I know this is not new...but I was clicking around and found a story about all the things that the Dems just made up in the last debate.
I contend that in the liberal playbook it say "Simply make up stats and facts, and the media will present them as facts...especially if it is about minorities or old people."
Here are a few things from just the last debate that were just silly:
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson claimed one in five of "the African people" are infected with HIV/AIDS. That's not even close. The actual rate of infection for sub-Saharan Africa is 5.8 percent.
Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich claimed that "our tax dollars right now are being spent overwhelmingly on war and military buildup." In fact, all defense spending amounts to just 23.6 percent of the budget, or about half what is spent on Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs.
Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel claimed that 70 percent of prison inmates are African Americans. Actually, the figure is 40 percent.
More facts:
Kucinich: And we also know that our tax dollars right now are being spent overwhelmingly on war and military buildup.
Not really. In 2006 (the last year for which final numbers are available), defense accounted for 23.6 percent of total spending. That is a significant percentage of our spending, but it pales in comparison to the 46.3 percent we are spending on various entitlement programs.
Our military SHOULD be the number one expense, instead we give almost HALF our taxes in hand-outs
Gravel: In 1972, we had 179,000 human beings in jail in this country; today, it’s 2.3 million, and 70 percent are black, African Americans.Gravel got part of that right. According to the Justice Department, there are nearly 2.3 million people incarcerated as of June 2006. But nowhere near 70 percent of inmates are African American – the correct number is 40 percent.
Edwards: We need to ensure that Medicaid covers AIDS drugs and AIDS treatment – to make sure that people get the treatment they need, particularly low-income families who get the – who are diagnosed with AIDS – low-income individuals.Actually, Medicaid, a state-administered health care program for the poor, covers AIDS drugs already.
Again, just making stuff up to make it seem like everyone is picked on, everyone is helpless...the government needs to add even more free programs to help all these victims
Kucinich: [The U.S.] will spend anywhere from 1 [trillion dollars] to $2 trillion on this war. CRS projects that "total funding for Iraq and the GWOT [Global War on Terror] could reach from about $980 billion to $1.4 trillion by 2017." So far 74 percent of GWOT spending has been for the war in Iraq.
link
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Democratic Debate Part 3
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12 comments:
Here is a key sentence that Game forgot to cite:
"However, most of the factual claims that we were able to check were accurate, or reasonably close."
Oh my God! Did you even read the article or did you do a cursory cut and paste? Quote: "We caught a few candidates off base."
That phrase and the sentence affirming that the majority of statements were accurate definitely support your contention that "the liberal playbook it say "Simply make up stats and facts, and the media will present them as facts...especially if it is about minorities or old people."
Second, where is your proof that the media reported the inaccurate statements as facts?
I'm suprised you want to go there. Let's compare the Republican debate. From the same site:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/third_time_round_for_gop_hopefuls.html
The headline is "Debating once again, Republican candidates miscast some facts and get others flat wrong." Compare that to the headline for the article you linked to:
"Few errors, lots of dreaming."
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney committed the biggest factual fouls of the night, misleadingly asserting:
That we went to war in Iraq because Saddam Hussein refused to allow weapons inspectors to come in
That there's an ocean of difference between his Massachusetts health plan and those "government takeover" plans of "every Democrat" running for president and
That Russia's income from oil exports is vastly larger than it actually is.
Other candidates committed factual trespass, too. Sen. John McCain of Arizona ignored the waste disposal issue when he praised nuclear power for being green, for instance, and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback exaggerated the number of illegal immigrants living in the United States.
Also here:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/gop_candidates_debate_round_2.html
Mitt Romney claimed he didn’t raise taxes when he was governor of Massachusetts, failing to note that he increased government fees by hundreds of millions of dollars and shifted some of the state tax burden to the local level.
Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado claimed scientific reports on whether humans are responsible for global warming are split 50-50, which isn’t close to being true.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee praised a "fair tax" but failed to note that it would ease the burden on the richest Americans while imposing a stiff retail sales tax of perhaps 34 percent.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani used more statistical dexterity to manipulate statistics, claiming adoptions increased 133 percent when he was mayor. Actually, they peaked and started a continuing decline.
So, yeah, your thesis is not correct. Also, your statement, "and the media will present them as facts" is obviously incorrect, since you did see where the media fact checked them and corrected their errors, which is the opposite of "present[ing] them as facts"
look how funny you guys are...you cant come to admit that any of this is even wrong..at all..
don't you ever call me or anyone here a partisan hack...we are the only side that attack Bush and other Republicans when they deserve it..
you are the people who can not, at any go after the Left, ever...
you show the truth over and over again...when you want to be taken seriously, take baby steps in being honest...
