The Whoppers of 2011
The year’s worst political deceptions, from both sides.
Summary
Despite what you may have heard in 2011:
- The new health care law won’t cost many jobs (and they’ll be poorly paying jobs at that).
- Republicans aren’t proposing to “end” Medicare (and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden has signed onto a modified version of the GOP plan).
- Most of the “millionaires” who would pay higher tax rates under a Democratic proposal aren’t job-creating small-business owners.
- President Obama’s mother didn’t really fight to get health insurance coverage as she was dying.
And there was plenty more spin and deception in 2011. Obama claimed he pays a lower tax rate than a teacher. Michele Bachmann endorsed a claim that HPV vaccine causes mental retardation. Joe Biden claimed rapes quadrupled in Flint, Mich., after police layoffs. And that’s just some of the nonsense we debunked.
For our full run-down of the worst political whoppers we encountered during the year, please read on to the Analysis section. And get ready for more in the presidential election year that is about to begin.
Analysis
Republican Whopper:
‘Job-Killing’ Health Care Law