Issues: Taxes

Congressional Leadership Fund: “Trick Or Treat”

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The Congressional Leadership Fund wants New York voters to believe Rep. Kathy Hochul’s (D) support for ending the Bush tax cuts were really votes “to raise taxes on small businesses,” but that isn’t true. In reality, allowing the Bush tax cuts on top earners to expire would reduce deficits without harming the economy or affecting many actual employers. The ad also accuses Hochul of “personally profiting from companies that outsource and do business with China,” citing a biased website to support the misleading claim.

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Congressional Leadership Fund: “Twinkle”

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Citing a series of votes between 2008 and 2011, Congressional Leadership Fund blames Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) for the rising debt. In reality, recent deficits have been fueled by the recession and Bush-era policies like tax cuts for the wealthy. The votes the ad targets, by contrast, were for bills designed to rescue failing banks, the floundering housing market, and a tanking economy, and to raise the federal debt limit – a procedure that does not authorize new spending but does prevent the government from defaulting on its loans.

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Ending Spending Action Fund: “Wrong”

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The Ending Spending Action Fund twists congressional candidate Richard Carmona (D-AZ)’s resume against him, accusing him of mismanaging a hospital that was deep in debt before his tenure and of having others pick up his dry cleaning on taxpayer-funded time. But that unsubstantiated allegation is sourced solely to a woman with a history credibility issues who was featured in an ad supporting Carmona’s opponent. The ad also suggests Carmona supports all earmarks, when in reality, Carmona was remarking that not all earmarks are wasteful – some can be useful investments in infrastructure.

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Now Or Never PAC: “Knock Down The Door”

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Now or Never PAC attacks Arizona Senate candidate Richard Carmona for supporting the “Obamacare takeover,” which the group describes as a “$716 billion cut to Medicare,” and for allegedly opposing tax cuts for small businesses. In reality, the Affordable Care Act relies on the private sector to increase insurance coverage and reduces future spending on Medicare without cutting benefits. Moreover, Carmona supports extending tax relief for the middle class while phasing out tax breaks for top income earners, which would affect few actual small businesses.

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Congressional Leadership Fund: “Hall Of Fame”

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Congressional Leadership Fund accuses Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) of voting for an expensive stimulus bill that “created jobs in China,” but the article the ad cites points to a project that never actually received any stimulus money. The ad also criticizes Sutton for her support of a cap-and-trade bill and the bank bailout, even though the former would have stimulated the economy with little cost to consumers and the latter, which passed in a bipartisan fashion after urging from President Bush, helped avert another Great Depression.

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Crossroads GPS: “Vision” IA-04

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In an ad hitting congressional candidate Christie Vilsack (D-IA), Crossroads GPS levels a series of falsehoods about the Affordable Care Act. Despite the ad’s claims, the health care law reduces future Medicare spending without cutting seniors’ current benefits, it helps control rising costs, and it’s expected to expand insurance coverage – all without taking health care decisions away from individuals or raising taxes on most Americans. What’s more, Vilsack’s opponent voted to keep the $716 billion in savings GPS attacks the Democrats over.

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Crossroads GPS: “Hand Picked”

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Crossroads GPS attacks Indiana House candidate Brendan Mullen (D) over the Affordable Care Act, overlooking Mullen’s stated commitment to ‘fixing’ certain elements of the law that he does not support. The ad ridiculously suggests the law is “the largest tax increase in history on the middle class,” misleads on the impact of future Medicare spending reductions that do not cut seniors’ benefits, and fearmongers about the impact of the Medicare board responsible finding additional savings – an element of the ACA that Mullen actually wants to change.

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Americans for Tax Reform: “Al Lawson – Wrong Prescription For Florida”

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Americans for Tax Reform attacks congressional candidate Al Lawson (D-FL) for supporting the Affordable Care Act, relying on a series of distortions about the law’s impact. In reality, the ACA does not raise taxes on most Americans, and it actually decreases the overall burden on the middle class. Moreover, the law reduces future Medicare spending without cutting seniors’ benefits – in fact, Lawson’s opponent, Rep. Steve Southerland (R), voted to preserve the “cuts” as part of the House GOP budget – and the Senate-confirmed board responsible for finding additional savings is forbidden from cutting benefits or rationing care.

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American Action Network: “Spending”

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Accusing former New Hampshire Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D) of “reckless” spending, an ad from American Action Network points to two earmarks. But attempts to thwart the local projects – one of which was requested by a Republican – were shot down by large bipartisan majorities that included Shea-Porter. The ad also blasts Shea-Porter for supporting a budget plan that would have raised $683 billion in taxes without noting that that entire amount would have come from the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, and that the budget would have eliminated the federal deficit.

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American Action Network: “Rail”

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The American Action Network dishonestly attacks congressional candidate Jose Hernandez (D-CA-10) for living in Texas, branding him as a cowboy and a carpetbagger even though the California native only lived outside the state while working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center as an astronaut. The group also criticizes Hernandez for supporting high-speed rail as a way to create jobs, as well as the Recovery Act, which helped save the economy from an even deeper recession.

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