I feel sorry for you, you couldn't comment on one thing that was brought up...how sad...
if you can't be honest and have the ability to say anything negative here, stick to your hate filled emotional liberal blogs and get out of here
Game,
You have mastered the art of dodging. I used the term inaccurate statements- I think that's a fair indication that I realize certain Democratic candidates made assertions that weren't true. Moreover, I specifically commented on a statement you made and presented evidence to disprove it.
You whine about negative comments when backed into a corner. Do you wish to hide behind that smokescreen or are you willing to answer the questions that realism and I put forth?
What negative comments? Your point was that one of the Democrats main strategies is to lie. The implication is that Republicans do not. I merely showed evidence that they do.
I do not support liars of any party, which is why I am quick to criticize democrats when they deserve it.
But there is a big difference between misstating a fact and lying
To Wit:
Bill Richardson said that 1 in 5 Africans are infected with AIDS. He was wrong. But his point, that the problem of AIDS in Africa is severe, is still true.
Dennis (the Twerp) Kucinich says that our tax dollars are being spent overwhelmingly on war and military buildup. That is wrong. But his underlying point that we would have a lot more money for other things if we ended the occupation of Iraq is still correct (as is your point that we would have more money if not for entitlements)
Mike Gravel claimed that 70% of prision inmates are African Americans. This was a simple misstatement. He probably meant to quote the statistic that 70% of african american males will be incarcerated at some point during their lives. Either way, his point was that african americans have a much higher participation rate in the corrections system compared to their percentage of the population, which is not good.
Now, contrast that to the republican errors-
Mitt Romney said that Saddam refused to allow inspectors in before we invaded. That is just false. The point he was trying to make, that Saddam invited our invasion by not allowing inspectors is a lie.
McCain said that nook-u-ler power is green, when in fact, it produces some of the most toxic waste known to man. The point he was trying to make, that nook-u-ler power is a safe, clean source of energy, is somewhat false.
Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado claimed scientific reports on whether humans are responsible for global warming are split 50-50, which is just false. The point he was trying to make, that the global warming debate is split evenly down the middle, is not correct.
Romney said that he didn't raise taxes as governor. That is not true. The point that he was making, that he was in favor of reducing the amount of money taken from taxpayers is false.
The point of your post is that Democrats lie to get elected.
My two comments on this thread have not only been free of emotional attacks or "hate", but have strictly and exclusively dealt with the topic you chose.
So please stop trying to change the subject from your incorrect thesis to our (supposed, imaginary) lack of relevance and dishonest partisanship.
See, my post is about the Dems statements...and I am not even commenting on the name calling and personal attacks...
And who is changing the subject?
I posted incorrect statements made by dems...
I didn't say THEY were lying...
I did make a general statement saying that this is a strategy of the Left, to either make things up or exagerate for effect...if their stances were valid, they don't need to make things up...
Now, I know it is hard for you, but focus and stick to the topic...
Realism stuck to topic for part of his post...and he could be correct, but it is still a fact they made inaccurate statements..
There haven't been any personal attacks! It's simply a somkescreen for you to avoid the points that realism and I made.
I'll ask you a second time- where is the proof that the media reported the inaccurate statements as facts?
It seems clear that those candidates (I call them Last, Nexttolast, Thirdtier, and Secondtier) all made errors. Who knows, Bill Richardson may even have had a malevolent glint in his eye when he overstated the AIDS crisis in Africa--clearly, the potential for evil stemming from such a statement is overwhelming and we must constantly be on the guard against those who wish to stop the spread of the deadliest plague modern humanity has faced.
But to say these examples--which were all FactCheck could muster out of 90 minutes of debate--are somehow representative of a "playbook" to make up stats is ridiculous. Especially when Frontrunner's stats about minorities in this debate fact-checked as true, as deliberately investigated by your source.
In addition, I googled up some of the media coverage of the debate to test your assertion that "the media will present them as facts." Four "liberal" sources--NYT, CBS, WaPo, and MSNBC made no mention at all of any of those errors. They did not "present them as fact." It's possible smaller news outlets breathlessly repeated the falsehoods as truth, but it seems pretty sill to me, based on this evidence, for you to suggest Democats will "Simply make up stats and facts, and the media will present them as facts."
Game you are acting like a wounded animal backed into a corner. Your entire premise has been rendered null and void.
I contend that in the liberal playbook it say "Simply make up stats and facts, and the media will present them as facts...especially if it is about minorities or old people."
Your contention does not hold water as shown by my colleagues here.
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