Mitt Romney's 10 Most Baseless Claims At The Denver Debate

At last night’s presidential debate, Republican nominee Mitt Romney stole the show.

But his performance required that he get a little bit creative with the truth. Throughout the course of the evening, Romney made exaggerated or simply false claims on a variety of issues, including Obamacare, clean energy and financial reform. We have them in a handy little round up for you below:

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• Obama Doubled The Deficit

  When Obama took office in 2009, the deficit was projected to be $1.2 trillion during that year, and it <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/us/politics/a-closer-look-at-what-the-presidential-candidates-said-in-the-debate.html?hp">ultimately turned out to be $1.4 trillion</a>, according to Congressional Budget Office data cited by <em>The New York Times</em>. The deficit is expected to be $1.1 trillion for fiscal year 2012.

• Obamacare Killed Jobs

  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that healthcare reform will reduce the health care industry's workforce <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/03/mitt-romney-obamacare-jobs_n_1937929.html">by only about 0.5 percent</a>, largely because workers will decide to retire early or work fewer hours. And if Romney's Massachusetts health care reform law is any indication, job loss won't be a big problem; employment trends in the state have mirrored national trends since Romneycare took effect.

• Dodd-Frank Hurt The Housing Market

  The Dodd-Frank regulations aim to prevent another housing crash like the one that helped to cause the 2008 financial meltdown by <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57517942/why-it-matters-wall-street-regulation-and-reform/">banning high-risk lending practices</a>, according to CBS News. In addition, the housing market has <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/10/02/home-prices-rising/1608957/">been on a slow rebound</a> since Obama took office. If anything, it may be banks that are holding back the housing recovery. Many are <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443890304578006482230678780.html">slow to lend</a> because they're concerned Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will make them take back any bad loans, the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> reports.

• Medicare Cuts

  The indirect effects of Obamacare have yet to be determined, since the law has yet to be implemented. But as the law is written now, <a href="http://abetteriowa.desmoinesregister.com/2012/10/03/obama-romney-debate-fact-check-claims-on-tax-cuts-and-job-gains-need-second-look/">Obamacare doesn't cut seniors' benefits</a> as part of its plan to curb health care costs, according to <em>USA Today</em>. Obama's healthcare law would curb benefits to health care providers and insurers, but doesn't directly cut seniors' benefits. <a href="http://abetteriowa.desmoinesregister.com/2012/10/03/obama-romney-debate-fact-check-claims-on-tax-cuts-and-job-gains-need-second-look/">Critics allege however</a>, that the cuts in payments would have the unintended consequence of hurting seniors because doctors would stop accepting Medicare patients, according to <em>USA Today</em>.

• Health Care Panel

  Though Obamacare does create an independent board,<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/Romney-Plan-Needs-Economic-Growth-to-Add-Up-3918731.php#page-3"> the law prohibits the board</a> from making recommendations to "ration health care," or "otherwise restrict benefits or modify eligibility,” according to Bloomberg.

• Employer-Based Health Insurance

  Some workers may switch from their employer-provided health plans, according to the Congressional Budget Office, but that number is more likely to be closer to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/04/obama-romney-debate_n_1938067.html">between 3 and 5 million</a> per year between 2019 and 2022.

• "Trickle-Down Government"

  President Obama's proposed budget is estimated to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernard-whitman/reason-22-1-trillion-in-s_b_1819355.html">cut about $1.1 trillion</a> over the next 10 years and, so far, Obama has signed $2 trilion worth of spending cuts into law, according to Democratic Party Pollster Bernard Whitman.

• Balancing The Budget

  President Bill Clinton managed to balance the budget during his time in office with a <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/07/16/1346965/under-clinton-the-budget-balanced.html">tax boost for those in the top 2 percent </a>of earners, according to Duke professor William Chafe.

• Adding To The Deficit

  Romney's tax plan would<a href="http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/03/14207584-truth-squad-the-debate?lite"> cost the country $4.8 trillion</a> over the next 10 years, according to Tax Policy Center data, cited by NBC News.

• Clean Energy Failures

  Businesses that got government clean energy loans failed at a rate of <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/03/footnoting-the-debate/">about 1.4 percent</a> at the end of 2011, according to <em>The Washington Pos</em>t.

Comments

[spdrcrgol]

04:26 PM on 10/13/2012

Real truth is that our deficit has increased over $1 Trillion each year for the last 4 years. Thats a fact google it.

[Roscoe Newton]

12:12 PM on 10/16/2012

That's the side effects of 8 yrs of Bush...

