Issues: Medicare

American Action Network: “Radical Ideas”

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An American Action Network ad hits physician David Gill, the Democratic congressional candidate in Illinois’ 13th district, over his support for the Recovery Act, Solyndra, and for a single-payer health care system. But the stimulus helped stave off a deeper economic recession; the Solyndra loan was part of a program constructed to withstand some defaults; and AAN’s claims about Gill’s health care positions are highly misleading.

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Crossroads GPS: “Broke”

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Crossroads GPS calls President Obama “dishonest on taxes,” claiming that the Affordable Care Act imposed a “huge tax increase” on the middle class while Mitt Romney’s tax plan will cut middle-class taxes by 20 percent. But the health care law does not raise taxes on most Americans, and it actually provides tax relief for millions. Moreover, despite Romney’s rhetoric, his plan would require significant middle-class tax increases in order to remain deficit-neutral, which he insists it will.

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Crossroads GPS: “Football”

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Crossroads GPS targets Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) support for the Affordable Care Act, which it describes as the “$1 trillion health care law that cuts $700 billion from Medicare spending.” However, the ACA actually reduces the deficit, and the reductions in the future growth of Medicare spending do not cut seniors’ benefits.

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Crossroads GPS: “Questionable”

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Crossroads GPS attacks Virginia Senate candidate Tim Kaine (D) over his support for last year’s deal to raise the debt ceiling, which created the deficit reduction “super committee” and imposed defense cuts as an incentive for members of the committee to reach a compromise. Now that the super committee has failed and the defense cuts are looming, GPS is accusing Kaine of backing a plan to “devastate America’s defense and Virginia jobs.” But Kaine supported the debt ceiling deal because it was necessary to avoid devastating economic default, and he has laid out a plan to avoid the impending defense cuts.

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Crossroads GPS: “Laughable”

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Crossroads GPS attacks Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) for supporting the Affordable Care Act, claiming she voted to “slash $700 from Medicare spending.” In reality, the health care law’s Medicare savings do not cut seniors’ benefits, and Berkley’s opponent, Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) voted to keep those savings when he supported Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget plan. The Affordable Care Act also benefits seniors by closing the prescription drug “donut hole,” providing free preventive care, and extending the life of the Medicare trust fund.

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YG Action Fund: “Something New”

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The Eric Cantor-linked YG Action Fund super PAC is attacking Bill Enyart, the Democratic nominee in Illinois’ 12th district, with an ad belittling him for having “little private-sector experience,” failing to acknowledge that his public-sector jobs have consisted of 30-plus years serving his country in the armed forces. The ad is also critical of Enyart’s suggestion that the economy is improving and of his support for the Affordable Care Act, but the private sector has added 4.6 million jobs over 30 straight months of growth, and repealing the health care law would have devastating consequences for the millions of Americans already benefitting from its reforms.

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Club For Growth Action: “Typical”

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An ad from Club for Growth Action portrays Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) as a “typical Washington liberal,” citing his support for President Bush’s bank bailout, the “failed” stimulus, and the “government takeover of health care.” However, the financial rescue and the Recovery Act both helped the nation avert a more severe economic collapse, while the Affordable Care Act relies on private insurance companies to extend coverage. Despite the ad’s attempt to cast him as a hardcore partisan, Donnelly has the eighth most independent voting record among representatives in the current Congress.

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Crossroads GPS: “Big Difference”

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Crossroads GPS bolsters North Dakota Senate candidate Rick Berg (R) with an ad attacking his opponent, Heidi Heitkamp (D), over health care reform law and the stimulus, emphasizing their impact on the debt. In reality, the Affordable Care Act does reduce the budget deficit, and the “wasteful” stimulus helped prevent an even deeper recession.

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American Crossroads: “Forward?”

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American Crossroads is countering the Democratic National Convention with an ad claiming that President Obama has taken the country “backward,” citing what the ad calls “America’s worst economic recovery ever.” However, the ad ignores the severity of the recession President Bush left behind, as well as the decline in government employment (which conservatives favor) that distinguishes the current recovery from previous ones. Indeed, the private sector has grown steadily for the past 30 months, adding 4.6 million jobs during that period. Crossroads also dishonestly calls the Affordable Care Act a “tax on middle-class families” and blames the president for deficits that are fueled by Bush policies and the recession.

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Americans For Prosperity: “We Must Replace President Obama”

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In an ad deceptively likening health care reform in the U.S. to the Canadian single-payer system, Americans for Prosperity deploys a Canadian woman who sought care for a brain condition in the U.S., claiming that she would have died before she was able to get in to see the necessary specialists in Canada. The comparison is false, however, since health care in the U.S. continues to be based in the private sector.

Read more after the jump.