Obama Fills In G.O.P.’s Blanks

[TomCADem]

Source: NY Times

But as he tries to rally his party for the midterm election against the odds, Mr. Obama is employing the biggest megaphone in politics, and his words are parsed like no other politician’s. While Mr. Obama’s general points about the scale of Republican spending cuts and fiscal effects of high-end tax cuts have a solid factual basis, some independent organizations that examine political statements, like PolitiFact and FactCheck.org, have questioned the veracity of some specific claims on economic policy and other topics.

Most of the disputed statements concern the Pledge to America, the House Republican campaign manifesto. “The centerpiece of the pledge is a $700 billion tax cut that would only go to the top 2 percent, the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans,” Mr. Obama said in Philadelphia. “Ninety-eight percent of you would not get this tax cut.”

* * *
In attacking the Republican calls for spending cuts, the president is defining them where Republicans fail to do so. The Republican pledge promises to return overall spending on domestic programs to 2008 levels, which would mean cutting roughly $100 billion a year. But the pledge does not say which programs would be cut to achieve that; all it does is specify that no cuts would be made to national security programs, entitlement payments like Medicare, or interest on the national debt.

That means, the White House said, that the $100 billion cut would amount to a 20 percent reduction in domestic programs, so it is fair to extrapolate the effects on education, Head Start, college aid and other programs. Republicans said they could choose to cut more deeply in some programs while sparing others, so education would not necessarily be cut 20 percent. At the same time, they do not rule it out.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/16/us/politics/16campaign.html?_r=1&hp

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Kudos to President Obama for calling out Republicans when the cable news refuses to do so. How are Republicans going to fulfill their promise to make tax cuts for the richest 2 percent while also trying to reduce the deficit. Most cable news simply lets Republicans recite this talking point without outlining what would need to be cut.

Thankfully, the President has been calling them on it, while ven the so-called fact checkers fault the President because Republicans have not specifically said that they would make the cuts President Obama says are mathematically necessary for the Republicans to get their way.

Shouldn't Factcheck be slamming Republicans for refusing to identify what do they specifically plan to cut in order to fulfill their pledge to reduce the deficit while giving tax cuts to the richest 2 percent?

[ProSense]

1. They sure did clean up that article.

The earlier version could have been written by the GOP.

The claims about Social Security and health care are no longer in the current version.

[No Elephants]

5. Missed the original, but "the GOP could have written this" was my thought about the OP anyway.

[impik]

2. I don't remember the NYT

so upset when Republicans REALLY lied every day over the past two years. "Liberal media" my ass.

[UpInArms]

3. nah - that was when Judith Miller was

hawking selling the Neocon's wars on the front page - ghostwriting for DarthVader Heartless Dick "Fuck You" Cheney.

So why would you have looked to the New Whored Times for liberalism? Just askin'.

[democracy1st]

4. K & R

[No Elephants]

6. Geez, they really had to spin to pretend Obama lied.

A Democrat characterized a Republicon proposal that the Republicons did not choose to characterize?

Duh.

Which facts did he misstate? None.

"independent organizations that examine political statements" does NOT mean "objective" organizations.

In politics today--maybe always--eveyone is grinding one political ax or the other. And if misleading is involved, it most often comes from the Republicon axegrinder, in this case, the spinners at Fact Check and the NYT.

The NYT and L.A. Times are disgusting than FOX. At least FOX is upfront About being a Republicon "microphone." NYT and L.A. Times-and way too many others--pretend to be reporting news objectively, but are slanting and spinning as much as FOX.

[TomCADem]

7. Absolutely, Republicans Are Given A Free Pass For Spouting Off Lies...

...about cutting taxes while keeping most spending programs intact, then President Obama gets called a liar for pointing out that this is impossible, and identifying those programs that Republicans have not taken off the table.