The $716B Medicare Lie

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Karl Rove repeats ‘The Medicare Lie’ against Rep. Ami Bera, this time with a new twist

After months of wielding ‘The Medicare Lie’—debunked time and again by Politifact and others—Karl Rove and his shadowy PAC American Crossroads decided to apply a new twist to their lying about Medicare. They figured with less than a week before the election, maybe nobody would notice. But of course, Politifact was on the case, quickly declaring the baseless ad as “False.” 

So what’s the new lie? In it, Rove claims that Obamacare will cut $1700 from Medicare benefits for seniors in California. The ad is being run against Rep. Ami Bera, a doctor and past Chief Medical Officer for Sacramento County. Not exactly the kind of guy trying to stick seniors out in the cold.

Along with the new lie, they also stuck to their greatest hit, again claiming that because Bera voted NOT TO REPEAL Obamacare, he was responsible for over $700 billion in cuts to Medicare. This is THE Medicare lie. It has been dismantled, deconstructed and disproven more times than we can count. But that doesn’t stop Karl from dropping it again and again. And again. And again.

Now here is the real kicker: Bera doesn’t want to destroy Medicare. His opponent Doug Ose DOES. As does Karl Rove himself. Both are big supports of Rep. Paul Ryan, whose budget aims to voucherize Medicare. 

The next time Karl Rove puts an ad on TV, let’s all just assume that whatever he is saying is completely backwards and do the opposite of whatever he is asking. Poor Politifact just can’t keep up with his nonsense.

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Bob Dold using ‘The Medicare Lie’ against his Rep. Brad Schneider

Illinois Rep. Brad Schneider is under attack from his opponent Bob Dold for supporting Obamacare and thus voting for massive cuts to Medicare. Of course this isn’t true, Politifact has said so dozens of times. Schneider supports Obamacare because the people of Illinois, and America, are better off when they have access to affordable and quality healthcare. 

So Schneider doesn’t want to cut Medicare. But what about his opponent? Dold has voted for Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget on several occasions, the same budget that seeks to voucherize Medicare. And Dold recently welcomed Ryan to Chicago to help him raise money for his campaign.

If Dold wants a real debate on the issues, fine. But lying about your opponent doing something that you yourself actually support—well that is a perfect example of what we call ‘The Medicare Lie.’ Knock it off. 

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NRCC levels 'The Medicare Lie' against Rob Barber - Again!

It’s been over a month since the NRCC leveled ‘The Medicare Lie’ against Arizona Rep. Ron Barber, so they figured it was time to brush it off and cut a new disingenuous ad. In it, they repeat the same bogus lie—debunked time and again by Politifact and others—that because Barber supports Obamacare he voted for massive cuts to Medicare. We covered this lie the last time they ran it; we’ll cover it again the next time they run it.

Quick reminder: while the idea that Barber wants to cut Medicare is nonsense, his opponent Martha McSally has taken money from Rep. Paul Ryan and supports his budget which aims to voucherize Medicare. 

It’s pretty clear that if voters are looking to defend Medicare and affordable access to healthcare for all, they should support Barber over McSally and her dubious allies at the NRCC.

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A Republican is using ‘The Medicare Lie’ against Rep. Bill Enyart. Should we even feign surprise?

Mike Bost is running against Democratic Rep. Bill Enyart of Illinois. This week he released an ad claiming that Enyart stands with President Obama and that together they have “slashed benefits for seniors.” Those benefits he’s talking about? That’s part of ‘The Medicare Lie.’ You know the one. Enyart believes that all Americans should have access to affordable healthcare, so he supports Obamacare. Obamacare is funded in part by slashing Medicare. So Enyart supports slashing benefits for seniors. But wait, that doesn’t sound right. And it’s not. He does support Obamacare, but Obamacare does not slash benefits for seniors. Politifact says so repeatedly. 

Bost lying about Enyart is bad enough. But if you’ve been following ‘The Medicare Lie,’ you know what’s coming next. And here it is:

Bost himself, after ducking the issue for months, eventually came out in support of Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget. What does Ryan’s budget do? Well, it aims to voucherize Medicare, ending the program as we know it.

So the next time you hear Mike Bost talk about someone slashing benefits for seniors, let’s just assume he’s talking about himself. 

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The NRCC wants to voucherize Medicare; Says Rep. Dan Maffei is bad for Medicare. He's not!

Here they go again. The NRCC is leveling ‘The Medicare Lie’ against New York Rep. Dan Maffei. They claim that he because he supports Obamacare, he therefore supports huge cuts to Medicare. The cuts don’t exist. Politifact has said so. Dozens of times. 

