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Subscribe to RSSWhile Mitt Romney attacked President Obama on the economy and taxes, he touted his own record as governor of Massachusetts on fiscal issues and education. But an examination of his record reveals some of his claims are either inaccurate or, especially on the state’s finances, although linguistically correct, conceal subtle manipulations.
First Read examined five claims Romney made during his speech in the New Hampshire seacoast town of Stratham:
1. Did President Obama raise taxes on corporations?
2. Did Romney really not raise taxes?
3. Did Romney balance the budget every time?
4. Did he cut taxes 19 times?
5. Did Romney keep Massachusetts schools first among all 50 states?
1. Did President Obama raise taxes on corporations?
Romney said Thursday of President Obama, "Instead of encouraging entrepreneurs and employers, he raise[d] their taxes."
In fact, President Obama has not raised taxes on corporations during his three years in office.
"This seems like it is grasping at straws," Bill Smith, managing director of CBIZ's National Tax Office said.
Smith, who has 30-plus years of tax experience, noted that Obama has not increased the tax rate on corporations. He pointed out, in fact, that it was well covered back in December when Obama helped temporarily extend the Bush tax cuts. Smith highlighted a few provisions in the Tax Relief Act that Romney might have been talking about when he said Obama raised taxes on entrepreneurs.
The act did reinstate the estate tax, which had been repealed completely by the Bush tax cuts in 2001. This has an impact on some entrepreneurs and small business owners whose estates are worth more than $5 million, Smith said.
The other item Smith pointed to is part of President Obama's economic stimulus, a tax provision known as "net operating loss carryback." Carryback is exactly what it sounds like. It allows businesses in the red to "carryback" their losses and ask the IRS to refund them for any taxes they paid over the last five years. When the extension of the Bush tax cuts passed, carryback was tightened so only small businesses could ask for tax refunds for the last two years.
2. Did Romney really not raise taxes?
While Romney was technically correct when he said he did not raise taxes, he is responsible for the largest hike in fees in the state's history.
"There is a difference between fees and taxes," contended Noah Berger, president of the non-partisan Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. "But Romney was responsible for the largest raise of fees in our state's history."
The head of the center since 2003, Berger said the difference between fees and taxes is that fees are usually charged for a specific service. Taxes, on the other hand, go into general cost.
Budget documents show Romney raised more than $501 million from fee hikes and closing a business tax loophole in 2004 alone. Romney claimed on the campaign trail in 2008 the fee hikes netted around $260 million over his four years as governor. But the center’s analyses of the state’s 2004 budget show Massachusetts collected $331 million in fees alone after increasing those paid by people like gun owners, used-car buyers, the blind, and small business owners.
By the same logic Romney used in claiming President Obama raised taxes, Berger says it's possible to consider the $181 million in "loophole" closings Romney authorized in 2004 and 2005 as tax increases on businesses.
3. Did Romney balance the budget every time?
As governor, Romney did balance every budget, but only by dipping into the state’s rainy-day fund early and often. He also fell far short of restoring “a $2 billion rainy day fund," as he claimed.
While state-finance law allows the use of rainy-day money to balance the budget, and Berger admits it’s not unusual for governors to do so during recessions, the same budget analyses by budget and policy center show Romney dipped into rainy-day funds routinely. He also co-opted money from funding pools set aside for Medicare assistance, infrastructure projects, and tobacco settlements.
In 2007 alone, Romney's budget relied on $600 million from the stabilization fund. The center’s documents also show during his four-year governorship, Romney diverted more than $1.5 billion in revenue from other sources to help balance the budget despite record growth in tax revenues.
According to the Massachusetts state comptroller's office, Romney left office with a $594.4 million surplus, well short of the $2 billion rainy-day fund figure he claimed.
4. Did he cut taxes 19 times?
According a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Romney did, in fact, cut taxes 19 times. (But see above about fees.)
5. Did Romney keep Massachusetts schools first among all 50 states?
Romney was correct, when he said Massachusetts schools were "first among all 50 states" during his tenure. But, as a statistician at the National Center for Education Statistics told First Read, the statistical difference between Massachusetts test scores and those of its closest competitors falls within the margin of error.
