The following is from Fox News. Yes, that Fox News:
[T]o anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to facts, Ryan’s speech was an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech. On this measure, while it was Romney who ran the Olympics, Ryan earned the gold.
Apparently Fox News has started paying attention to facts and goes on to name some that Ryan blurred the edges of during his speech — with supporting links and everything:
Fact: While Ryan tried to pin the downgrade of the United States’ credit rating on spending under President Obama, the credit rating was actually downgraded because Republicans threatened not to raise the debt ceiling.
Fact: While Ryan blamed President Obama for the shut down of a GM plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, the plant was actually closed under President George W. Bush. Ryan actually asked for federal spending to save the plant, while Romney has criticized the auto industry bailout that President Obama ultimately enacted to prevent other plants from closing.
Fact: Though Ryan insisted that President Obama wants to give all the credit for private sector success to government, that isn’t what the president said. Period.
Fact: Though Paul Ryan accused President Obama of taking $716 billion out of Medicare, the fact is that that amount was savings in Medicare reimbursement rates (which, incidentally, save Medicare recipients out-of-pocket costs, too) and Ryan himself embraced these savings in his budget plan.
To Fox News‘ (dis)credit, they also called Ryan’s speech “dazzling,” patting the prospective VP on the back for helping to humanize the Automatic Teller Machine with whom he shares a ticket. Then Fox News zagged instead of zigging once again, calling the speech “distracting” by failing to mention a few things that may not sit so well with voters — again, with supporting links!:
Ryan didn’t mention his extremist stance on banning all abortions with no exception for rape or incest, a stance that is out of touch with 75% of American voters.
Ryan didn’t mention his previous plan to hand over Social Security to Wall Street.
Ryan didn’t mention his numerous votes to raise spending and balloon the deficit when George W. Bush was president.
Ryan didn’t mention how his budget would eviscerate programs that help the poor and raise taxes on 95% of Americans in order to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires even further and increase — yes, increase —the deficit.
We don’t know if the Fox News site has been a victim of cyberterrorism, or someone had an extra bowl of bipartisan Wheaties this morning, but blatantly calling bullshit on a Republican candidate when that number is almost strictly reserved for the opposition is…weird. Fair and balanced. But weird.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Brandon
Someone got fired today.
GreenmanTN
I was surprised to see this scathing attack on Ryan’s speech on the Fox News website.
But I will be VERY VERY VERY surprised if the author or any of the opinions she expresses makes it onto a Fox News TV program, where it really counts.
Right now it’s just on the web where very few Fox News viewers will ever see it. On air they are treating Ryan’s speech like the best thing since sliced bread and I don’t expect that will change.
alexoloughlin
Ryan also forgot to mention he took $20 million from the stimulus package for his own district. He also forgot the following in regard to the deficit:
He supported the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 which put the deficit at $1.7 trillion; he voted for Medicare Part D, another $180 billion; he supported TARP and HERA, another $224 billion; Iraq supplementals, $806 billion and the Bush tax cut extension further adding another $620 billion to the deficit, none of which were paid for, part of the reason why the economy went belly up in 2008 aside from the Wall Street debacle. Ryan and Romney still have not explained how they’re going to pay for budget cuts they’ve planned. Obama and Biden will nail them on all of that during the debates. Biden will wipe the floor with Ryan on foreign policy as I’m sure Obama will Romney. If at the end of that, the people put Romney in the White House, then this dumb electorate will get what it deserves.
Joel J
I’ve never heard such a litany of outright lies in my entire life. I changed the channel. The speech demonstrates that the Republicans have nothing to run on other than tax cuts for millionaires, deep cuts in the social safety net, and deregulation for their business buddies.
Neo
They are morally and intellectually bankrupt. Their words are like acid on the face of America, spewing lies and hate from every orifice. They ruined the nation and they are begging to finish the job.
Ryan is a liar and a clown, the world will rightly eat him for breakfast, as they will Romney. Obama is respected and well liked for his work to help the US and the world recover, and he’s doing a splendid job in the face of these violent, bigoted lunatics hampering his parties every move.
ncman
This means NOTHING. It is an opinion piece written by a token liberal and posted on their web site as opinion. Not one word of it is being spoken of by any of their talking heads on any of their TV news shows.
Rob Moore
@alexoloughlin: The problem with that is that those of us who don’t for Romney will get what they deserve, too. I’m just saying.
Bob LaBlah
How ironic that the only person who has made the most sense in this parade of fools (the GOP convention) is Condoleeza Rice. I do hope (in the event Romney wins because everyone was so sure Obama would win that they didn’t bother to go to the polls to vote) she declines his offer of a cabinet position.
The present course of this country reminds me so much of the finals years I worked at AT&T. That company, once upon a time, was ALWAYS in the top five corporations in the entire world (based on Fortune 500, Forbes ratings). When I left in 1992 it was nothing more (and still is) a rudderless aircraft carrier with a captain having no clue which way to steer it. The same applies to the United States. I would not be surprised (actually I am waiting for it) to get a letter in the mail saying that my pension benefits from the company are going to be cut. Think it not possible? Ask the retirees of United Airlines to show you the letter where they HAD to accept a forty-percent reduction in benefits in order for the company to stay in business. Nothing is for sure anymore except taxes, ignoramuses running for office based on lies, and death.
I almost turned off the television when this young idiot (a present day Dan Quayle if one ever was to come along) said that we need to start selling our “goods” to consumers outside of the country. Did he forget that nearly ALL manufacturing has been sent abroad and we are a SERVICE driven economy that has been replaced (humans, workers….take your pick) by laptop computers priced under $300?
