Fact-checking on the 2011 Presidential Primary by PolitiFact.com
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EXPLANATORY NOTE by OnTheIssues.org:
PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times to help you find the truth in American politics. Reporters and editors from the Times fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups and rate them on our Truth-O-Meter:
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TRUE – The statement is accurate and there's nothing significant missing.
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MOSTLY TRUE – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.
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HALF TRUE – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.
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MOSTLY FALSE – The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.
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FALSE – The statement is not accurate.
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PANTS ON FIRE – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim.
OnTheIssues.org trusts PolitiFact to report on the issues in a reasonably unbiased manner (or at least, to bash all sides equally).
Their own statement on their political bias follows an explanation that they are based at a non-profit journalism school founded by the owner of the St. Petersburg (FL) Times:
"When it comes to the question of 'Who is PolitiFact?' or 'Who pays for PolitiFact?', we can assure you that no one is behind the scenes telling us what to write for someone else's benefit. We are an independent, nonpartisan news organization. We are not beholden to any government, political party or corporate interest. We are proud to be able to say that we are independent journalists."
-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, August 2011
| OnTheIssues.org excerpts: (click on issues for details)
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Budget & Economy
Buddy Roemer: FactCheck: Obama has submitted 3 budgets; Roemer said zero.
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Jobs
Rick Perry: FactCheck: Texas job growth is strong, but pre-dated Perry.
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Tax Reform
Jon Huntsman: FactCheck: Created UT flat tax;but only top rate got 30% cut.
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Technology
Newt Gingrich: FactCheck: 1.3 million Twitter followers is exaggerated.
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Welfare & Poverty
Lyndon Johnson: FactCheck: Poverty rate has fallen under Great Society.
Rick Santorum: FactCheck: No, church attendance in Europe is above 10%.
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The above quotations are from Fact-checking on the 2011 Presidential Primary by PolitiFact.com.
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