"Although Massachusetts was numerically first in all those years, these rankings do not reflect statistically significant differences,” said Arnold Goldstein, the NECS statistician.
Massachusetts finished first in NCES's educational rankings in both 2005 and 2007, statistically tying six other states. Under Romney's watch, Massachusetts students’ test scores improved, especially in fourth-grade math -- where they jumped from sixth to first in the nation.
Educational success in Massachusetts isn't new. According to Goldstein, Massachusetts has been at or near the top of the NCES school rankings since Democrat Michael Dukakis occupied the statehouse. Still, Romney’s claim in that case was correct.
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I don't know about Mittens but, did anyone else catch Rick 'frothy' Santorum's speech!
The tea baggers were positively swooning...
PS: Did lil Ricky REALLY say this country was BETTER off prior to 1965?
Yup! They want their country back alright - to the days before the Civil Rights laws!
Feisty Redhead Roselle, IL
I don't know about Mittens but, did anyone else catch Rick 'frothy' Santorum's speech!
The tea baggers were positively swooning...
T-baggers could get dizzier? Don't you just love the sounds of chickens trying to flap their wings and fly when they 're happy. Just wait until Sarah starts cackling.
PS: Did lil Ricky REALLY say this country was BETTER off prior to 1965?
Yup! They want their country back alright - to the days before the Civil Rights laws!
Newt Gringrich would disagree.
Fiesty, Newt Gingrich said 2012 election most important since 1860.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/40842
For those of us that can read, it looks like Mitt was technically correct on 4 out of 5, which ain't bad for a politician. Don't know why he said Obama raised taxes on corporations. Obama certainly wanted to raise taxes on corporations and "the rich". After he lost the house last year, he could not do it.
The problem with "Fact Checkers" is the the fact checkers are frequently just as full of bias, doublespeak and misdirection as the politicians they are allegedly fact checking. This article clearly proves my point.
where does it state anything about Santorum in this article?
Romney vs Obama in 2012
Did you two tie the knot?
First Read continues to be the swamp... actually I take that back, swamps are nice at times... it's more like the landfill of MSN's website for not only overwhelming displays of bias from its correspondents, authors, and editors... but for the persistent group of people who desire to trumpet their party line. Here we have the infamous Fiesty dropping all sense and reasoning, any desire to actually carry a discussion or conversation and instead has taken to spewing forth half truthes, lies, misperceptions, assumptions, etc. Glorious...
Nevermind that while MSN wants to cut hairs regarding Romney's claims while ignoring Obama's... Nevermind them ignoring the benefit to creating fees versus taxes, and never mind that Obama's policies have created fees and the same affect that they would brandish Romney with. Nevermind presenting the full picture and all sides of the coin...
In fact... nevermind with typing anymore about the perpetual love affair between the media and Obama. It's a damn shame you peope can't drop the party line, but I guess somewhere in your minds loyalty to your government and faith in it is what makes you a patriot when the founding fathers and the ideals of the nation were forged from quite the opposite.
Yep, Obamacare did not raise taxes on those earning below 250K it just raised a large number of fees, medical device makers, tanning salons etc. So the President can claim that he did not raise taxes on those earning less than 250K.
Gary,
I completely agree with you. But, did Obama really raise taxes? I say yes. His health care plan will impose a penalty tax on those companies that do not provide a certain level of healthcare benefits to their employees. Didn't he also raise taxes on tanning salons (some of which are corporations)?
What would be really nice is to see First Read FACTCHECK each one of Obama's fairy tale/speeches. He drifts outside of the truth early and often.
Of course they would have to likely double the staff as Obama won't shut up for 2 seconds, but the tales Obama tells could fill volumes.
Go to the fact check sites, you will see speeches from Obama. factcheck.org
Go to politifact.com and you will see how many times republicans (a lot of those are Palin) are PANTS ON FIRE liars with their statements.
Here are a couple of simple facts that would make me vote for a candidate.
1. The candidate says that our massively bloated military will have to be drastically reduced and we will save a ton of money that way.
2. He says deal with it Americans you will have to pay more taxes in the short run.
3. Finally he says...The department of homeland security has led to the largest increase in government payroll ever, so it's being completely dissovled.
