Issues: Health Care

Crossroads GPS: “Cheap”

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Crossroads GPS attacks Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-ND) over his support for the Affordable Care Act. Using the GOP’s long-debunked assertion that the health care law adds $700 billion to the debt, the ad ignores the fact that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has repeatedly found that the law will reduce the deficit. The ad also repeats the worn-out claim that Obamacare cuts $500 billion from Medicare, and omits important details when it warns about a “new tax on Ohio manufacturers.”

Read more after the jump.

Crossroads GPS: “Change”

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Crossroads GPS targets Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) with worn-out attacks based on her support for the Affordable Care Act. Despite the ad’s insinuations, Obamacare doesn’t cut Medicare benefits; the Independent Payment Advisory Board established by the Affordable Care Act to control Medicare costs can’t ration care; and the health care law actually helps control rising health care costs.

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American Future Fund: “Come Clean”

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American Future Fund calls on North Dakota Senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp to “come clean” about the Affordable Care Act, repeating misleading talking points about “government bureaucrats” and other alleged consequences of the law. Contrary to what the ad suggests, the Affordable Care Act slows the rise in health care costs and reduces future Medicare spending without ‘cutting’ seniors’ benefits. In fact, most of the Medicare savings in the health care law were preserved in the Republican budget plan supported by Heitkamp’s opponent.

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Crossroads GPS: “How”

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A Crossroads GPS ad dishonestly blames Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-MT) votes in favor of the Affordable Care Act, the Recovery Act, and several bills to raise the debt limit for the ballooning national debt. In reality, Bush-era policies and the recession caused deficits to skyrocket, while the health care law actually reduces the deficit and the stimulus insulated the economy against even more drastic job losses. Meanwhile, raising the debt limit doesn’t cause higher debt – it simply allows the government to pay off obligations already incurred, thus avoiding the severe economic consequences that could come from a default.

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Crossroads GPS: “Everyday”

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Crossroads GPS dishonestly blames Rep. Joe Donnelly’s (D-IN) votes in favor of the Affordable Care Act, the Recovery Act, and several bills to raise the debt limit for the ballooning national debt. In reality, Bush-era policies and the recession caused deficits to skyrocket, while the health care law actually reduces the deficit and the stimulus insulated the economy against even more drastic job losses. Meanwhile, raising the debt limit doesn’t cause higher debt – it simply allows the government to pay off obligations already incurred, thus avoiding the severe economic consequences that could come from a default.

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American Crossroads: “Behind”

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American Crossroads’ attack on former Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA) attempts to paint him as self-serving and ambitious at the expense of the Virginians who elected him. To that end, Crossroads insinuates that his decision to serve as Democratic National Committee chairman during his final year as governor is connected to the state’s job losses, rather than the nationwide recession, and they snatch multiple clips of Kaine out of context to deceive voters about how he talks about his public service.

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60 Plus Association: “Tell Sherrod Brown To Stop The Wasteful Spending”

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60 Plus Association claims that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has “helped our national debt increase by more than $11 trillion” by supporting “every bailout proposed by Bush and Obama,” as well as the Recovery Act and health care law. But necessary actions taken to rescue the economy have had a relatively minor impact on deficits – which were driven upward by President Bush’s policies and the massive recession he left behind – and the Affordable Care Act actually reduces the deficit.

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American Future Fund: “Priority”

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The American Future Fund’s attack on Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), who is running for the Senate, proclaims that “New Mexico’s unemployment is up 20 percent” since he took office. Of course, the ad fails to mention that Heinrich took office during the worst month of a crushing recession that predated his election – or that the state’s unemployment rate has dropped from a 2010 high of 8 percent to well below 7 percent today. The ad also repeats tired distortions of the Recovery Act and the health care law.

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Crossroads GPS: “ObamaClaire”

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In an ad titled “ObamaClaire,” Crossroads GPS vilifies Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) for supporting the Affordable Care Act, which the group claims will “slash” Medicare benefits and “restrict seniors’ access to medical care.” These are stale falsehoods that have been thoroughly discredited – and, in fact, the GOP Medicare scheme authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) retains almost all of the health care law’s savings. Meanwhile, Crossroads GPS ignores the significant benefits for seniors in the Affordable Care Act and the severe consequences that repeal would have for millions of Americans.

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Crossroads GPS: “Basketball”

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In an ad titled “Basketball,” Crossroads GPS portrays a working mother whose adult children are living at home because they “can’t find jobs to get their careers started.” The woman says that she now regrets voting for President Obama because, as her family’s struggles demonstrate, “things have changed for the worse” under his administration. Despite the ad’s softer tone, however, it relies on the usual distortions of Obama’s record on the economy, health care, and the debt.

Read more after the jump.