September 2009
73 posts
Steny Hoyer: "House Republicans pledged to... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Hoyer claims Republicans have no health care alternative
No matter which party controls Congress, its leaders usually refer to the opposition as “the party of…
Republican National Committee: Barack Obama and... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Health reform includes a tax penalty if you don’t have insurance
The Republican National Committee launched a new ad attacking health care reform as a big tax…
Chain e-mail: "For the first time in history, the... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Pants on Fire! | E-mail claims Democratic Congress to blame for no COLA increase in Social Security
So every year you’ve gotten a little bump in your Social Security check…
'Hooray, Mr. President! We honor your great... →
When we first saw a copy of the now-viral video of young school kids singing the praises of President Barack Obama on Sept. 24 (“Hooray, Mr. President, we honor your great plans/To make this…
Sean Hannity: The Obama administration is "cutting... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Hannity says Obama is “cutting back on defense”
During an interview with Sen. John McCain, Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity closed by asking the former…
Michael Moore: Goldman Sachs was Barack Obama's... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Barack Obama got many campaign contributions from Goldman Sachs
Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore has a new film coming out — Capitalism: A Love Story — and he…
Michael Steele: In a now-viral video,... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | GOP claims video shows public B. Bernice Young Elementary School students made to sing about Obama
When we first saw a copy of the now-viral video of young school…
A PolitiFact contest: Name that health plan! →
Quick! What’s the name of President Barack Obama’s health care plan? We can’t remember, either. We seem to recall “health” and “choice” is in the title, but we’re not sure. We were reminded of this…
A flurry of flip-flops →
We’ve never put an entire legislature to the Flip-O-Meter before. But the recent move by the Massachusetts legislature in filling the seat held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy was too bold to pass…
Sean Hannity: "Our own National Security Agency... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Hannity says U.S. is reducing its nuclear arsenal
It’s no secret that conservative talk show host Sean Hannity has issues with the Obama administration’s…
Barack Obama: "Medicare does just as good, if not... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | No difference between Medicare and Medicare Advantage? Maybe
President Obama defended plans to cut funding for a program called Medicare Advantage in an…
Tim Pawlenty: On a cap-and-trade plan. →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Full Flop | Pawlenty changes course on cap-and-trade
He hasn’t made it official yet, but it seems everything Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty does these days points to a White…
Massachusetts legislature: On whether the... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Full Flop | Massachusetts legislature flip-flops on governor’s senatorial appointment power
We’ve never put an entire legislature to the Flip-O-Meter before. But the recent…
Promises, promises →
It’s been a summer of exaggerations and falsehoods in the health care debate. If you’ve been following PolitiFact, it probably seemed like all the action was on the Truth-O-Meter. But we’ve also been…
Show 160 - Frozen Shoulder Federalism →
Is the United States breaking up? Dan reads a Pat Buchanan commentary that poses that question, so Dan talks about it. Also: Dan extols the virtues of citizen journalism in the wake of the “Acorn”…
Barack Obama: On whether he would put a missile... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half Flip | Did Obama flip on whether he would continue to pursue a missile shield in Poland?
When President Obama announced on Sept. 17, 2009, that he had decided to scrap…
Bruce Braley: "Recent census data shows that the... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Iowa Democrat says families spend $13,000 a year for health coverage
One of the biggest skirmishes in the health care debate has been over how much ordinary…
Barack Obama: "FDR was called a socialist and a... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Obama right that Roosevelt was called a socialist and a communist
Sound familiar? The president was accused of being “a socialist, not a Democrat.” His plan was…
Who you calling a socialist? →
Sound familiar? The president was accused of being “a socialist, not a Democrat.” His plan was described as “undisguised state socialism.” One critic, who controlled some powerful media outlets,…
National Right to Life Committee: The Baucus bill... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | National Right to Life Committee says Baucus bill would permit federal subsidies to go to insurance plans that cover abortions
With the recent release of the Senate…
Michelle Obama: "In some states, it is still legal... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Michelle Obama claims that domestic violence counts as a pre-exisiting condition in some states
In his effort to pass a health care overhaul, President Barack Obama…
National Right to Life Committee: "Under the... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | National Right to Life Committee claims under Baucus bill, federal funds would subsidize abortions In his plan for health care reform, Senate Finance Chairman Max…
Abortion and the Baucus health care bill →
In his long-anticipated plan for health care reform, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus hoped to eliminate abortion as a wedge issue. “This is a health care bill, not an abortion bill,” Baucus,…
Barack Obama: "Mathematically, the White Sox can... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Obama says White Sox can still make the playoffs
At the conclusion of a wide-ranging interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, President Barack Obama said he was holding out…
Barack Obama: Families are paying $900, on... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Cost-shifting of uninsured is debated by the experts
President Barack Obama went on the Sunday news shows to make the case for health reform. This Week host…