C'mon did anyone really expect Romney to tell the WHOLE truth about his record. Heck, 1 out of 5 ain't bad. He even forgot to mention his own Massachusetts healthcare program in his speech. Telepromter must have hiccuped.
This is Romney, the same Romney we saw in the 2008 debates. A master of the flip flop, half truth and omission.
My dad used to tell me to always remember that a half-truth was still a lie.
He cut taxes 19 times and did some abracadabra in balacing budgets...... and yet he's not a teabuplicants darling. Romney, why didn't you remind all of ROMNEYCARE? awwwww......who's gonna save you from this.
Yeah, Obama never stretches the truth.. remember "if you like your health care insurance, you can keep it". Or a million other bits of information that MSNBC and company ignore. It is interesting to see when MSNBC "fact checks" Obama, they bend over backward to find his "facts" accurate. When it is a Republican they check, the opposite is true. Disgraceful.
jcook, where is the fact check to substantiate your assertion that "if you like your health care insurance, you can keep it" is somehow stretching the truth. And predictions from the folks at Fox don't count.
Keeping the insurance one likes has been the reality in Massachusetts, which has had the forerunner of the federal plan for years now.
The poor and the Middle Class pick up the Romney's tab. Typical Republican way.
I, too, can balance my household budget with my kids' savings accounts.
Typical "Fiscally Responsible" Republican = take away from the working class.
I didn't have to give up MY health care... virtually nothing changed.. not even cost.... so...
yes; I can keep my insurance if I like it....
As for Romney? I sure as hell wouldn't vote for him.. but then... I haven't seen a candidate worth voting for at all EVER...
When we stop paying politicans 6 figure incomes; we'll start finding honest people to fill the spots. Until then... keep feeding the beast.. it's going to be too big to control soon....
All he has to do is repeat it often enough and long enough and the mice will follow Mitt the Piper.
You mean like piper BO does with you libs?
where's the obama fact checking? gitmo closure? patriot act repeal? afghanistan and iraq withdrawal, unemployment no higher than 8%?, repeal of bush tax cuts?
oh what the hell it's obama we have to give him a free pass.
good luck to media for trying to get obama elected a second time -- it's gonna be a very hard sell.
Rob, The point is that Mitt mis-rperesents, so do the others all of them, but can't anyone just be truthfull, I'm a grown up, I can handle the truth, Mitt did what he did during his time in office. I am so tired of the lies, half truths, the spin, we are sinking and they just play us against each other with B S . Peace
It may be a hard sell to re-elect the President, Rob in ma, but the behind-closed-doors strategy is already up and running in Washington. Don't forget that wimpy Robert Gibbs. He quit as Press Sec. in order to work on re-election issues. He's only one. When the gate opens next year the donkeys will be dragging all kinds of garbage behind them when they are eagerly greeted by the network news reporters who can't wait to dump the trash cans and start spreading it.
I expect Romney to beat Obama in a landslide victory of historic proportions. I will be here the following day, with a good bottle of petit noir by my side. Celebrating, and, yes, gloating the final demise of the hated Democratic party. The mere fact that Obama will drag so many congressmen and women down with him simply because they wear the dreaded "D" after their names, proves that this election will be an exercise in overkill. Some of those Democrats are mostly innocent village idiots, who will just get steamrolled because of their dear leader's actions, or lack thereof.
There are 22 Democratic Senators up for re-election this time. The esteemed Republican Party only needs a net win of three of those seats to gain control of the Senate. (I expect many more). Then Old whorehouse Harry Reid can move to the back of the bus where he belongs. He and Nancy Pelosi can reminisce about their few embarrassing moments in the spotlight, and ask themselves what went wrong.
Edward - I sure hope you're right ...
Not a chance.
As long as the R's try to exchange Medicare for Vouchercare, it will be
four more years of Obama, followed by 8 years of Hillary.
Rob - what you fail to acknowledge is that those were campaign promises, not his record as president. Also, Senate Republicans have blocked all of his attempts to close gitmo and allow the U.S. Courts (once the prize of the country and the envy of the world) to determine their fate (mainly because the courts can't after the previous admin trampled on their rights). Obama has been withdrawing troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, but you'll have to change it from Fukt Noise to find that out. 8% - again Republicans blocked implementation of his programs, so who knows if his programs would have worked. Bush Tax Cuts - where were you when the Republicans were holding unemployment benefits hostage so that they could keep the tax cuts for the top 2%?