So the NRCC is lying, saying that Maffei wants to destroy Medicare. What do they think about Medicare though? Interesting question. Rep. Paul Ryan proposed a budget that cuts taxes for the rich and social services for the poor. One of his ideas to cut spending was to voucherize Medicare. What does the NRCC think about this proposal? They have a page on their site that asks if Paul Ryan’s budget will “Balance America.” Their answer is a resounding: YES.

Maybe it’s time the NRCC started taking out ads against themselves, warning of the harm they hope to inflict on this vital American program. That would be an ad worth watching. 

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How many scruples does the NRSC have? Apparently 'Nunn' at all.

The NRSC is at it again, claiming that because Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn supports Obamacare, it means she supports massive Medicare cuts. Politifact can’t fact check this ridiculous lie fast enough to keep up with the Republicans, who apparently have no shame; and no qualms repeating this awful lie that has been debunked literally dozens of times by bipartisan factcheckers.

Let’s make sure that the NRSC knows that when it comes to their Medicare lies, we don’t want Nunn!

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Bruce Westerman lies about James Lee Witt wanting to cut Medicare, which Westerman aims to do!

James Lee Witt is running for congress in Arkansas. This week, he released an ad called “Bipartisan,” talking about his desire to make a better Arkansas, and a better America, as well as his willingness to work with people across the aisle to get things accomplished. In the ad, he responds to ‘The Medicare Lie,” promising that he doesn’t seek to cut Medicare. The next day, his opponent Bruce Westerman posted a misleading post on his website claiming that because Witt supports Obamacare, he is therefore n favor of hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare. That’s what we call ‘The Medicare Lie’ because of course it isn’t true. Politifact says so. 

Westerman lying about Witt is annoying, but it’s not surprising. Here’s what is surprising: Westerman actually DOES want to end Medicare as we know it. He not only supports Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget, which aims to voucherize Medicare, he went so far as to specifically praise Ryan’s plan to end the Medicare guarantee!

Which one of these two candidates sounds like he actually has the best interest of Arkansans and  Americans at heart? Witt supports America’s seniors; Westerman doesn’t—but he is happy to wield ‘The Medicare Lie’ to trick you into voting for him anyway.

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NRSC invokes ‘The Medicare Lie’ against Rick Weiland—Alas, if repetition made it so!

The NRSC is running an attack ad against South Dakota Senate candidate Rick Weiland. In it, they invoke the Medicare Lie, claiming that because he supports Obamacare—and therefore accessible and affordable healthcare for all South Dakotans and all Americans—he wants to cut Medicare by $700 billion. Politifact alone has debunked this vicious lie almost fifty times! Several of those fact checks were targeted specifically at the NRSC for using this lame old lie. Apparently, the truth is not a factor for them, when running such baseless ads.

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Crossroads GPS lies about Sen. Mary Landrieu...For the third week in a row!

Two weeks ago, Crossroads GPS released an ad lying about Sen. Mary Landrieu voting for Obamacare, and thus cutting Medicare by hundreds of billions of dollars. Wasn’t true then. A week ago, they released another ad, using the same ridiculous lie. Still wasn’t true. This week, they released ANOTHER AD using the same old Medicare lie.

What is going on at Crossroads GPS? They are the ones seeking to end Medicare as we know it; not Sen. Landrieu. Guess we’ll plan to see you here next week when they post yet another baseless lie against a hardworking senator.

Wish we could except more from Crossroads, but that would just be silly. This is after all a group formed by President Bush’s own: Karl Rove. 

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Crossroads GPS levels “The Medicare Lie” against Sen. Kay Hagan...Again!

A few weeks ago, Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS released an ad claiming that Sen. Kay Hagan wanted to gut Medicare. It wasn’t true. Now they’ve released two more, making the same ridiculous claim. Guess what? It’s still not true!

You know what is true? Karl Rove still supports Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget, which would voucherize Medicare and thus end the program as we know it! Is this guy for real?

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American Crossroads claims that Patrick Henry Hays is in a haze, as they repeat the lie that will not die

Americans Crossroads is running an ad against Arkansas congressional candidate Patrick Henry Hays, saying that he refuses to support the repeal of Obamacare, “even though Obamacare will cut Medicare in Arkansas by more that $5 billion.” Politifact doesn’t agree. Nor does Arkansas, who now leads the county in reducing the number of its citizens who are uninsured!

And what of Hays republican opponent, French Hill? Well he has been heavily backed by Rep. Paul Ryan, who introduced a budget that would have voucherized Medicare. And American Crossroads, who’s running the ad? They are run by Karl Rove, who supports Ryan’s Medicare-killing budget!

