The truth was apparently for sale last night at the first presidential debate — and its major supplier? You guessed it! Mitt Romney. We might be used to politicians bending the truth at times, but during last night’s debate between Romney and President Obama, Romney took truth-bending to a whole new level. Slick Mitt served up a fair share of misinformation, but at times he told flat-out lies. Tonight we’re dissecting Romney’s biggest fabrications.
#1: TAXES
“Look, I’m not looking to cut massive taxes and to reduce the revenues going to the government. My No. 1 principle is, there’ll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit.“
One of Romney’s campaign promises has been to “cut taxes across the board” and simultaneously reform the tax code in a way that won’t increase the national deficit. But close examination of his tax plan shows that this is simply not possible. American families who make more than $200,000 a year would see a tax cut. But for the other 95 percent of Americans, taxes would have to increase. There simply aren’t enough deductions from upper-income tax brackets to accomplish his plans to cut back on the deficit any other way.
#2: MEDICARE
“… on Medicare for current retirees, (Obama) is cutting $716 billion from the program.”
Untrue. What Obamacare does do is alter the health care law in an effort to bring down the costs of the program. And these cost-cutting measures are aimed at insurance companies and at hospitals, not at individuals.
#3: PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS
“Pre-existing conditions are covered under my plan.”
Etch A Sketch Mitt has bounced all over on this one. Previously, he has said that only those who are continuously covered by insurance will have their pre-existing conditions insured. Romney has promised that if elected, he will repeal Obamacare and allow insurers to deny coverage to millions of Americans.
But during the debate, he claimed that he would keep the pre-existing coverage. His campaign clarified that what he meant was “… for those with continuous coverage, he would continue to make sure that they receive their coverage.”
#4: ENERGY
“I think about half of … the [green firms Obama invested in] have … gone out of business.”
Of the 26 clean energy companies that received funding through the Department of Energy loan guarantee program, only three have gone bankrupt: Solyndra, Abound Solar and Beacon Power. A far cry from half. And though those losses total about $600 million, Congress set aside $2.3 billion to cover any defaults. Twenty-three successes out of 26 is a record that would be touted in the private sector. And yet despite these companies growing the number of jobs in solar and wind technologies and achieving better fuel economy standards, Romney is still clinging to public failures to sway opinions.
#5: OUTSOURCING
“What we do have right now is a setting where I’d like to bring money from overseas back to this country.”
In reality, the plan former Governor Romney has proposed actually incentivizes outsourcing by making the off-shore profits of U.S. companies exempt from taxes. This would not only encourage companies to send jobs abroad, but would effectively reward companies that have already done their share of outsourcing already. Of course, Romney knows all about outsourcing from his days with Bain Capital. The private equity firm he founded has been called one of the “pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United States to overseas call centers and factories.”
#6: DEFICIT
“I’m sorry, Jim, I’m going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I’m going to stop other things. I like PBS, I love Big Bird. Actually like you too.”
Romney supports phasing out federal funding for entities like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts. This tweet from Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astronomer with the American Museum of Natural History, points out the absurdity behind this “cost-saving” strategy.
Remember to mark your calendars for the rest of the October presidential matchups and make Current TV your debate destination!
• Oct. 11, the VP debate between incumbent Vice President Joe Biden and his GOP challenger, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin
• Oct. 16, a “town hall” style debate, covering foreign and domestic issues
• Oct. 22, the final presidential matchup, focusing on foreign affairs
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