[spdrcrgol]

04:53 PM on 10/16/2012

LOL, really its more like spend thrift democrats. Its laughable how this administrations response to everything that isnt positive is " its Bush's fault". They take no accountability for any of their actions. They even had Hillary take the blame for Benghazi debacle. ( just read her statement of apology from the state dept, she even qualified her words with "its not the white houses fault, it was mine"). This administration will go down in history as the most inept in American politics

[1BSProj]

06:17 PM on 10/09/2012

Yes, please get rid of PBS so we can have more mindless TV for children. Getting rid of Educational television would be horrible for children. Gotta love Mitt Romney....always looking out for the children........

[Johnnny No D]

07:12 PM on 10/15/2012

Your comments are so true. This guy rommy is so dangerous to the well being of this country!

[audiopulse]

04:26 AM on 10/09/2012

If for no other reason that that he wants to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency, because cleaning up our air land and water is "bad" for business, Romney should not be elected.
Don't get me started on the rest of his nefarious plans...

[NB1]

10:21 PM on 10/07/2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UObEdF_uhaw Here is the truth if you have the courage to view it.

[TrueWine]

12:32 AM on 10/08/2012

You make it soooo easy to ignore you.

[Mario Kenny]

09:05 PM on 10/07/2012

So, here’s what you missed, or may have heard something about, Mitt Romney wants to fire Big Bird. He’s got a plan, mostly secret, to restore America to fiscal sanity. Do you hear the Count of the Moppets now? 1, 2, 3, and 47 percent

[NB1]

10:07 PM on 10/07/2012

My God, 14 trillion debt at stake and you liberals talk about big bird, God help us

[TrueWine]

12:31 AM on 10/08/2012

My God, Romney has a Great Recession he wants to deal with and he names Big Bird as his piddling target??

[JudgeMoonbox]

10:38 AM on 10/08/2012

"My God, 14 trillion debt at stake and you liberals talk about big bird,"

Mitt Romney made cutting the Corporation for Public Broadcasting the signature issue for how he plans to "balance" the budget. Is Mitt Romney a liberal???

[Mario Kenny]

09:01 PM on 10/07/2012

My friends are picking on my as my FB is plastered with pictures of Big Bird. Please it was the Governor, who stood up in the front of 60 Million people, millions of people spent one hour looking at this man as he came down hard on Big Bird and Sesame Street, but soft on Wall Street. World leaders and other so called important people were looking on. The secret service was there and every press on the planet. BIG BIRD GOT the show. I was in shock

[TrueWine]

12:37 AM on 10/08/2012

Yess! The whole world is watching and Romney wants to off Big Bird. It is a Great Man that feels the calling to end a pesky bird's life for the good of humanity! The Bird is eating wayyyyy too much federal dollars!

[Mario Kenny]

08:58 PM on 10/07/2012

its not a matter of if Big Bird gets money or not, this is not the point, the point is, he used a helpless, non human, politically unimportant character to gain political power, this is not a sign of strength but rather a sign of weakness.

[TrueWine]

12:41 AM on 10/08/2012

No, the nonhuman, unimportant ones sent from an alien planet to infiltrate our solar system are unbeknownst to us except for the select few like Mr.Romney..they know the "Big Birds" we have to root out and exterminate!

[Mario Kenny]

08:53 PM on 10/07/2012

now, can Mitt out spend a Big Bird? I think we need to ask some 5 year old kids, we may get the correct answer.

[Mario Kenny]

08:51 PM on 10/07/2012

YES TO WALL STREET NO TO SESAME STREET?

[TrueWine]

12:44 AM on 10/08/2012

Sesame Street harbors other voices that are against the Wall Street Master Plan.

[Mario Kenny]

08:49 PM on 10/07/2012

All the money Mitt has became moot, in the face of the public relations night-mere he created when he criticized and fired Big Bird, a non human, children's character who has more name recognition than he [ mitt ] ever will have. #TeamBigBird crashed a very wealthy man who thought he was so powerful, and on a stage in front of 60 million people made a royal fool of himself. He walked on stage fired the host of the show and a bird, told a bunch of lies, then,.... everyone said he won?

[TrueWine]

12:46 AM on 10/08/2012

If you're going to root out corruption, start with the Host of the Show and his Bird, that way they'll get you're serious.

[Mario Kenny]

08:44 PM on 10/07/2012

With 60 million people said to be viewing the debate world wide, Governor Romney strides onto the debate stage fired the host of the debate, fired Big Bird, told sufficient lies, then, people said he won, LOL

Okay let me understand this, he basically refuses to regulate Wall Street but he wishes to smash Sesame Street and thus balancing the budget?. I think that messing with Big Bird was a huge no no. The five year old kids are going to be so pissed, OMG

[NJ666]

11:35 PM on 10/07/2012

You must be the spin bird! Are you paid to post here? Big bird makes plenty and PBS can pay for itself. Mitt also told the moderator his intentions. You didn't mention that because you think big bird will do more damage. You also forgot to mention the Commander in Chief of liars kept quiet when faced with the truth about his failed investment programs, foreign policies and lack of JOBS. Yet you take credit for the rise on Wall Street,and call Mitt soft on Wall Street.