American Crossroads must be in a haze to think that using an oft-disputed lie is going to convince Arkansans to vote against their own interests. But what more could we except from a group founded by Karl Rove.

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The NRCC levels ‘The Medicare Lie’ against Rep. Nick Rahall...Again!

A month ago, the NRCC released an ad attacking West Virginia Rep. Nick Rahall. In it, they claimed that he supported Obamacare, thus cutting Medicare by $700 billion. We covered the lie then. Apparently, the NRCC wasn’t paying attention, because they are using the lie—AGAIN —n another attack against Rahall.

His opponent, Evan Jenkins, has taken thousands of dollars from Rep. Paul Ryan. That is the same Paul Ryan who proposed a budget that aims to voucherize Medicare for seniors. The NRCC need to learn that repeating a lie—no matter how often—will never make it true.

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The Congressional Leadership Fund felt left out—Joins the chorus with another round of ‘The Medicare Lie’

The NRCC has been running ads for a while now about Gwen Graham, saying that she supports Obamacare, even though it cuts Medicare by hundreds of billions of dollars. Now the Congressional Leadership Fund has jumped in, using the same tired—and dishonest—argument. It wasn’t true when the NRCC said it, and it’s not true now that the CLF is saying it. But it’s all okay as long as the CLF is no longer feeling left out.

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The NRCC shamelessly repeats the Medicare Lie against Rep. Joe Garcia

The NRCC is at it again, repeating the Medicare Lie, despite endless “Mostly False” and “Pants on Fire” ratings from Politifact and others. Now they have released an ad against Florida Rep. Joe Garcia  saying that he “supported Obamacare, cutting $700 billion from Medicare.” Has the NRCC no shame—recycling a lie that has been refuted time and again?

And then we look at Garcia’s opponent, Carlos Curbelo. Not only does he support Rep. Paul Ryan’s radical budget, which aims to voucherize Medicare—and thus truly hurt America's seniors—he openly admitted that he was supporting Ryan's disastrous budget without even reading it! Is that the kind of leader that Florida can trust?

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The NRCC says they offered Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick a second chance, as they recycle ‘The Medicare Lie.’

The NRCC has a new ad out attacking Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. In it, they claim that “we gave Ann Kirkpatrick a second chance; she wasted it: voting with Pelosi to cut Medicare by over $700 billion.” The problem is, they are lying. And they know it. Politifact has gone after this lie literally dozens of times, but apparently the NRCC isn't about to let the truth get in the way of a good story. 

When her opponent, Andy Tobin, was asked his thoughts on Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget—which aims to voucherize Medicare—he refused to answer. Maybe we should give give Tobin a second chance to clarify his real thoughts on Medicare before listening to lies from the NRCC about Rep. Kirkpatrick. 

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Sen. Mark Pryor stands with seniors, no matter how many times Crossroads GPS says otherwise

In the last two weeks, Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS has run two ads against Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, each claiming that by voting for Obamacare, he was supporting massive cuts to Medicare. Politifact has ruled repeatedly that this is not the case, and Crossroads GPS knows it. Yet they run these ads anyway, again and again. 

Pryor’s opponent, Rep. Tom Cotton, voted for Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget, which aims to voucherize Medicare. Know who else supporter the Ryan budget, which would have ended Medicare as we know it? Crossroads GPS!

In both of these deceptive ads, Crossroads GPS says that it’s time to “retire Mark Pryor.” Instead, let’s be sure that we “rehire Mark Pryor.” He stands for Arkansans—and Americans—of every age. 

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NRCC Repeats Oft-Disputed Medicare Lie Against Rep. Dan Maffei

The NRCC really loves talking about how Obamacare cuts Medicare for seniors. Despite numerous ratings on Politifact of "Mostly False," "False," and "Pants on Fire," this is a lie that simply will not die. After countless false attacks, they are now leveling it at NY Rep. Dan Maffei, saying that he "still supports Obamacare, cutting Medicare for seniors." Obamacare doesn't cut care for seniors, it expands care for all. Maffei serves New Yorkers—and all Americans—well by continuing his support for Obamacare. His opponent John Katko on the other hand, refuses to say whether or not he would have voted for Rep. Paul Ryan's budget, which seeks to voucherize Medicare. Seems like an easy question. "Mr. Katko, you are running for Congress. Would you support a budget that ends Medicare as we know it?" "I prefer not to say. But I'm counting on your support come November." America's seniors stand with leaders who stand with America's seniors. Maffei supports healthcare while Katko remains silent. The choice seems pretty clear.