McCain Fact Check

Not surprisingly, John McCain's speech last night was riddled with inaccuracies.   The DCCC's Rapid Response team was on the case - sending out mobile messages with the truth (haven't signed up? Join the DCCC's mobile action campaign here).

Below I outlined some of the factually inaccuracies that were part of his speech.  Our mobile alerts are just one way we are making sure that we hold Republicans accountable for their mistruths and spin.  Our Executive Director today made a call for action that we help to fund our Rapid Response efforts and has House Democrats matching all gifts before midnight tomorrow dollar- for-dollar.  Take a look and help us by contributing today.

Here are the facts:

McCain: Change is coming.
Fact: He's voted with Bush more than 90% of the time.

McCain: My opponent will raise taxes.
Fact: McCain will give tax breaks to the wealthiest 1%. Dems support tax cuts for middle class families hit hard by Bush-McCain economy.

McCain: I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them.
Fact: Obama Will Cut Taxes, McCain Will Raise Them

• NY Times: David Leonhardt Wrote That, "For Most People, Obama Is The Tax Cutter In This Campaign." [8/24/08]

• Nashua Telegraph: Analysts Say That Obama's Tax Cut Plan "Offers Three Times The Break For Middle Class Families Than Proposals" Of McCain. [, 6/12/08

• NY Times: Under Obama's Plan The Middle Of The Middle Class Would See Taxes Cut By $1,042 A Year; McCain's Tax Plan Would Give Them Only A $319 Tax Cut. [6/13/08]

• Washington Post: McCain's Approach To Taxes Is Far More Costly Than Obama's. [Editorial, 8/31/0]

• ABC Headline: McCain Health Credit Could Morph Into Tax Hike. [7/2/08]

• CAP: McCain's Health Care Plan Would Raises Taxes On Families By $1,169 In 2013. ["John McCain's Radical Prescription for Health Care," Center for American Progress Action Fund, 7/2/08]

• NY Times: McCain's Campaign "Acknowledged" That His Health Care Plan "Would Have The Effect Of Increasing Tax Payments For Some Workers."[5/1/08]

McCain: "I will open new markets to our goods and services.  My opponent will close them."
Fact: When Obama Negotiates Trade Deals, It Will Be With American Workers In Mind; Mccain Supported Deals That Cost American Jobs

• AP: Obama Said That While "We're Not Going To Draw A Moat" Around The US, Trade Deals Had To Be Negotiated With American Workers In Mind. [10/10/07]

• McCain Supported NAFTA, Which Contributed to Loss of a Million American Jobs, And CAFTA.
  [Vote 395, HR 3450, 61-38, 11/20/93; Vote 170, S.1307, 54-45, 6/30/05; "Revisiting NAFTA; Still not working for North America's workers," The Economic Policy Institute, 9/28/06]

• McCain: I Am The Biggest Free Marketer And Free Trader. Well, obviously we should make sure that every nation respects human rights, and we should advocate that and try to enforce it. But I will open every market in the world to Iowa's agricultural products. I'm the biggest free marketer and free trader that you will ever see. [GOP Debate, 12/12/07]

• Des Moines Register video: McCain Praised NAFTA But Admitted That People Are "Gonna Lose Jobs." [11/27/07]

• McCain: I Don't Care How Many Jobs You Outsource. [MSNBC, "Hardball," 2/25/04]

• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: McCain Acknowledges Trade Agreements Have Cost America Jobs, Still Believes Agreements Have "Been Very Successful." [4/16/08]

McCain: "My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance."
Fact: Mccain's Health Care Plan Does Little To Reduce The Ranks Of America's Uninsured And Would Erode Employer-Based Health System

• NY Times: Under McCain's Plan, Health Insurance Benefits Would be Taxed For The First Time, Resulting In A $3.6 Trillion Tax Increase On Working Families. [5/1/08]

• McCain's Plan Undermines The Employer-Based Health Care System And Will Lead To Workers Losing Coverage. [New York Times, 4/30/08; Washington Post, 4/30/08]

• The Health Care Tax Credit McCain Offers Would Cover Less Than Half The Cost Of An Average Health Care Plan.  The McCain health plan would give families a $5,000 tax credit to purchase health insurance.  However, in 2007, the average family health insurance plan cost $12,000 - more than double the value of McCain's health care tax credit. ["Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey," Kaiser Family Foundation, 9/11/07; "'Call To Action' On Health Care Reform," John McCain 2008 press release, 4/29/08; Wall Street Journal, 10/11/07]

• McCain's Health Care Plan Does Little to Help America's Uninsured. McCain's plan does not focus on "reducing the ranks of the uninsured," of which there are about 47 million, or one in seven Americans. According to the New York Times, "The McCain campaign has no estimate of how many of America's 47 million uninsured would likely gain coverage under its plan." It "has been estimated to reduce the number of uninsured in the U.S.by three to nine million." [Wall Street Journal, 10/11/2007, 4/30/2008; New York Times, 3/2/2008]

• McCain's Erosion Of Employer System Would Take Away Millions of Americans' Insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, "158 million people nationally" had "employer-sponsored health insurance" in 2007.  McCain's elimination of the employer tax incentive to provide coverage would put these 158 million Americans' coverage in jeopardy.  According to an analysis conducted by the Center For American Progress, "business owners would no longer need to cover their workers to get tax benefits for their own coverage.The entire employer health insurance system could unravel, ending this as an option for Americans who prefer it." In addition, the McCain plan "would not require insurers to provide health coverage to people with pre-existing conditions." [Kaiser Family Foundation, "Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey; Center For American Progress Action Fund, "Analysis of McCain's Health Care Announcement," 4/29/2008; New York Times Political Blog, "The Caucus," 4/29/2008]