Ryan's five lies

Below is an email from Brenda Witt, a MoveOn member who created a petition on SignOn.org, the nonprofit site that allows anyone to start their own online petition. If you have concerns or feedback about this petition, click here.

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Last night, Paul Ryan lied to the American people. Add your name to my SignOn.org petition demanding that the mainstream media expose the truth. "Mainstream media: Fact-check and call out candidates when they lie. You have an obligation as journalists to educate the public on the facts of the major campaign issues." Sign the Petition!

Dear MoveOn member,

Last night, Paul Ryan lied to the American people. Some journalists and outlets covered Ryan's lies. But others failed to check the facts and didn't call Ryan out on his brazen lies.

In this crucial election, news reporters have an obligation to educate the public about the facts regarding the major issues and call out the candidates every time they lie.

That's why I created a petition urging the major news corporations—ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, and MSNBC—to live up to their obligation to report the truth. The petition says:

Mainstream media: Fact-check and call out candidates when they lie. You have an obligation as journalists to educate the public on the facts of the major campaign issues.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Here is a list of five lies that Paul Ryan told when he gave his speech at the Republican National Convention last night. Every single news outlet should report on these lies.

1. Lie: President Obama is the "greatest threat" to Medicare.

Truth: Obama didn't make any cuts to Medicare benefits; he made cuts to provider reimbursements, to improve cost efficiency and extend the fiscal security of Medicare by eight years. According to the Medicare actuary, "[Obama's] Affordable Care Act makes important changes to the Medicare program and substantially improves its financial outlook."¹

But Ryan actually does want to cut benefits. He proposed dismantling Medicare and replacing it with a voucher system, leaving millions of seniors to come up with more money to pay for care out of pocket.^2,3

2. Lie: President Obama didn't save a General Motors plant in Wisconsin.

Truth: First, Obama wasn't even in office when the GM plant closed. Second, Obama never made a promise to save it.⁴

3. Lie: President Obama ignored recommendations of a bipartisan debt commission.

Truth: Paul Ryan actually sat on that commission. And he led Republicans in voting down the commission's own recommendation. So the commission never gave a report to Obama, because Ryan himself voted to kill the report before it could.⁵

4. Lie: President Obama is responsible for the downgrading of the U.S. Credit Rating

Truth: House Republicans, including Paul Ryan, held the full faith and credit of the United States hostage to try to ransom it for trillions of dollars in cuts to social programs without increasing taxes on the wealthy one dime. Standard & Poors said specifically, "We have changed our assumption on [revenue] because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues." That's why our nation's credit rating was downgraded.^6,7

5. Lie: Ryan wants to protect the "weak."

Truth: Ryan's biggest feat in his political career was proposing a budget with dramatic cuts to programs benefiting the poor. He'd cut Medicaid by one third, take away health care insurance from 30 million Americans, and cut Pell Grants for 1 million students. All so that he could give more tax breaks to the rich.⁸

Click here to add your name to my SignOn.org petition urging ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, and MSNBC to call out candidates when they lie, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Brenda Witt

Sources:

1. "Fact check: Paul Ryan at the RNC," USA Today, August 30, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=279602&id=50188-10220574-_UoB98x&t=8

2. "Undoing Obama Medicare cuts may backfire on Romney," The Boston Globe, August 18, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=279597&id=50188-10220574-_UoB98x&t=9

3. "Romney-Ryan Medicare Plan Would Cost 29-Year-Olds $331,200: Report," Huffington Post, August 27, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=279596&id=50188-10220574-_UoB98x&t=10

4. "Paul Ryan Misleads With GM Plant Closure Tale," Huffington Post, August 29, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=279598&id=50188-10220574-_UoB98x&t=11

5. "Fact Check: Paul Ryan misleads on debt panel's spending cut plan," CNN, August 30, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=279608&id=50188-10220574-_UoB98x&t=12

6. "Top 5 Fibs In Paul Ryan's Convention Speech," Talking Points Memo, August 30, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=279595&id=50188-10220574-_UoB98x&t=13

7. "Paul Ryan Address: Convention Speech Built On Demonstrably Misleading Assertions," Huffington Post, August 30, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=279604&id=50188-10220574-_UoB98x&t=14

8. "4 Ways Paul Ryan's Budget Would Devastate The Poor," ThinkProgress, August 17, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=279605&id=50188-10220574-_UoB98x&t=15

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This email was sent to eddie alfaro on August 30, 2012. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.