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Mitt Romney gave a speech Beallsville, Ohio, this week, and presented an unfortunate attack against President Obama. "How can you go out there and tell people things that just aren't true?" he asked rhetorically. He added, "This is a time for truths."
In context, Romney was referring to Obama's claim that "we're adding jobs in the coal industry." In reality, the nation really is adding jobs in the coal industry -- Romney was looking for an example of the president saying something that "just isn't true," and he pointed to an Obama quote that happened to be accurate, though he told his audience the opposite.
It's hard not to appreciate the ironic circle -- the president said something true, Romney lied when he said the accurate claim is false, and then he complained about falsehoods in the campaign.
I don't know the Republican candidate personally, but from a distance, it appears there's a part of his brain that allows him to create some kind of deliberate blind-spot. It's actually a little scary to think of a leader -- a man who'd be given enormous power and influence, literally making life and death decisions on a regular basis -- who can convince himself that his falsehoods are true, and that others' truths are falsehoods.
But here we are. If this is, as Romney claims, a "time for truths," I can only hope the Republican candidate will take a few moments to consider the 30th installment of my weekly series, chronicling Mitt's mendacity. (This is the biggest list I've ever done.)
1. At an impromptu event in South Carolina yesterday, Romney said on Medicare policy, "Our plan [has] no change for current seniors and those 55 and older."
That's plainly false. Romney's plan eliminates all new benefits for seniors under the Affordable Care Act, which necessarily means higher prescription drug costs for seniors, and more expensive preventive care.
2. At the same event, Romney argued, "Under the president's plan, [Medicare] goes bankrupt... Under the plan I propose, it is solvent."
That's the exact opposite of reality. Obama's policy strengthens Medicare's finances, and under Romney's plan, the system would be closer to insolvency faster.
3. In Chillicothe, Ohio, Romney said that under Obama, "We've got lower economic growth."
Actually, we got higher economic growth.
4. In the same speech, Romney said that under Obama, "We've got higher unemployment."
Actually, we got lower unemployment.
5. He went on to say the annual budget deficit has hit the $1 trillion mark under Obama for the "first time the history of our country."
Not true. The first time in the history of our country that the deficit hit $1 trillion was George W. Bush's last year in office, when the annual shortfall was $1.3 trillion.
6. Romney added that Obama promised "he'd get the unemployment down to under 5.6 percent today if we pass that $1 trillion stimulus package."
That's actually two falsehoods wrapped as one. For one thing, the stimulus wasn't $1 trillion (Romney's off by over $200 billion, and that's real money). For another, that's not what Obama promised.
7. Romney added, "You see unlike President Obama, I won't raise taxes on small business."
Obama has repeatedly cut taxes on small businesses -- by some counts, 18 times -- and if given a second term, his tax plan would have no effect on 97% of small businesses.
8. In an interview with Fortune magazine, Romney said the president's stimulus measures "have not put Americans back to work."
9. In the same interview, Romney said he would create jobs by "taking advantage of America's energy resources, particularly natural gas, as well as coal, oil, nuclear, solar, and wind."
Much of this is contradicted by Romney's own agenda. He opposes the wind production tax credit, no matter how many jobs it costs the nation, and has vowed to cut off investments in renewable energy programs (Romney has said wind and solar do not constitute "real energy.")
10. Romney went on to say, "A nation which is a highly productive nation as we are benefits by trade with others... The Obama administration has negotiated no new [trade] agreements."
Did Romney not hear about the trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea?
11. Romney added, "We have to cut the deficit and get America on track to a balanced budget in order to convince investors that America is a good place to invest long term.... The president has done virtually nothing other than to propose a series of tax increases."
Actually, Obama proposed a massive, $4 trillion "grand bargain," most of which was made up of spending cuts. Congressional Republicans turned it down anyway.
12. Romney also said, "We're at a 30-year low in new business startups."
13. Romney went on to say, "I indicated as I announced my tax plan that the key principles included the following. First, that high-income people would continue to pay the same share of the tax burden that they do today."
At a minimum, this is ridiculously misleading. Under Romney's plan, high-income people would get an enormous tax break.
14. Romney added, "Obamacare is a tax. It's been so determined by the Supreme Court, and it falls predominantly on the middle class."
He's referring to an individual mandate that would apply to 1% of the population. And if President Obama's health care policy "raised taxes on the middle class," then Mitt Romney raised taxes on the middle class.
15. Romney also said, "President Obama raises taxes on the middle class. I will under no circumstances raise taxes on the middle class."
There's overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
16. Romney went on to say, "I will follow a model similar to Simpson-Bowles."
17. Romney also said, "I believe infrastructure is going to see very substantial investments over the coming decade."
He may believe that, but he's also endorsed a budget plan that drastically curtails infrastructure investments.
