Issues: Health Care

American Commitment: “Best”

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In an ad suggesting that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) does not know what is “best for Ohio,” the conservative group American Commitment cites three of the senator’s votes and misrepresents each one. The “failed stimulus” created jobs and cut taxes during the worst of the recession; the environmental rule the ad refers to will save thousands of lives at a minimal cost to consumers; and Brown was not the “deciding vote” for the Affordable Care Act.

Read more after the jump.

Crossroads GPS: “Why”

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In an ad attacking Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Crossroads GPS relies on baseless talking points to suggest that Heitkamp’s support for the Affordable Care Act is harmful to her constituents. In reality, Heitkamp’s endorsement of Obamacare isn’t at odds with her promises not to vote to take away seniors’ health care or limit care, and she was right when she called the deficit-reducing health care law “a budget saver.” GPS also cherry-picks a projection about employer-based coverage when it claims that “millions of Americans” could lose the coverage they have now; broader analyses of the law estimate that under the Affordable Care Act up to 33 million uninsured people will gain coverage.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Nevada Needs Jobs”

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An ad from Americans for Prosperity hammers Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) for supporting the “failed $800 billion stimulus” and mocks Berkley for saying in 2009 that Nevada “received extraordinary benefits” from the law. However, the Recovery Act created jobs and cut taxes for millions of Americans, preventing the recession from becoming even more devastating. In addition, AFP fails to provide context for Berkley’s statement, which specifically explained how the Recovery Act helped Nevadans who were suffering the impact of the economic crisis. The ad also accuses Berkley of voting for “more wasteful spending,” citing only her support for the Affordable Care Act – which actually reduces the deficit.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Stop Irresponsible Spending”

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An Americans for Prosperity ad hits Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) over a variety of policies she voted for, accusing her of supporting “irresponsible spending.” But the ad is both incoherent, nonsensically suggesting that voting to increase revenue contradicts McCaskill’s desire to balance the budget, and dishonest. Contrary to the AFP’s insinuations, the “failed” stimulus bill created millions of jobs, the bailouts prevented further collapse, and the Affordable Care Act lowers the deficit.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Bill Nelson: Stop Wasteful Spending”

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Americans for Prosperity warps Sen. Bill Nelson’s (D-FL) voting record, misrepresenting the impact of legislation he supported (health care reform and the Recovery Act) and offering dishonest descriptions of legislation he opposed. The ad claims Nelson voted “against stopping more taxpayer-funded bailouts,” citing a vote to allow the auto rescue to proceed – a successful move that has saved jobs in the auto industry and throughout the economy. AFP also accuses Nelson of voting “against American-made energy” on the basis of his opposition to faster offshore drilling permits one year after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill hurt tourism on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

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AFP Speaker: ACA Will Lead To “Mandated Abortion”

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From Dr. Anni Bukacek’s remarks at an Americans For Prosperity “Tester Truth Tour” rally on June 19:

I’ve given you a handout. I went from 70 slides down to about 20, and I’m not going to go through all of those slides because it would take about 5-15 minutes on each slide. So I’m just going to talk real briefly, if you look at the second slide it gives you some of the contents that I’m just gonna briefly go over, and I’m just gonna—I mean it’s really true they really are going to have access to your bank accounts. Honestly they already have that, but there is going to be more IRS intrusion, there’s going to be more rationing of care and mandated abortion, those kind of things.

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Concerned Women For America: “Care”

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In an ad from the conservative Concerned Women for America, Dr. Ami Siems delivers a monologue riddled with misleading statements about the Affordable Care Act. No matter how many times conservatives say it, the law does not increase the deficit – it reduces it. And those “Washington bureaucrats” cannot deny or ration care. Perhaps the biggest problem with the ad is that it uses a seemingly neutral figure to argue that the law “just isn’t fixing things,” but this is not Dr. Siems’ first go-round as a conservative mascot. She appeared in 2009 anti-reform ad paid for by Americans for Prosperity in which she advanced several falsehoods.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Wisconsin Moving Forward”

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American For Prosperity targets Wisconsin senatorial candidate Tammy Baldwin by linking her to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, citing a handful of House votes in the past several years as evidence of Baldwin’s support for “wasteful spending.” In each case, however, AFP misses the mark. Efforts taken to rescue the economy helped stave off an even worse, deficit-deepening collapse, while other policies such as the Affordable Care Act actually reduce future deficits.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Tell Tester: Start Supporting Montana”

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Americans for Prosperity seeks to link Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) to President Obama, calling Tester “one of Barack Obama’s favorite senators” and using a meaningless statistic to suggest that Tester casts his votes to please the president rather than to serve the people of Montana. The ad’s dishonest tactics cast doubt on its implications, however; the Affordable Care Act didn’t institute “government-run health care,” and although the debt ceiling had to be raised to allow Congress to pay its bills, Tester voted against the bank bailout.

Read more after the jump.

60 Plus Association: “Tell Bill Nelson To Stop The Wasteful Spending”

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A 60 Plus Association ad blames Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and President Obama for a host of economic woes faced by the Sunshine State, but Florida’s unemployment rate and struggling housing market are all symptoms of the global recession that tanked the national economy. Thanks in part to the Recovery Act, which 60 Plus says “failed,” the jobs picture is improving both in Florida and across the nation. Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Rick Scott – not Nelson – held up a program that would have helped Florida homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Read more after the jump.