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Gingrich Campaign Press Release - Mitt's Five Falsehoods (and counting) from CNN Debate

January 27, 2012


CNN Debate Highlights Mitt Romney's Problems Telling The Truth How Can He Beat Obama If He Keeps Beating Himself?

Last night during the CNN Debate, on at least five occasions, Mitt Romney showed he will say anything to become president, even if it is not true.

And that is why he cannot defeat Barack Obama this fall.

Falsehood #1: Voting Democrat.

Governor Romney said, "I've never voted for a Democrat when there was a Republican on the ballot.... I have always voted for a Republican any time there was a Republican on the ballot."

This is false.  In March 1992, during the Massachusetts primary, he had the opportunity to vote for George HW Bush or Pat Buchanan in the Republican primary, but chose instead to vote for Democrat Paul Tsongas in the Democratic primary.

Furthermore, as the Boston Globe reports, this is yet another in a series of shifting explanations for Governor Romney about why he made the vote for Tsongas.

"When first asked as a 1994 US Senate candidate about records showing him voting in the 1992 Democratic primary, Romney said he couldn't recall for whom he voted.

Then Romney told the Globe he voted for Tsongas because he preferred his ideas to his then-opponent for the nomination, Bill Clinton. Later, he added that it was proof he was not a partisan politician.

Yet in 2007, while making his first run for president, Romney offered a new explanation: He said he voted for Tsongas as a tactical maneuver, aiming to present the "weakest opponent" possible for Bush."

Falsehood #2: Blind Trust.

Governor Romney said, in response to the revelation that he profited off of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, "my investments for the last 10 years have been in a blind trust, managed by a trustee."

This is false.  As National Journal reports, at least one fund in which Governor Romney made between 15K and 50K in interest from investments, was not a blind trust and included investments in Fannie and Freddie.

Governor Romney also flip flopped on whether blind trusts are an appropriate excuse for not being able to exercise influence over them.  In 1994, he criticized Senator Kennedy for using the exact same defense he tried to use last night.

Falsehood #3: Gutter Politics of "Ghetto".

When asked about an ad being run by the Romney campaign which falsely accuses Speaker Gingrich of saying "Spanish is the language of the ghetto (Newt never mentioned Spanish and was making a point about the importance of learning English to succeed in America, saying that immigrant children are failed by bilingual education because they do not learn adequate English skills to succeed), Governor Romney claimed, "I haven't seen the ad, so I'm sorry.  I don't get to see all the TV ads." 

Yet in the ad, Governor Romney says (in Spanish) that he approves the message.   So was he lying during the debate or was he lying about approving the message? 

Falsehood #4: Hiding Romneycare's Cost To Taxpayer.

Governor Romney said of those who got healthcare coverage after Romneycare was passed who did not have coverage before, "Half of those people got insurance on their own. Others got help in buying the insurance."

This is false.  In fact, 98% of the additional people insured after Romneycare was passed have it paid for or subsidized by the federal government or Massachusetts government.  Of the 412,000 additional people who had health insurance in 2010 who did not have it in June 2006 (pre-reform), only 7K of the 412K (1.7%) had unsubsidized health insurance.  The rest were covered through Medicaid, Commonwealth Care, or a program of subsidized care for the unemployed.

Falsehood #5: Hiding Romneycare's Impact on Every Citizen of Mass.

Speaking about the impact of Romneycare, Governor Romney said "92 percent of the people in my state had insurance before our plan went in place. And nothing changes for them." 

This is false.  Romneycare has increased the price of healthcare premiums for every citizen of Massachusetts.  Premiums have increased by 55 percent since Mitt Romney became Governor, a rate 13 points higher than the national average and the third highest growth rate among the states.  So every Massachusetts resident has been affected by this destructive law.  In addition, the plan gives incentives to employers to drop their healthcare coverage, so many of those with healthcare coverage from their employers are now at greater risk of losing it.

Newt Gingrich, Gingrich Campaign Press Release - Mitt's Five Falsehoods (and counting) from CNN Debate Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/299274

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