Rob,
there is a big difference between campaign promises (all candidates are guilty of that EQUALLY) and stating something you did as a FACT. It's future vs past. Past did happen, future did not.
Example: I will do something is not a fact. I did something is (unless you lie about it like Romney is).
JDills thank you!
In other words Mitt Romney is flipping.
To bad MSNBC didn't do this "fact-checking" when Obama was running in 2008. Instead they were on their knees for Obama like Monica was for Clinton.
The Democrats don't like to be reminded of Clinton's disgraceful acts performed in the White House. Unfortunate that those here collapsed this message, becasue it was a true statement, including the comment re MSNBC. You know when you have a great point when the liberals here collapse your message.
I Hate Everyone,
They still are on their knees for Obama. They have become glaringly obvious in their bias. That's why they are known world wide as the leftist, liberal media. It is also why FOX NEWS beats them so badly in the ratings game. The American people like truth in their news, not liberal spin and deflection.
I figured my comment would be collapsed by this liberal community. Only speaking the true folks!
if you don't like it... don't vote for him...
Personally; if I DID vote; OB would be the lesser of two evils...
But I don't vote for evil.. so I don't vote
Then you get what you deserve trans. The liberal leadership that has put California in the dire straits it's in now loves citizens like yourself. They already have the votes of the 47% of this nations citizens that pay no taxes at all and those of us that do pay taxes carry the loads of the freeloaders who continue to increase their monthiy welfare checks by having children out our expense. Keep up the good work for those that are sending this country into the tank.
"Fees" instead of taxes and "rainy day funds", sounds like another fairy tale getting sold by Pinnochio.........
The Democrat leadership here in Hawaii (they've controlled this state for more than 4-decades) are selling the exact fairy tale you speak of Bill. It will fail. They always paint a rosy picture of the revenue these policies will provide, but those predictions always fall short. Our new Dem Governor is calling it a "new day". We don'r need Republicans here. All you have to do is sit back and watch the Dems continue to implode on themselves.
"Fees" are VERY different from "taxes," in my opinion. Fees are paid by persons/companies using whatever service the fees apply to; taxes are charged to everyone, so that everyone is subsidizing that use. Doesn't it make sense, and help the general taxpayer, for the $$$ to be in line with who is using the service?
_ThatRocks,
"taxes are charged to everyone, so that everyone is subsidizing that use"
No, taxes are nor chaged to everyone. Right now, 47% of Americans do not pay taxes, so how could your statement above be correct?
Regardless how much you make, when you get a tax refund that is equal to or greater than what you paid in taxes for that year, you do not pay taxes and are a "Zero Liability Voter".
A "Zero Liability Voter" will keep voting in people so they never have to pay taxes. This part of how we got to were we are today in this fiscal mess.
There is that 47% number again. Did you know back in the mid 80's that number was only 17%?
For the big plush stuffed animal, what economic policy was adopted in the 80's that caused that number to swell to the current 47%? It earned someone a Nobel Prize.
While the working poor pay no federal taxes, they do pay into SS, Medicare and all local and state taxes for their purchases.
How much in taxes do you want people to pay that can barely get food on the table? Not every job pays $25.00 an hour or better.
At this point the Republicans would be fools not to back Romney. He has to appeal to the independent voter.
TO: MV-skeptic who wrote:
"At this point the Republicans would be fools not to back Romney. He has to appeal to the independent voter."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Only the "Independent Voter" who is part deaf, dumb and blind.
In order for Romney to appeal to the independent voter, or even try to actually win, he'd would certainly have to appeal to the independents who lean towards Obama, who we happen to prefer at this time.
Romney taking a "Hillary Clinton" position toward President Obama wouldn't give us Obama voters any choice but to stick with Obama.
Normally one might think it would NOT be wise to disparage primary candidates in your own party, except in this case.
If Romney wants any chance at all of winning the presidency, he's going to have to appeal to Obama Voters because as it stands right now, there are not enough people who plan to vote Republican to elect anybody without getting a sizeable number of us independent Obama voters too.