[TrueWine]

12:54 AM on 10/08/2012

PBS had one thorn in the side of Big Money...and that was Bill Moyers. Big Bird was just a Thanksgiving turkey for the Mitt. Maybe he would take him home strapped to the roof of his SUV and presented to his wife to cook. He certainly wouldn't cook Wall Street..that's bird is givin' him the golden 13.5% tax rate!

[TonyCuda]

03:52 PM on 10/07/2012

His tax plan was supposed to cut everyone’s taxes by 20%. Turns out he was just kidding. Romney now says his tax plan is revenue neutral. That means all of the tax cuts will be offset by closing loopholes in the current tax code. So that means that your 20% tax cut will be 100% neutralized by a loss of legal tax deductions. And if tax cuts for the wealthy are the only way to spur economic growth, the economy and the wealthy will have to wait. There will be no net tax cuts for them.

But there’s more. Romney (and the entire Republican Party) has been making the case for entitlement reform as essential to balancing the budget. When President Obama reformed Medicare by changing the billing process resulting in a savings of over $700 billion dollars of waste in the system, Romney criticized Obama for damaging a program vital to seniors. Turns out, Romney was just kidding about the importance of entitlement reform too.

Romney said to wealthy donors that 47% of Americans don’t take personal responsibility for their lives. Then he went into excruciating detail explaining why these people are a tactical lost cause as possible supporters. Later, after he was informed that many of the 47% were indeed supporters, he told those seniors, disabled war veterans and other hard-working Americans….just kidding.

[kandid61]

04:47 PM on 10/07/2012

First Fan!

[NJ666]

11:48 PM on 10/07/2012

Mitt said the difference in revenue would be made by creating jobs. The workers would be paying taxes insted of sucking the cow dry. That is Obamas plan!. More food stamps,welfare,and government jobs. How many policeand firemen do we need?? I hear this line from B O all of the time. The majority of them are ticket writers. They show up after the fact at crime scenes. We have to thank the volunteer firemen. They do just as good as regular paid firemen. He never said he was just kidding about the 47 % The left tries to brainwash the independents into believing lies,by saying the same thing over and over

[TonyCuda]

06:16 PM on 10/08/2012

No dude. Romney specifically said all tax cuts would be offset by a change in deductions.

As far as the 47% comment - of course he never said "just kidding". It's an obvious metaphore. But his apology on Fox News for making the comment in the first place only came after it was pointed out to him who the 47% were. Once again, he had no idea what he was taking about.

[UnknownSolider]

01:55 PM on 10/07/2012

The sun rises in the east, the birds chirp, the grass grows, and Mitt Romney LIES, what else is new.

[NJ666]

11:48 PM on 10/07/2012

Obama was elected on lies!

[TheWM]

11:52 AM on 10/07/2012

The fact that many more headlines have said something to the effect of "Romney Wins First Debate" rather than "Romney Tells Many Blatant Lies During First Debate," although almost all of the people writing the stories and headlines know how much Romney lies -- this shows that there is something very, very wrong with our news media.

[NJ666]

11:50 PM on 10/07/2012

The Liberal press knows how much B O lies and don't say anything.

[Richie G]

11:25 AM on 10/07/2012

I realize that you live in your little left wing marxist bubbles and literally don't hear anything but yourselves talk,but none of those statments are lies. Not one of them. And what Obama is the pillar of virtue and honesty. He has broken so many campaign promises it is impossible to keep track. From promising to close Gitmo,to not ever asking Israel to divide Jerusalem, cutting four million from the budget,stopping the wireless wire taps,whci were called spying under Bush,but now have been increased along wioth many other illegal survaillance on American citizens. But it's ok now because a leftist is doing it!!!!!!
As far as a board determining your treatment,maybe if you watched something other trhan MSNBC you would have heard that how transplants now will be given is not in order of need but according to a board that will determine who gets it and why. Wake up Obama is a liar just like all politicians and Romney is no different,but at least actually pick out things that are lies to call lies,these 10 were all absolutely true,get a grip on reality you leftwing robots!!!!!!

Not a Leming

[TheWM]

11:55 AM on 10/07/2012

Obviously you're not a Leming. You're a lemming.

[biggreenones]

04:22 PM on 10/07/2012

still waiting for your proof that all 10 were absolutely true

[UnknownSolider]

01:54 PM on 10/07/2012

About the Bush wire tapping.............. BUSH PUT AN END TO IT, go read the new FISA Bill he signed into law, the punishment for illegal wire tapping are severe........... but I'll let you continue to believe what you want to believe, your vote wont matter in this upcoming election, so spout on