Issues: Social Security

Crossroads GPS: “Suffered”

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Crossroads GPS attempts to link “three years of crushing unemployment” to President Obama’s “failed” investments in clean energy through the Recovery Act. In addition to misrepresenting the program that provided loans for Solyndra and other companies, Crossroads GPS conveniently overlooks what really ‘crushed’ the job market: a historically devastating recession that was destroying hundreds of thousands of jobs per month when Obama was inaugurated. Since then, the avalanche of job losses has turned into steady growth, with the private sector gaining 4.5 million jobs over the last 29 months. The ad also blames Obama for the rising debt without noting the disastrous fiscal impact of Bush policies, such as tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, and the recession.

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Crossroads GPS: “Tried”

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A Crossroads GPS ad attacking President Obama wrongly suggests several consequences of the recession are the result of the president’s economic policies. In fact, it’s Bush-era policies that drove up the federal debt, while the private sector has added jobs in each of 28 consecutive months for a total of 4.5 million new jobs since March 2010.

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Crossroads GPS: “Voice”

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An ad from Crossroads GPS relies on regurgitated and misleading talking points about the Affordable Care Act to paint Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) as out of touch with his constituents. Contrary to the ad’s insinuations, Obamacare doesn’t cut Medicare benefits, the Independent Payment Advisory Board can’t restrict seniors’ care, and the taxes raised to support the Affordable Care Act pale in comparison to the middle-class tax cuts President Obama and congressional Democrats have enacted.

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Crossroads GPS: “Excuses”

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An ad from Crossroads GPS ridicules President Obama for making “excuses for the bad economy,” using footage of the president speaking about global challenges that have affected the recovery. But while the ad suggests that Obama’s “wild spending and skyrocketing debt” are the real problem, those are legacies of the Bush years and the crushing recession that Obama inherited, and Republicans have consistently opposed Obama’s efforts to bring down the deficit.

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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 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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Americans For Prosperity: “Nevada Needs Jobs”

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An ad from Americans for Prosperity hammers Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) for supporting the “failed $800 billion stimulus” and mocks Berkley for saying in 2009 that Nevada “received extraordinary benefits” from the law. However, the Recovery Act created jobs and cut taxes for millions of Americans, preventing the recession from becoming even more devastating. In addition, AFP fails to provide context for Berkley’s statement, which specifically explained how the Recovery Act helped Nevadans who were suffering the impact of the economic crisis. The ad also accuses Berkley of voting for “more wasteful spending,” citing only her support for the Affordable Care Act – which actually reduces the deficit.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Stop Irresponsible Spending”

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An Americans for Prosperity ad hits Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) over a variety of policies she voted for, accusing her of supporting “irresponsible spending.” But the ad is both incoherent, nonsensically suggesting that voting to increase revenue contradicts McCaskill’s desire to balance the budget, and dishonest. Contrary to the AFP’s insinuations, the “failed” stimulus bill created millions of jobs, the bailouts prevented further collapse, and the Affordable Care Act lowers the deficit.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Tell Tester: Start Supporting Montana”

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Americans for Prosperity seeks to link Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) to President Obama, calling Tester “one of Barack Obama’s favorite senators” and using a meaningless statistic to suggest that Tester casts his votes to please the president rather than to serve the people of Montana. The ad’s dishonest tactics cast doubt on its implications, however; the Affordable Care Act didn’t institute “government-run health care,” and although the debt ceiling had to be raised to allow Congress to pay its bills, Tester voted against the bank bailout.

Read more after the jump.