Republicans CANNOT get my independent vote by continuing to back tax cuts and tax breaks for mega-millionaires, nor can Republicans get my vote with talk of either dismanteling Medicare, or trying to steal my Social Security money.
I guess that means OBAMA / BIDEN 2012, Yaaaaahoooooo!
Repbulicans need to pass some JOBS legislation or they are going to lose the House and the White House.
So far all of the state and local Republicans seem to be fixated on the uterus with tons of bills abolishing abortion rights! And the Congress is stuck on stupid. Not passing anything remotely related to creating jobs.
Go figure.
Thought they took back the House so they could pass legislation to create jOBS!
Anything that comes from the House is doomed to fail in the Senate because it is controlled by the Dems, led by Harry Reid is all about politics and not what's good for this country. The attack perpetrated by the Democrats and led by our President against the Ryan budget bill purposefully distorted the facts of this bill and played to the ignorance of our population. And still, our President and the Dems have no plan at all.
Lanikai Ron - You had me right up until you blamed the Democrats. You are right - anything presented in the House is doomed in the Senate - JUST LIKE anything from the Senate is doomed in the House. The problem is the bipartisan bickering - on BOTH sides. Neither side desires to fix the problems when they have the opportunity to score political points. I agree with American-Girl - How can Romney hope to win the independent vote when cow-towing to the rabid far right? - Obama for all his MANY faults knows that he can piss off the unrealistic far left and still get their vote when the alternative is way beyond center. Anyone calling him liberal is desperately confused - that would be like calling G W Bush a fiscal conservative.
Some interesting (and I believe pertinent) quotes:
"Economic policies command bipartisan support only when they're incoherent."
-- Steven E. Landsburg
"The propagandist's purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human." --Aldous Huxley
"To befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day." -- President Theodore Roosevelt
"Sometimes inefficiency is the price we pay for democracy." --Rebecca Lutto
"Can any of you seriously say the Bill of Rights could get through Congress today? It wouldn't even get out of committee."-- F. Lee Bailey
"Capitalism has defeated communism. It is now well on its way to defeating democracy." -- David Korten
Can you argue with any of those quotes? Another interesting thing you notice when looking at quotes - our same complaints repititiously resonate through US history.
American Girl-724855
I hear what your saying but I stand by my statement. The rest of the Republican field that has actually announced their intention to seek the nomination is less appealing than Romney.
So Romney has a Lie, a Truth, two Half Truths and an inside the margin or error Qualified Truth....
Pretty good for this years crop of candidates.
Battsman, I don't particularly like Romney, but to my surprise, and I bet surprises you to, in a poll that came out today, Romney leads Obama in the run for President. At this point, all I care about is sending Obama, who I voted for, back to Chicago where he belongs. It'll be hard for him to screw that town up anymore than it already is. At least for the moment, all the crying from the left about this country's problems not being Obama's fault appears to be falling on deaf ears. Thank God.
Romney's a master of distortion, as trustworthy as a used car salesman. Funny thing is, he's the best GOP candidate available..... Romney vs. Obama, wake me when it's over.
 Another Romney fact distortion: he claims he knows how to create jobs because of his business experience. BUT...what exactly is his business? His business buys up little business, makes them more efficient by laying off people, and then sells the business at a profit. So, in other words, he makes his money by laying off the workforce of hard working middle class Americans. I thought Edwards was the snakesoil saleman of the year!
Pat: You hit the nail right on head!
I hope everybody understands as much as you do about Romney.
And by the way, I wouldn't be in favor of putting ANOTHER COMPANY MAN in charge of the United States. Big Corporations and mega-millionaires are doing just fine, it's us little people and mid-level Americans that are getting the shaft, and we need someone in the White House to keep on working for "WE THE PEOPLE".
Romney will never be President. He called for the extinction of GM and Chrysler and the American people will never let him forget that.
Thanks to Romney and other fat-cats, most manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas and that has absolutely nothing to do with the Obama presidency.
Now there. Period. Also too.
Pat is absolutely right, and the public should know more about Romney's association with Bain Consulting. Bain was infamous for its buy-up, lay off, sell off practices. A company I once worked for was almost decimated by Bain. Romney's history is the complete antithesis of job creation.