18. Romney argued, "I believe that you're going to see us having created 12 million new jobs."
If we do nothing, we're on track to create 12 million new American jobs over the next four years anyway.
19. In a televised ad, Romney said Obama "cut $716 billion dollars from Medicare ... to pay for Obamacare."
20. The ad goes on to say, in reference to seniors, "So now the money you paid for your guaranteed healthcare is going to a massive new government program that's not for you."
That's plainly false. Under the Affordable Care Act, seniors pay less for prescription medication and preventive care -- meaning the policy is "for" them, too.
21. At a campaign stop in Ohio, Romney said under Obama we're not "adding jobs in the coal industry" and not "producing more coal."
Romney's lying. In reality, we're adding jobs in the coal industry and producing more coal.
22. Romney said this week that Paul Ryan reached out to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to "co-lead a piece of legislation that makes sure we can save Medicare."
According to Ron Wyden, that's ridiculously untrue.
23. In another attack ad this week, Romney once again accused Obama of "quietly ending work requirements" in the welfare law."
He's still blatantly lying.
24. In Beallsville, Ohio, Romney argued, "President said he'd cut the deficit in half. He's doubled it."
Maybe Romney doesn't know what "double" means. The deficit on Obama's first day was $1.3 trillion. Last year, it was also $1.3 trillion. This year, it's projected to be $1.1 trillion. When he says the president "more than doubled" the deficit, as he has many times, Romney's lying.
25. In the same speech, Romney added that Obama has "raided that [Medicare] trust fund."
Obama has strengthened the Medicare trust fund.
26. Romney went on to call the Affordable Care Act an "unproven federal government takeover to health care."
There is no universe in which this makes sense -- "Obamacare" relies on private insurers, not a government takeover. (Also, it's not "unproven" -- the policy works quite well in, ahem, Massachusetts.)
27. Romney also said, "My number four [goal] is to stop spending massively more than we take in to get America on track to have a balanced budget. And I'll do it."
No you won't.
Romney says his plan "can't be scored," but independent budget analysts have found his agenda would make the deficit bigger, not smaller, and add trillions to the national debt.
28. Romney went on to say, "Seventy-five percent of small businesses in this country surveyed by the Chamber of Commerce said that Obamacare makes it less likely for them to hire people."
The "survey" is a joke. The Chamber, a pro-Republican lobbying institution heavily invested in helping Romney, put up an unscientific online survey. Treating this as a legitimate poll of businesses is fundamentally dishonest.
29. Romney also said, "I'm going to put work back into welfare."
Work hasn't been taken out of welfare.
30. Romney went on to say, "[Obama] said if you have a business, you didn't build that. Someone else did that."
That's not even close to what the president said.
31. At an event in St. Augustine, Florida, Romney said the president "won't want to remind people of Greece because that's where he's taking our country if we don't get off the road we're on."
32. In the same speech Romney said of the president, "He said he'd measure progress also by whether people were able to have a good job that kept them in their home and paid their mortgage. Well, 8.5 million homes foreclosed, a record level, is not success, Mr. President."
Putting aside how dishonest it is for Romney to blame the housing crash on the president, let's also not forget that Romney intends to deliberately avoid any efforts to curtail foreclosures.
33. Romney added, "I'm going to take every government program and apply this test: Is this program so critical it's worth borrowing money from China to pay for it? And if it's not, we'll get rid of it."
This continues to be misleading. The implication here is that U.S. debt is financed by the Chinese, but this isn't true -- China only holds about 8% of the nation's debt.
Previous editions of Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity: Vol. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII,XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX
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I guess it all depends on how you define truth.
http://readlists.com/3bc093f6/
An anthology of all CMM's that can be downloaded as an ebook, or sent to Kindle, iPhone, or iPad. I'm trying to keep this updated. Will post link every week if I remember to update.
I can just see Romney in front of the shareholders of Bain or someother good company he sent under. He is a seasoned liar, he'll look someone straight in the face, in front of God and high Heaven, in full awareness of his lies and false witness, being double-hearted planning to load them with debt and steal their workers pensions. If the American people allow their selves to get duped in this manner, we will rue the day, he'll be worst than Bush. I can see now why some of his contemporaries dislike him, not a little. He'a a used car salesmen extraordinaire, he will sway the fools.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/15/former-obama-campaign-co-chair-to-stump-for-romney/
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=424511300918115&set=a.250830484952865.53354.249903348378912&type=1&theater
What a bunch of whining losers.
I urge everyone to Google or Wiki the term "Lying for the Lord".
It explains the Mormon practice of lying.
http://www.mormonwiki.org/Lying_for_the_Lord
In the book "Under the Banner of Heaven", the author details the Mormon concept of "lying for the Church" - a practice allowed and/or condoned by the LDS leaders. Perhaps he has himself confused with the Church, or even better, with the Almighty himself.
