For up to date fact checking on Paul Ryan’s Iowa campaign stops, follow Progress Iowa on Twitter: twitter.com/ProgressIowa and follow the hashtag #LyinRyan
DES MOINES — Congressman Paul Ryan returns to Iowa today, after being nominated for Vice President at the Republican Party convention last week. Ryan’s convention speech was filled with misleading facts, falsehoods, and exaggerations, leading one Fox News commentator to call it “deceiving” and “an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech.”(1)
“Iowans deserve to hear the truth — not more lies, exaggerations, and falsehoods from someone who wants to be our next Vice President,” said Matt Sinovic, executive director of Progress Iowa. “His most troubling lies are about health care. Scaring more than 500,000 Iowans who receive Medicare with claims that fact checkers called mostly false(2) is completely unacceptable. Hopefully Paul Ryan will be honest with Iowans this week, but if last week is any indication, he’ll continue pushing more false attacks.”
Below are the top 3 false claims and exaggerations from Paul Ryan’s convention speech, along with the truth, and sources:
Paul Ryan’s Claim: President Obama funneled $716 billion out of Medicare at the expense of the elderly
The Truth: The President’s plan does “not affect Medicare recipients directly, but rather reduce payments to hospitals, health insurance plans and other service providers. In addition, Ryan’s own plan to remake Medicare would squeeze the program’s spending even more than the changes Obama made, shifting future retirees into a system in which they would get a fixed payment to shop for coverage among private insurance plans. Critics charge that would expose the elderly to more out-of-pocket costs.”(3)
Paul Ryan’s Claim: President Obama broke a promise to keep a Wisconsin GM plant from closing
The Truth: The plant closed before Obama took office(4)
Paul Ryan’s Claim: The American people were “cut out” of stimulus spending
The Truth: More than a quarter of all stimulus dollars went for tax relief for workers(5)
Progress Iowa will be fact checking Paul Ryan’s speeches in Cedar Rapids today and Adel tomorrow. Follow @ProgressIowa and the hashtag #LyinRyan for updates.
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1. Fox News: Paul Ryan’s Speech in 3 words: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/30/paul-ryans-speech-in-three-words/#ixzz252BejeYA
2. Politifact: MOSTLY FALSE: Paul Ryan said President Obama “funneled” $716 billion out of Medicare “at the expense of the elderly.” http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/29/paul-ryan/paul-ryan-said-president-obama-funneled-716-billio/
3. Associated Press: FACT CHECK: Convention speakers stray from reality: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j-oHGoQbH0RmoY7rNL47-I6BYziA?docId=dc7b2d4bcfab405989965fd9505a1aff
4. Politifact: FALSE: Paul Ryan says President Obama broke his promise to keep a Wisconsin GM plant from closing
http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2012/aug/29/paul-ryan/did-barack-obama-break-promise-keep-gm-plant-open/
5. FactCheck.org: Ryan’s VP Spin
http://factcheck.org/2012/08/ryans-vp-spin/