Bataman, I don't particularly like Romney, but to my surprise, and I bet surprises you to, in a poll that came out today, Romney leads Obama in the run for President. At this point, all I care about is sending Obama, who I voted for, back to Chicago where he belongs. It'll be hard for him to screw that town up anymore than it already is. At least for the moment, all the crying from the left about this country's problems not being Obama's fault appears to be falling opn deaf ears. Thank God.
Actually, the poll i saw showed President Obama beating Romney by 13 points!
Typical republicans, they make you believe that they cut taxes which they do, but then they raise fees ! and americans will fall for it. Fools !
narvick, that may be true in your eyes, but you just described the Democrat politicians here in Hawaii. They have controlled this state for over 40-years and have no one to blame but themselves for the present unsupportable entitlements they have bought votes with and now have caused a growing state deficit.. They have not raised taxes and are raising fees on everything from camping permits to parking meter fees. The retirees that have supported them are screaming out in protest.
If Gov. Romney was so good in Massachusetts, why have the residents opted for a Democratic governor in the two elections since then? Gov. Romney was the last in a string of Republican governors (William Weld, Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift) in the state, so it is also misleading to claim that he was unique in being the Republican governor of a "blue state."
Jane not-so-Swift was only a consequential member of that string. She only became governor because Cellucci resigned mid-term, and, listening to the polls, wisely decided to sit out of the next election.
Obama didn't raise taxes for 3 years. doesn't that make him a closet repblican? And he suigned the extension of the Bush tax cuts for 2 years while unemployment comp was only extended for 13 months. Ask GE, Bank of America and Federal Express if their taxes were too high last year...they didn't pay any.
If Obama was running as a Republican he'd win. Who extended the Patriot Act for four more years? Obmama! Who gave the order to ki9ll bin Laden? Obmama? Who gave the order to get the number 2 guy in al quada yesterday? Obama. Who's tough on terrorism?
Obama.
Obama led the wayv in cutting social security Medicare Advatage that cost tax payers an extra 14%. He put the Democrats on the bleeding edge of entitlment cuts. That was $500 million. Today with the Ryan budget, Republicans agree with the number..and only 4 Republican voted against the Ryan budget..that same $500 million.
Is this bipartisanship or what?
Who else can come that close to achieveing consensus?
The futer is clear: Obama for four more years.
LMAO
as though the GOP pressure to get things done didn't influence ANY of Obama choices. Recall he's the guy that was ranked MOST LIBERAL SENATOR, yet you cherry pick details to cast him in the light you want, to justify your own desires.
what's the difference between raising taxes and raising fees ??? it's all the same to me !!! and as far as balancing the budget is concerned, most states are required to balance their budgets by their constitutions !!! plus,it certainly helps to "balance budgets" by stealing from so-called rainy day funds !!! old george w. squandered President Obama's rainy day fund by cutting taxes for the rich, starting two wars and not funding MEDICARE PART D !!!
so what exactly are rainy day funds for if not to be used to make up budget gaps????
Must have rained every day he was in office then.
Funny how the media checks everyone's facts, except Obama's...
If they ever did, they'd ONLY check the statements that turned out to be true....they would conveniently "forget" to check the lies.
Go to factcheck.org. they are non partisan and check both sides frequently. I'm sure there are statements that Obama has said that are on there. The idea that multibillionaire media comglomerates are liberal is pretty laughable. The mainstream media is owned by big business. If there are any stories that aren't being reported it is in their self interest. For example, news aren't reporting most of what governor is doing in MI to take away people's rights. Why? They like that politicians are owned by business and will do things to screw over the middle class in order to give to the rich. Best to look online and look at multiple sources if you TRULY want both sides. If you just want to read what you believe already then I'm wasting my time writing this.
dear holy
you must not have been around when that moron bush was in office !!! did you check his "facts" regarding the WMDs or so-called "supply side economics ???
"Romney was correct, when he said Massachusetts schools were "first among all 50 states" during his tenure. But, as a statistician at the National Center for Education Statistics told First Read, the statistical difference between Massachusetts test scores and those of its closest competitors falls within the margin of error."
Darn, does that mean First Read will require my Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics to return their trophys, because a statistician calculated their championships were won 'within the margin of error'?
Talk about nit picking. First Read fact checkers are like PolitiFact....biased.