On Sunday shows, reruns →
On the Sunday talk shows, President Obama did the political equivalent of hitting for the cycle, appearing on shows on four English-language networks, plus Spanish-language Univision. Each was taped…
Health care reform group is wrong again →
Earlier this week we examined a new ad by Health Care for America Now, a group supporting the Democrats’ reform plan. The ad earned a Barely True for its claim that insurance companies pay CEOs $24…
Karl Rove: Obama used to be a lawyer for ACORN. →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Rove claims Obama used to be a lawyer for ACORN
It has not been a good week for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, better known by its…
Keith Olbermann: For middle-class families under... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Olbermann glosses over detail on the Baucus plan
When it comes to health reform, all eyes have been watching the powerful Senate Finance Committee. The committee…
Health Care for America Now: Health insurance... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | TV ad overstates health insurance denials
Supporters of health care reform have portrayed insurance companies as insensitive and too quick to deny claims. In a…
Barack Obama: Insurers delayed an Illinois man's... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Obama says decision to revoke insurance led to Illinois man’s death
To show that insurance companies can be callous, President Barack Obama recently cited the case…
Lamar Alexander: The Obama administration's... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Alexander claims that cap-and-trade will cost consumer $1,761 a year
It’s hard to keep track of all those estimates about how much a cap-and-trade bill would cost…
Obama wrong that insurance delay caused death →
To show that insurance companies can be callous, President Barack Obama recently cited the case of an Illinois man that Obama said had died because of an insurer’s decision.”More and more Americans…
Tom Price: "Medicare began as a public option... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Medicare’s history as public option
Rep. Tom Price of Georgia sent a letter to doctors in September 2009 urging them to oppose Democratic initiatives on health…
Health Care for America Now: Health insurance... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Barely True | Health care advocacy group blasts insurers for CEO pay packages
Supporters of health care reform have portrayed insurance company CEOs as overpaid villains. In…
Health care group exaggerates CEO pay →
Supporters of health care reform have portrayed insurance company CEOs as overpaid villains. In a recent television ad, Health Care for America Now, a group supporting the Democrats’ health care…
Thomas Sowell: The Obama administration "was... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Sowell claims stimulus was rushed through Congress in two days
In a recent column in Investor’s Business Daily, economist and political commentator Thomas Sowell…
Howard Dean: "Every other democracy in the world... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Dean says U.S. is only democracy without universal health care
Supporters of health care reform have often said health coverage in the United States lags behind…
Singer is pretty much right that U.S. ranks 37th →
With biting sarcasm, singer Paul Hipp says the United States should be proud of its global ranking on health care. “We’re No. 37!” he sings in a new YouTube video that was released Sept. 9, 2009. …
Bloggers: Photo of "tea party" protests shows... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Pants on Fire! | Bloggers claim photo shows millions at “tea party” protest
In the competitive world of Washington protests, crowd size is often a matter of dispute….
Paul Hipp: The U.S. ranks 37th in the world for... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Rocker in viral video mocks U.S. for 37th-best health care in world
With biting sarcasm, singer Paul Hipp says the United States should be proud of its global…
"Tea party" photo shows huge crowd -- at different... →
Over the weekend, conservatives enthusiastically passed around a photo they said showed a huge crowd protesting President Barack Obama’s policies during the “tea party” protest on Sept. 12, 2009….
Yes, more bureaucracy; but how to measure it? →
In the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s address on health care before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9, 2009, U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., a heart surgeon by profession,…
John Boehner: As a candidate, President Obama... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Boehner says abortion access was always a key goal for Obama health plan
To build opposition to the health care bill, Republicans have been saying it would expand…
Chain e-mail: A new bill "was written into the... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | ‘$64,000 question’ e-mail says Congress is exempt from health reform. They’re not. A chain e-mail claims that Congress has exempted itself from health care reform….
Charles Boustany: The Democratic health care bill... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Barely True | Boustany and other Republicans say health care plan would create 53 new government bureaucracies
In the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s address…
Illegal immigrants and health care, Part 2 →
The issue that drove Rep. Joe Wilson to become a heckler during President Barack Obama’s health care address on Sept. 9, 2009, was the question of whether illegal immigrants would receive coverage…
Joe Wilson: "You lie!" (in response to... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Joe Wilson of South Carolina said Obama lied, but he didn’t
We suspect it’s rare that the president gets heckled during a speech to a joint session of Congress, but…
Barack Obama: "It’s a plan that... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Barely True | Obama says health plan incorporates the ideas of Democrats and Republicans
In his address on health care to a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9, 2009,…
House Republican Conference: "Nothing in any of... →
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | House Republicans back up heckler, saying health bill wouldn’t check who’s illegal
The issue that drove Rep. Joe Wilson to become a heckler during President…