Issues: Medicare

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.

Read more after the jump.

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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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: “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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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.

Read more after the jump.