Politicians & Pundits: Mitt Romney

American Crossroads: “Where”

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Crossroads GPS relies on old distortions in an attempt to scare Florida seniors about the impact of the Affordable Care Act, including the false premise that Sen. Bill Nelson (D) “cast the deciding vote” on the bill. The ACA does not allow for “rationed” care, and its future Medicare savings do not cut seniors’ current benefits. In fact, Nelson’s opponent, Rep. Connie Mack (R), voted to preserve the health care law’s Medicare savings when he supported Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan in 2011. Furthermore, the Affordable Care Act includes important benefits for seniors, such as closing the prescription drug “donut” hole and providing free preventive care.

Read more after the jump.

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.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “Voted To Cut Medicare”

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which receives significant funding from health insurers, attacks Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) for voting to “cut” Medicare and for supporting the public insurance option. But the Affordable Care Act reduces future Medicare spending without cutting seniors’ benefits, and Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget actually preserved the law’s savings. Moreover, the Chamber’s description of the public option as “wildly unpopular” is absurd: Although it was dropped from the final legislation, 2009 polls consistently showed that a clear majority of Americans favored having the choice of a public plan.

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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.

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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.

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California Future Fund for Free Markets: “Telephoto”

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California Future Fund for Free Markets is breaking the irony barrier with an ad supporting Proposition 32, which purports to ban special interest money from state politics. The ad criticizes “deals cut in the shadows,” but CFFFM is funded entirely by a single $4 million donation from a similarly shadowy Iowa group that does not disclose donors but has ties to the Koch brothers. This hypocrisy has substantive implications as well: Prop 32 claims to end special interest spending in California politics, but leaves gaping loopholes for the billionaires who are funding the effort while cracking down much more tightly on union political spending.

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American Action Network: “Dangerous”

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The American Action Network reaches all the way back to the 1970s to accuse Rick Nolan (D-MN) of supporting the end of Medicare. But Nolan’s opponent, Rep. Chip Cravaack, voted to “essentially end” Medicare in 2011, in a GOP budget that also retained the Affordable Care Act’s Medicare savings, over which AAN attacks Nolan. Furthermore, the bill Nolan supported forty years ago would have replaced Medicare with universal coverage for all Americans – which was the dominant school of thought among health care reformers of the era.

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Crossroads GPS: “Shameful”

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Crossroads GPS criticizes Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) for supporting the Affordable Care Act, which the ad says “cut Medicare spending by $700 billion” and “could give bureaucrats the power to cut Medicare spending even more.” In fact, the health care law reduces the growth of Medicare spending without cutting seniors’ current benefits – and Berkley’s opponent, Sen. Dean Heller, voted for the same “cuts” when he supported the Ryan budget as a member of both the House and the Senate. Furthermore, those “bureaucrats” tasked with finding future savings must be confirmed by the Senate and are prohibited from cutting benefits or rationing care.

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Congressional Leadership Fund: “Sutton Works For Pelosi”

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The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super-PAC associated with the American Action Network, uses Rep. Betty Sutton’s voting record to suggest that she places the interests of Rep. Nancy Pelosi above those of Ohio. To do so, they rely on misrepresentations of clean energy legislation, the Affordable Care Act, and the Recovery Act, the last of which helped prevent a deeper recession and cut taxes for families and businesses across the country.

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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.