Fact-Checking the End Game Smears

As the election cycle enters its final week, the lies coming from the McCain campaign are multiplying both in their numbers and in their sleaziness. Chances are you've heard one or more of the ones listed here. Please click the links for further information if you have any doubts on just how false they really are.

ALSO, please forward this information to everyone and anyone! We need to get the truth out. We can't afford to elect "leaders" who will say or do anything just to hold power and further their own political ambitions. Now is the time to hold them accountable. Once they are in office, there is little we can do to stop them (see: George W. Bush).

Driver's Licenses, Social Security, and Healthcare for Immigrants

Ad accuses Obama of wanting to give driver's licenses to illegals (including terrorists), healthcare to illegals, social security to illegals...

• http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/a_license_to_kill.html

"Hardly a word in the ad is true. … despicable terror-pandering of the highest order."

Obama is Going to Take Away the Guns!

An ad accuses Obama of voting to "deny citizens the right of self-protection", and that he would make the homeowner a criminal in cases of home-invasion. All he voted for was to uphold a previously existing local gun ban in a small town, which had a maximum penalty of a $750 fine.

• http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/the_rifle_associations_true_story.html

Obama's Tax Plan is Bad for Small Business Owners

In fact, it would benefit the vast majority of small businesses.

• http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/09/fact-check-obama-tax-plan-and-small-businesses/
• http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/21/fact-check-would-obama-hike-taxes-on-small-businesses-that-employ-16-million/
• http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/right_change_is_wrong.html

Obama is a "Socialist" who wants to "Spread the Wealth"

Ridiculous right-wing lying and fear-mongering at its finest.

• http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/18/fact-check-obama-said-he-would-spread-his-wealth-around/
• http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_welfare.html
• http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/spread_the_tax_hooey.html

Obama and "congressional liberals" want to raise taxes on families making $42,000

It's just false. This is not now and never has been part of Obama's tax proposals.

• http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/more_tax_deceptions.html
• http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/15/fact-check-did-obama-vote-to-raise-taxes-for-people-making-as-little-as-42000/
• http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/spread_the_tax_hooey.html

Obama voted 94 times to increase taxes.

Again, not even close.

• http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/tax_tally_trickery.html

McCain and Palin are Socialists!

Actually this one is true. Well, in as much as, they support the same type of "wealth-spreading" policies that they are accusing Barack Obama of.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27424491/

Joe the Plumber

Who should "Joe the Plumber" be voting for on election day?

A big deal has been made about this guy who McCain brought up during the third presidential debate. McCain is attempting to say that Obama is going to raise taxes on this poor plumber; that Obama is going to take away his hard-earned money and "spread his wealth around".

But it's all a lot of nonsense. Here's why:

1) First of all, the real Joe reportedly earns about $40,000 a year. He would be much better off financially under Obama’s tax plan.

2) Joe is thinking of buying a business that is valued at around $250,000. The value of any business is always far greater than its annual revenues, because the value takes into account potential for future growth and profit. In this case, tax records show that this business did around $100,000 in revenues last year. The actual taxable income would have been even less. So even after buying the business, Joe would be much better off under Obama’s plan.

3) Let’s assume that Joe turns out to be a business genius, and actually grows the business to where its taxable income exceeds $250,000 a year. Here’s how the tax would work. Let’s say Joe manages to earn a taxable profit of $280,000 in a given year (a number given by Joe, which seems like a really big "if"). Obama’s tax increase would only affect the amount in excess of $250,000, or in this case, $30,000. That portion would have the tax rate increased from the current 36% all the way up to … 39%. Yes that's right, an increase of 3%. So on his total profit of $280,000, he would see an increase in his taxes of only $900. (And that increase would likely be more than offset by various tax credits that Obama’s plan proposes specifically to help small business owners.)

Not factored into any of this is the idea that, since most middle-class families will see their taxes either stay the same or decrease under Obama's plan, they will have more money to spend on plumbers. Joe’s business will be doing much better.

CNN's financial analysts concluded that fewer than 2% of small businesses would pay higher taxes under Obama's plan. McCain is once again falsely trying to convince voters – including small business owners – that they would somehow be better off under his tax plans. They would not. Joe and others like him will be cutting off their noses to spite their face if they vote McCain.

Sources:

• CNNMoney.com: Fact-Check: Plumber Joe's Taxes
• Factcheck.org: Fact-Checking Debate # 3
• Factcheck.org: Obama's Welfare
  
  

Did Obama Vote 94 Times to Increase Taxes?

Yes... if you are John McCain and you live in la-la land. McCain & Company have been repeating this highly misleading statistic quite often in recent days, trying to scare voters away from Obama. He even repeated it during the second presidential debate... all this in spite of the truth.

FactCheck.org did an in-depth analysis of the 94 votes in question, and came up with the following findings:

• Twenty-three votes were for measures that would have produced no tax increase at all; they were against proposed tax cuts.
• Seven of the votes were in favor of measures that would have lowered taxes for many, while raising them on a relative few, either corporations or affluent individuals.
• Eleven votes would have increased taxes on those making more than $1 million a year – in order to fund programs such as Head Start and school nutrition programs, or veterans’ health care.
• The GOP sometimes counted two, three and even four votes on the same measure. We found their tally included a total of 17 votes on seven measures, effectively padding their total by 10.
• The majority of the 94 votes – 53 of them, including some mentioned above – were on budget measures, not tax bills, and would not have resulted in any tax change. Four other votes were non-binding motions related to conference report negotiations.

A closer look reveals that Obama has voted consistently to restore higher tax rates on upper-income taxpayers but not on middle- or low-income workers. That's consistent with what he's said he'd do as president, which is to raise taxes only on those making more than $250,000 a year.