This would explain at least some of his flip-flopping gyrations.
Mike, you want talk about and his Mormon religion. Then let's talk about FRANK MARSHALL DAVIS. How Obama was influenced by card-carrying member of the Communist Party U.S.A, and who all accounts indicate was Barack Obama's closest role model and mentor. And always was under surveillance under the FBI. WOW. Think about this Mike. When you don't own the tool, the tool is less productive. WOW. And thats where Obama socialism begins. Tomorrow you'll live in a clay hut. Now who is really lying.
Wow, I'll bet you think President Obama was born in Kenya and is a secret muslim too! Hmmm, Islam AND Communism?
You still checking under your bed for those "REDS"?
Why don't you stick to the topic instead of trying to throw out dogwhistles, like "clay huts"????
ONCEREPUBLICAN What do you mean stick to the topic. You cronies wrote book staying off topic. Let's talk about Obama transcript to Columbia University. Let's talk about Professor Richard Andrew Cloward a socialist at Columbia University that inspired Obama toward his political views today. How to take down U. S. corps by taxation, which he's trying currently.
Steve and Rachel: Is it LEGAL for Romney to take foreign contributions to his campaign (on Israel and London trips)?
If not, maybe not a "lie" but seems worthy of this list -- and isn't anyone going after this?
Romney's sense of superiority to "us people" makes him think he doesn't need to know or show anything to substantiate what he says (what he's told to say). HE doesn't need to spend time learning what's happening in the world. HE doesn't worry that he has to lie to validate himself and his policies. HE doesn't need to find out for himself if what he's saying is true. HE doesn't need to consider how ordinary Americans live and struggle -- he's way above all that. He's SUPER-SUCCESSFUL, therefore the power should automatically belong to him. I've really come to think he isn't very smart, except when doing deals with his similarly self-anointed cronies. And then there's the Mormon issue -- really scary. Ryan is a brief diversion from the obvious fact that Romney is completely unqualified to be president of our country.
Like Biden said You ahh going back in chains. wow what a cooc!
Romney should be most proud of "his own success in building Bain Capital from scratch into a successful organization with a great reputation that met a significant payroll and provided a service on which the economy absolutely depends." Over 28 years, the firm has boosted income at the companies it backed by $105 billion, creating thousands upon thousands of jobs. To attack Bain, you have to attack all of private equity.
President Obama's arrogance and hypocrisy revealed itself, yet again, when he chastised Congress on its refusal to cut subsidies for Big Oil.
He seems to forget when he went to Brazil and handed a $2 billion subsidy to develop its oil industry,. It was supposed to bring "cheap" oil to the U.S. and lower the prices of domestic fuel.
It did, in fact, help update and develop Brazil's oil refining and exploration capabilities. And China, not the U.S., is buying all of it. It's another failure added to what is getting to be a very long list of them.
From Solyndra, to Fast and Furious, QE1 and QE2, Cash for Clunkers and Obamacare, one has to ask, The $16 trillion debt limit will be reached Sept. 12 of this year, and Congress will raise it again, and the nation's credit rating will take another hit.
.
The price of crude is projected to reach $150 per barrel, which will put gas prices way over $4 a gallon by November. All three will be hot topics in the upcoming election in November.
And they will be counted as this administration's long and continuing list of failures. But the Navy Seals did get Osama bin Laden.
I may be missing something, but has anyone, especially Mitt, explained why he wants to be President? Does he really have a plan and vision for the country, or it because he wants the tile to add to his resume. That would be one better than his Father could do. Unfortunately, as a former supporter of the father, I see no relation other than blood. The moderate and liberal wing of the Republican party which George Romney represented, are today all condemned as traitors by the TEA PARTY and Ultra Right that make up the party today.
Rather than defend the centrist values which his father, Nelson Rockefeller, William Scranton and John Chafee once represented, Mitt has shown himself to be without a center or purpose. WHY DOES MITT WANT TO BE PRESIDENT??????