Fun Facts...
Some encouraging news from a GOP supported poll of Republicans: I heard this Sunday on Meet the Press, I just had to find the story, they are listed in order of number of times they received the comment so #1 was used most. As an independent it is kind of sad that my choice is basically being made for me by the GOP.
Robert, get a clue. Dont count your chickens till they are hatched. Campaign 2012 hasnt started yet, these polls mean squadoosh.
Carter, Clinton George W Bush were unknowns and mocked as long shots , before the campaign started...
Wow, another biased fact checking article. The author started three of the five questions covered by stating essentially, "Romney was correct, but..." Isn't the point of a fact-checking article to eliminate the but, not add one?
Also in the first response to Obama's tax increase, the author states first Romney is wrong, but then site cases in which Obama did raise taxes. Thus making Romney's statements, get this, FACT BASED!
From what I can tell from reading this article no facts were checked, or harmed, in the creation of this bias opinion piece.
As usual an MSNBC "article" reads like a DNC publication.
Romney said a lot...this article chose to only address the points that could be used to sling mud at the GOP candidate. Even when giving him credit on 19 tax cuts, they made sure to imply that while true, it is actually false. This "article" should be listed as a commentary at best, or partisan opinion piece to be more accurate.
When did the media become so hyper-partisan in its "journalism"???
I am waiting for one morman to tell the truth in my lifetime. I grew up in a morman community, after graduation from high school I applied at several local business. Never did get a job until I left the area. A friend of mine who is morman ask if I could remember the first question on the application, I said no. He then proceded to tell me that the first question was "what ward are you a member of" and if you ask for an explaination of the question or didn't answer it your were automatically put in the do not hire pile. Mormans have quite a cult following.
the biggest problem in america is lack of jobs. obama is clueless, so is romney. of the 2 dunces, romney is the worst. he, like all republicans, always points out his business "experience & expertise". well look at his record at bain & co & bain capital. his idea of creating jobs is to buy a company, lay off employees, then sell the company at a profit as "costs" have dramatically decreased. this is the nonsense america is being fed, too bad so many feeble minded people think it's true.
Awesome article, but, I dont see the corresponding "fact checking Obama" article. Now there's a guy doing some real damage, who apparently has every single fact right about everthing he's ever said, because no such article exists that doesn't, at the same time, make excuses for him.
LOL...yes, for those of us that can read AND reason, Romney was correct on maybe 2 of the items above if you take into accout the statistical margin for error in item #5.
This guy is a joke and a stiff. He's not even as captivating as John Kerry. I think they said that 200 people showed up for his rally in Iowa. He's a liar and a cad...and will soon be a 2 time loser!
Don't Mormons go to hell for lying?
I haven't heard anybody in the media - mainstream or otherwise, discussing how Mr. Romney made his personal millions. He was a "turn-around" man, someone who took over companies in trouble, laid off lots of people, and then re-sold it with a much leaner employee base. This qualifies him to create jobs for our country???
Saw an interview with Mrs. Romney the other day. She claims her husband's not always so buttoned-up. Why, sometimes he doesn't wear a tie and his hair is mussed up! Wow - that absolutely means that he understands the common man and what it's like out here in the real world.
Ordinarily, I don't care about someone's religion, as long as it's kept private and not jammed down others throats and is a family matter. HOWEVER, this man belongs to a gigantic CULT. What does that say about his common sense?
Deborah Cox
First, I am not a supporter of Romney, but what he means when he says he know how to create jobs, is tha he knows that the president or congress can not legislate any new jobs in the private sector and in order to get companies to stop "hording" the money they do have, we need to get the government out of the way and get our fiscal house in order so these same companies can look ahead 10 to 15 years to plan for thier company. But most dems don't understand this fact or just don't want to.
Deborah...Romney is not a "turn-around" man anymore than Gordon Gekko is (from the movie Wall Street). Like the character Gordon Gekko, Romney made his millions by buying underperforming companies then laying off most of their workers and liquidating most of their assets. Like Gekko said in the movie, "I create nothing." Like most of the Republicans, this is their strategy with Medicare and Social Security - liquidate everything and give the "investors" back pennies on the dollar. Hope this helps...vote for Romney at your own (and your family's) peril.