Issues: Health Care

Crossroads GPS: “Show”

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A Crossroads GPS ad attacks Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) by tying him to President Obama’s agenda, in the process leaving viewers with the wrong picture of the deficit-reducing Affordable Care Act and the American Jobs Act, the latter of which would have been financed by a surtax on millionaires. The ad also misleads on Brown’s vote to invoke cloture on an early version of climate change legislation, failing to mention that he was joined by a majority of Senate Republicans and relying on analysis from the conservative Heritage Foundation to represent the bill as a job-killer.

Read more after the jump.

American Commitment: “Cheering”

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A new ad from American Commitment targets North Dakota Senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp’s support for the Affordable Care Act, repeating several falsehoods about the health care law. Contrary to the ad’s overblown rhetoric, the Affordable Care Act provides tax credits for millions of Americans, ultimately providing “more tax relief than tax burden for middle-income Americans.” Furthermore, the law reduces the deficit and does not cut Medicare benefits; in fact, Heitkamp opponent Rick Berg voted to preserve the Medicare savings the ad attacks.

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American Future Fund: “Better Or Worse”

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A video from the American Future Fund rattles off a laundry list of deceptive claims about President Obama’s record, starting with the old falsehood that the president made the economy “worse.” But that’s nonsense: Obama inherited an economy that was shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs per month, and while we still haven’t fully recovered from the crushing Bush recession, the private sector has created more than 4 million jobs in the past 29 months of growth. Those gains are due in part to the Obama administration’s Recovery Act and rescue of the auto industry, both of which, along with the health care law, AFF completely misrepresents.

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Gov. LePage On Obamacare And The “New Gestapo”

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From Gov. Paul LePage’s (R-ME) weekly radio address on July 7, 2012 (transcript starts at 1:37):

This decision has made America less free. We the people have been told there is no choice. You must buy health insurance or pay the new Gestapo – the I.R.S.

Even more disheartening is that reviving the American dream just became nearly impossible to do. We are now a nation in which supports dependency rather than independence. Instead of encouraging self-reliance we are encouraging people to rely on the government.

Demanding freebies in life and living freely are two very different things. There used to be a time when we were proud to get people off government programs. Today, we are promoting entitlement programs that are breaking the bank. Success should not be measured by what we can get for free, but rather what we do and give back to society when we are independent and productive citizens. Government-run health care is not what the American dream is about.

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American Commitment: “Stands”

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In an ad attacking New Mexico Senate candidate Rep. Martin Heinrich (D), the conservative group American Commitment calls the Affordable Care Act “a massive tax increase on the middle class” and absurdly claims the health care law “gives Washington bureaucrats control over our health care decisions.” The ad also alleges that Heinrich “refuses to stop another tax hike,” presumably on the basis of his support for ending wasteful tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

Read more after the jump.

American Commitment: “Fading Away”

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The conservative group American Commitment is running a dishonest new ad attacking Nevada Senate candidate Shelley Berkley. The ad criticizes Rep. Berkley for supporting the Affordable Care Act, which it claims is “one of the biggest tax increases in history,” and suggests that Berkley supports additional tax hikes. In reality, the health care law does not impose higher taxes on most Americans – it actually provides tax credits for millions – and Berkley has been a strong supporter of tax cuts for the middle class.

Read more after the jump.

American Commitment: “Cheating”

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An ad from the conservative group American Commitment accuses Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) of voting to put thousands of Wisconsin paper industry jobs at risk. The ad cites Baldwin’s vote against a Republican proposal to overturn an EPA rule that will save thousands of lives and ignores her support for giving Wisconsin paper companies additional time to comply. American Commitment also suggests that Baldwin’s votes in favor of the Recovery Act and the Affordable Care Act are inconsistent with her criticism of China because, the ad alleges, “We’ll have to borrow money from China to pay for those.” In fact, the Recovery Act helped prevent an even worse economic collapse – which would have driven the country deeper into debt – and the health care reform law reduces the deficit.

Read more after the jump.

American Commitment: “Facts”

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American Commitment is running an ad in Florida that attacks Sen. Bill Nelson (D) with a litany of debunked talking points about health care reform. Contrary to the ad’s claims, the Affordable Care Act reduces the deficit, does not raise taxes on most Americans (and actually gives tax credits to millions), provides important benefits for seniors, and increases the number of insured Americans by millions. Meanwhile, repealing the Affordable Care Act as the group advocates would have devastating consequences for people all over the country who are already benefiting from the law.

Read more after the jump.

American Crossroads: “Hit”

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After the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that most Americans obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, commonly known as the “individual mandate,” American Crossroads pounced with a new ad accusing President Obama of raising taxes on the middle class. Unfortunately, the ad leaves out some crucial facts: The mandate will not have a direct impact on the vast majority of Americans – aside from helping keep their premiums down – and Obama has cut taxes for working Americans by far more than the cost of forgoing insurance under the health care law.

Read more after the jump.

Americans For Prosperity: “Not A Tax Increase?”

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Americans for Prosperity is running an ad that portrays President Obama’s landmark health care law as a huge tax increase. In reality, most families that earn under $250,000 will not see their taxes go up under Affordable Care Act, which also provides tax credits for millions of working Americans. Meanwhile, the ad’s description of the law as a “$2 trillion health care takeover” is completely bogus – ACA reduces the deficit and relies heavily on the private sector to give millions of people better access to quality insurance.

Read more after the jump.