American Commitment: “Cheating”

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An ad from the conservative group American Commitment accuses Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) of voting to put thousands of Wisconsin paper industry jobs at risk. The ad cites Baldwin’s vote against a Republican proposal to overturn an EPA rule that will save thousands of lives and ignores her support for giving Wisconsin paper companies additional time to comply. American Commitment also suggests that Baldwin’s votes in favor of the Recovery Act and the Affordable Care Act are inconsistent with her criticism of China because, the ad alleges, “We’ll have to borrow money from China to pay for those.” In fact, the Recovery Act helped prevent an even worse economic collapse – which would have driven the country deeper into debt – and the health care reform law reduces the deficit.

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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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American Commitment: “Best”

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In an ad suggesting that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) does not know what is “best for Ohio,” the conservative group American Commitment cites three of the senator’s votes and misrepresents each one. The “failed stimulus” created jobs and cut taxes during the worst of the recession; the environmental rule the ad refers to will save thousands of lives at a minimal cost to consumers; and Brown was not the “deciding vote” for the Affordable Care Act.

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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: “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: “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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Americans For Prosperity: “Real Facts Real Solutions”

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In an ad attacking Senate candidate Tim Kaine’s record as governor of Virginia, Americans for Prosperity combines misplaced blame for financial woes caused by declining revenues in the Great Recession with outright falsehoods about Kaine’s response. Faced with impending shortfalls, Kaine cut billions in spending to leave Virginia with a balanced budget, not with the $4.2 billion shortfall AFP claims. Meanwhile, the most significant of the tax increases Kaine proposed (many were never enacted) were attempts to pay for desperately needed transportation upgrades that Virginia’s Republicans wanted to finance by going deeper into debt.

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