I'm not even trying to answer that. Other than Romney has a successful track record. Obama - Hu, Chicago organizer with the Democratic socialist Committee. WOW
Obuma has one hell of a track record of success. Say it aint so Joe Biden WOW. For those who only hear about these failing companies one by one, the following is a list of all the clean energy companies supported by President Obama's stimulus that are now failing or have filed for bankruptcy. The liberal media hopes you've forgotten about all of them except Solyndra, but we haven't. Evergreen Solar SpectraWatt Solyndra (received $535 million) Beacon Power (received $43 million) AES' subsidiary Eastern Energy Nevada Geothermal (received $98.5 million) SunPower (received $1.5 billion) First Solar (received $1.46 billion) Babcock & Brown (an Australian company which received $178 million) Ener1 (subsidiary EnerDel received $118.5 million) Amonix (received 5.9 million) The National Renewable Energy Lab Fisker Automotive Abound Solar (received $400 million) Chevy Volt (taxpayers basically own GM) Solar Trust of America A123 Systems (received $279 million) Willard & Kelsey Solar Group (received $6 million) Johnson Controls (received $299 million) Schneider Electric (received $86 million) That's 19 (that we know of so far). We also know that loans went to foreign clean energy companies (Fisker sent money to their overseas plant to develop an electric car), and that 80% of these loans went to President Obama's campaign donors. OH RACHEL, YOU HAVE ANY COMMENT. PROVE ME WRONG!
Isn't there a broadway show tune here? Ironically, it could be a parody from "The Book of Mormon"
"You're making things up again Romney,
Forgetting all that you have done and making fiction
Be careful how you proceed Romney
'Cause a lie is a lie..."
This is the most ridiculous article I have read in a long time. If you are going to contradict quotes and facts by someone you should cite actual facts to back up your contradictions. Simply stating a quote from Romney as untrue with a response of "Oh please" does not make the original quote by Romney false. I would love to see factual evidence of each point in this article presented to prove what you are saying.
I recommend moving your cursor over bolded underlined words and clicking. It will take you to the supporting evidence to support what's being said. That's the standard today. Wikipedia does that as well, with numbered foot notes for references and sources.
Here is another good place to check facts: http://factcheck.org/2012/08/ryans-vp-spin/
I did on one. It took me to no supporting evidence at all. In fact, it wasn't even related to what Romney said. How can anyone get indignant about Romney lying if they're going to lie themselves?
There are links under links to his already posted articles. If someone is actually curious. You might have to lift the hood, find the oil dipstick and take a look.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/congressional-budget-office-defends-stimulus/2012/06/06/gJQAnFnjJV_story.html
It's really easy to just repeat things. But will we accept or will we search, or just nod and say that Obama caused all my problems. What about all that self reliance?
Rmoney just keeps saying he knows what to do, but I can't tell you about it. People say OK, well if you need your taxes lowered again to get us out of debt, we can go ahead and cut Medicare and Social Security. I think that is not going to fly.
And as to #70, under the links we find the data, graphs showing unemployment numbers going down:
Under arguing emphatically follow along… if you really want to find the answers.
My concern has always been that in past Presidents, all were treated with respect and were actually acknowledged as President Johnson, President Bush. So why is it so hard to acknowledge President Obama by his proper title? All I hear is Obama not President Obama or his wife as Michelle not as the First Lady. So what's wrong with this picture?
Uh, people called Bush "the shrub". That's real respectful.
"4. In the same speech, Romney said that under Obama, "We've got higher unemployment."
Actually, we got lower unemployment."
You link me to a chart about monthly job creation to prove we have lower unemployment?? How about, say, linking to the actual unemployment rate, which has been higher every month under Obama than any month during Bush. So Romney wasn't lying at all about this, and this is just the first fact I bothered to check.
It sounds terrible when the Romney campaign says they're not going to be run by fact checkers, but when you see the fact checkers are lying themselves, I can kind of see their point.
Most of this I have no problem with. But I will take issue with one item. You state:
14. Romney added, "Obamacare is a tax. It's been so determined by the Supreme Court, and it falls predominantly on the middle class."
He's referring to an individual mandate that would apply to 1% of the population. And if President Obama's health care policy "raised taxes on the middle class," then Mitt Romney raised taxes on the middle class.
This is NOT a valid attack. First, the Supreme Court held that the only way the health care act's individual mandate was legal was under the "taxation power". Thus, by definition, at a minimum the imposition of a requirement that you either buy insurance or pay a fine is, in effect a tax. I do not say this is right or wrong-but I do take issue with your calling it a lie.
Second, you've pulled a bait and switch. "If it is a tax then Romney raised taxes" doesn't make Romeny's statement that the health care overhaul is a tax a lie. It would make any claims he makes about not increasing taxes a lie-but it would NOT make a statement that the health care overhaul is a tax a lie. Poor logic there on your part.
Lastly-you have no real citation to support your "1 percent" claim. In fact the mandate impacts EVERYONE in one way or another-and will likely require far MORE than 1 percent to buy insurance given that we currently have over 40 million uninsured people in this country (that's more than 1 percent by the way). If you're going to attack someone for lying, try not lying yourself.
Romney's mental disorder is one for the mental health books. He is an incorrigible liar and it all stems from his cult religion that encourages lying to Infidels for the Church's agenda. http://www.mormonthink.com/lying.htm Romney also brought up that his 5 military avoiding Sons are Liars. Wonder where they picked up those traits?
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