Issues: Small Business

Center for Individual Freedom: “Busy”

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The Center for Individual Freedom attacks Kentucky Rep. Ben Chandler (D) for supporting the Recovery Act, bailouts, cap-and-trade, and “keeping the death tax.” The ad wrongly demonizes legislation that helped strengthen the economy (or, in the case of cap-and-trade, could have if it had passed). However, the ad’s most egregious distortion is that it ignores that Chandler recently voted with House Republicans to keep the estate tax limited.

Read more after the jump.

National Federation of Independent Business: “Commitment”

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The National Federation of Independent Business calls Iowa congressional candidate Christie Vilsack a “tax hiker,” citing her support for the Affordable Care Act. But the health care law doesn’t raise taxes on most Americans, and Vilsack has specified that she supports keeping the Bush-era tax cuts for those earning under $1 million.

Read more after the jump.

National Federation Of Independent Business: “One Clear Answer”

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The National Federation of Independent Business urges New York residents to vote against Rep. Louise Slaughter (D) because of her support for clean energy legislation and health care reform. However, the group misleadingly characterizes both policies as major middle-class tax increases. The ad also criticizes the Affordable Care Act for reducing the growth of Medicare spending, failing to acknowledge that the law’s “cuts” do not impact seniors’ benefits and were also included in Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget.

Read more after the jump.

American Crossroads: “Next”

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Even though the small business owners featured in American Crossroads’ latest presidential ad have benefitted from over $300,000 in government defense contracts during the Obama administration, they complain that President Obama’s “bad decisions” and regulations are harming job growth. But the ad cites a study that doesn’t address Obama’s proposals, and small business owners routinely say that regulations aren’t what’s keeping them from hiring.

Read more after the jump.

Crossroads GPS: “Dang Right”

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An ad from Crossroads GPS says Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is “out of touch with Wisconsin,” claiming that she wants to give the government more control over health care and let “unelected bureaucrats” make decisions on Medicare spending cuts. In reality, Baldwin’s priority is expanding health care coverage to all Americans, and she has floated a variety of ways to do so, while the “unelected bureaucrats” are in reality a Senate-confirmed advisory board that’s prohibited from cutting Medicare benefits. The ad’s accusation that Baldwin wants to tax middle-class families also doesn’t hold water; in August she voted to extend the Bush tax cuts for income under $250,000.

Read more after the jump.

Crossroads GPS: “Your Vote”

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Crossroads GPS attacks Senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) over her support for the Affordable Care Act, claiming the law “raises taxes on the middle class” and cuts over $700 billion out of Medicare spending. But the health care law won’t raise taxes on most Americans, and finds Medicare savings without cutting current benefits. What’s more, the House Ryan budget passed by the House GOP contained those same savings – and Heitkamp’s GOP opponent, Rick Berg, voted for that bill.

Read more after the jump.

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.

Read more after the jump.

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.

Read more after the jump.

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.

Read more after the jump.

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.

Read more after the jump.