Politicians & Pundits: Mitt Romney

American Unity PAC: “Wrong Prescription”

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The American Unity PAC attacks Democratic congressional candidate Raul Ruiz (CA) for supporting the Affordable Care Act in an ad that claims the legislation raises taxes on “millions of middle- and lower-income families” by forcing them to buy health insurance. In reality, the health care law provides more tax relief than tax burden for the middle class, and lower- and middle-income families are eligible for tax credits that will help them afford premium payments. The ad also claims the ACA cuts $700 billion from Medicare and will kill jobs, both conservative attack lines that have been debunked.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “NY-24 Dan Maffei — Closed”

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce uses vague buzzwords about regulations and health care to suggest Rep. Dan Maffei (D-NY) doesn’t “understand how tough it’s been for New York small businesses.” Dig into the ad’s fine print, though, and you’ll see the Chamber is talking about Wall Street regulations written to forestall another catastrophic collapse like the one that closed out the Bush years. The ads’ claims about taxes in the Affordable Care Act are similarly misleading.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “NY-27 Kathy Hochul – Failure”

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce attacks Rep. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) for voting for the Affordable Care Act, claiming that the legislation raises taxes on small business and impose a $1,200 per year tax on “millions of middle class families.” In reality, millions of small businesses are eligible for tax credits under the health care law, and the ACA reduces the overall burden on the middle class.

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U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: “Louise Slaughter – Wrong Way”

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce attacks Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) over her vote for the Affordable Care Act and against a bill to extend the Bush tax cuts for top earners. What the ad doesn’t mention is that the health care law, which doesn’t raise taxes on most Americans, makes tax credits available to millions of small businesses. Meanwhile, although Slaughter opposed tax giveaways for the top 2 percent of earners, she has since supported extending the Bush tax cuts for the middle class.

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U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: “NY-18 Sean Maloney – Wrong”

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a conservative group that received millions of dollars from insurance companies to fight health care reform, has released an ad attacking New York House candidate Sean Maloney for supporting the Affordable Care Act. However, despite the ad’s claims about “more spending and higher taxes,” millions of families and small businesses across the country are now eligible for tax credits because of the health care law. In addition, the ACA reduces the deficit.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “Tim Bishop (NY-1) – Pay More”

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce attacks Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) for voting for the Affordable Care Act and cap-and-trade legislation, misrepresenting the bills’ impact on small businesses and families. In fact, millions of small businesses are eligible for tax credits under the health care law, while clean energy legislation would have boosted the economy at minimal cost to households.

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Restore Our Future: “New Normal”

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An ad from Restore Our Future dredges up an out-of-context quote from President Obama to suggest he believes 8 percent unemployment is “doing fine.” In reality, Obama was explaining that the private sector is steadily creating new jobs, while declining public-sector employment – a trend favored by conservatives – has slowed the recovery. The private sector has now added 4.6 million jobs over the last 30 consecutive months of growth. The ad also blames the president for America’s “crushing debt,” which exploded as a consequence of Bush administration policies and the recession, but fails to acknowledge that Republicans have rejected Obama’s debt-reduction proposals.

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Crossroads GPS: “Severe”

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Crossroads GPS simultaneously misquotes Heidi Heitkamp and takes her comments so far out of context that they end up 180 degrees opposite her actual position. The ad falsely implies Heitkamp wishes the individual mandate (characterized here as “Obamacare’s tax on middle-class families”) were enforced with a larger penalty. In fact, Heitkamp opposes the mandate, and was relaying information from insurance experts who’d told her the size of the mandate penalty would render it ineffective.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “CA-41: Mark Takano”

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s attack on California congressional candidate Mark Takano is premised on two parallel deceptions about taxes. The first is the common Republican claim that ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy will hurt small businesses, an argument that only makes sense if you define some of the biggest corporations and richest athletes in America as “small businesses.” The second is more specific, relying on a misrepresentation of an already-dishonest study of President Obama’s tax proposals.

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U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: “CA-7: Ami Bera”

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce attacks California congressional candidate Ami Bera (D) for supporting the Affordable Care Act, claiming the law “will increase taxes on California families” and “cut $716 billion from Medicare.” But the health care law won’t raise taxes on most Americans, and reduces future Medicare spending without cutting seniors’ current benefits. Moreover, Bera’s opponent, Rep. Dan Lungren (D), voted for the same Medicare savings as part of the GOP budget authored by Rep. Paul Ryan.

Read more after the jump.