Issues: Taxes

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: “Two Mikes”

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An ad from YG Action Fund accuses Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) of voting for “higher taxes on working people” and criticizes his support for the “failed stimulus.” However, the Recovery Act helped prevent an even worse economic crisis and actually cut taxes for the vast majority of working Americans. The ad also misleads on McIntyre’s role in passing the Affordable Care Act, which he opposed, by citing his vote for Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker.

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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.

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60 Plus Association: “We Still Do”

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60 Plus attacks Virginia Senate candidate Tim Kaine for supporting the Affordable Care Act, making a series of untruthful assertions about the law’s impact on seniors. In fact, the ACA does not “give bureaucrats the power to deny” care. Moreover, the health care law’s reductions in future Medicare spending do not ‘cut’ benefits for seniors, and they actually prevent the program from “going bankrupt” sooner. Finally, while 60 plus insists that the ACA “makes things worse for seniors,” the group neglects to mention that it closes the prescription drug “donut hole” and provides free preventive care for millions of Medicare beneficiaries.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Stop Spending Our Future”

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An from Americans for Prosperity accuses Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) of spending future generations into debt, citing his votes in favor of the Recovery Act and the “$2 trillion health care law.” But the stimulus helped drag the economy back from the brink of an even greater recession, while the Affordable Care Act actually reduces the deficit.

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Concerned Women for America: “Can’t Afford Tester”

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Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee attacks Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) for voting “to spend trillions we just don’t have,” citing his support for the health care law and the stimulus. But the Affordable Care Act reduces the deficit, while the Recovery Act created jobs, cut taxes, and helped avert an even greater recession.

Read more after the jump.