Affordable Care Act’s impact on Medicare and misrepresenting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s proposal for the program. Boone warns that Medicare is “going bankrupt” and suggests that the health care law will only make it worse. In reality, however, the ACA reduces future Medicare spending, as opposed to ‘taking’ money out of the program, which actually extends the program’s solvency for eight years. Meanwhile, Romney’s proposed voucher plan would lead to higher costs for seniors, and by repealing the health care law, he would re-open the prescription drug “donut hole” and take away seniors’ access to free preventive services.

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Crossroads GPS: “Vision” IA-04

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In an ad hitting congressional candidate Christie Vilsack (D-IA), Crossroads GPS levels a series of falsehoods about the Affordable Care Act. Despite the ad’s claims, the health care law reduces future Medicare spending without cutting seniors’ current benefits, it helps control rising costs, and it’s expected to expand insurance coverage – all without taking health care decisions away from individuals or raising taxes on most Americans. What’s more, Vilsack’s opponent voted to keep the $716 billion in savings GPS attacks the Democrats over.

Read more after the jump.