To use the expression “we have lost our way” is the understatement of the year folks. We ARE in big trouble and I do not blame Obama for not knowing which way to turn because we have already turned in so many directions trying to “fix” the economy that we are dizzy and don’t know it. We are pulling money out of thin air just to keep the way of life that we know because THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE. The only alternative is to ADMIT the world itself is now BROKE, and we all know that is not going to happen.
I thank god I am retired and do not have to look for non-living-wage paying jobs just to make it. I am in my mid fifties and say from the bottom of my heart good luck young’un’s. You are going to need it. You are not going to be as “lucky” as I was. And I don’t say that sarcastically either. I say it with truth and feeling.
MACDONALDBANK
Romney has impaled himself — with a bogus cross!
Romney as President; would mean the darkest & meanest period in the United States — in its history.
Homophobic — witchcraft would rule the government from Rome & Salt Lake City!
MACDONALDBANK
Romney and Ryan; should be committed to an asylum — for the religiously insane!
Peterdeep
The republicans don’t see this election as winnable. They will control the congress most likely and make life miserable for Obama (and the rest of us) for the next four years. The plan is Jeb Bush in 2016. They can’t do that if Romney wins this one.
alterego1980
I’m watching the Repub Convention and i’m surprised there haven’t been many good speeches at all. I’m not going to like what they say, the content or their message, because I’m liberal, but I know a good speech when I see it, and there have been maybe 3-4. So not only are they backwards on policy, but they are boring and uninspired too! For their sake, I hope they saved them all for tonight.
patrickzzz
Sally Kohn is the author of this article on the Fox website. As one commenter noted above: “It is an opinion piece written by a token liberal and posted on their web site”. I’ve watched Sally a number of times on Fox News and she’s an articulate and brilliant political commentator, who just happens to be Lesbian! Kudos to Fox News for allowing Sally to try to balance out the vitriolic conservative opinions they typically spew! I had received Sally’s updated newsletter this morning and read it just prior to seeing the same story on Queerty.
Sally has a terrific website, which I regularly monitor and I’m also able to watch some of her video postings from her appearances on Fox “News”. If you are interested more in Sally’s work and opinions, I’d encourage you to check her out and support her efforts. http://sallykohn.com/ I think she’s brilliant, although I am repeating myself!
LadyL
It is enraging to listen to these Republican morons bleat and blather about how President Obama has “failed” in his stewardship of this country when in fact, from the moment of his arrival in January 2009 (in fact from the moment of his 2008 win), they have, with malice aforethought, done EVERYTHING possible to ensure he fails. Done this knowing our country was in the deepest economic peril since the Great Depression. Done it knowing they were throwing even their own constituents under the bus in the process. Nothing mattered to them except making Obama look bad in an attempt to make themselves look better by comparison.
*
If that is all you know about the GOP, then that’s enough to know better than to trust any of them with any office higher than county dogcatcher.
Aidan8
I just checked the FoxNews website (4:35PM ET) and the only “fact check” article I see says that nothing Ryan said was factually inaccurate. So looks like they took down whatever you reference above. ??
patrickzzz
I think it’s still on the FOX “news” website:
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/30/paul-ryans-speech-in-three-words/
BJ McFrisky
I find it astounding (and a little embarrassing) that Lester Brathwaite would write such an article about an author . . . without researching the author. She’s one of Fox’s liberal commenters, and a gay one at that. But Mr. B wouldn’t know that because he’s obviously never watched the channel—had he done so, rather than simply parroting the left’s contempt for it, he might have been more enlightened to how the network works. You know that whole “Fair & Balanced” thing? That’s because they have numerous liberal commenters as well as conservative—unlike their competition over at MSNBC. This article questioning Ryan’s veracity is as meaningful as Joe Scarborough questioning a Democrat’s.
@Brandon: I think the one who probably got fired was Lester Brathwaite for writing an article about an author he knew nothing about.
Aidan8
@patrickzzz: Patrick, thanks for the link. Here’s a link to the author’s site. She was asked by Fox to write the “liberal response” to the speech.
http://sallykohn.com/
Aidan8
@BJ McFrisky: Fox’s news article (as opposed to an opinion piece) says that nothing in Ryan’s speech was factually inaccurate. That doesn’t sound like news to me, let alone “fair” or “balanced.” I like your point about researching the author. But you can’t really be suggesting that FoxNews is real journalism, are you?
Charlie in Charge
@MACDONALDBANK: Hey what have you got against witchcraft!
ncman
@BJ McFrisky: It’s not much in the way of “balance” unless she is on the air on FOX speaking her opinions in the same way that Joe Scarborough is on the air for 3 hours every weekday speaking his conservative views on MSNBC.
hephaestion
Lyin’ Ryan!
BJ McFrisky
@ncman: Sally Kohn doesn’t have her own show, no, but she’s a frequent guest on numerous FNC shows, along with other liberals like Alan Colmes, Bob Beckel, Juan Williams, Leslie Marshall, etc etc, who debate topics from the left. Unlike Al Sharpton, Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz, Rachel Maddow, et al, who spout one-sided sermons, the FNC shows like O’Reilly and The Five bring on opposing views. Hence, fair and balanced.
ncman
@BJ McFrisky: Matthews has republicans on his show ALL THE TIME. The others you mention, Sharpton, Schultz and Maddow… Most Republicans refuse to come on those shows. But, they have each had republicans on.
Now, please name for us any one FOX show that has had Sally Kohn on today to discuss her opinion of Ryan’s speech.
ncman
@BJ McFrisky: One comes to mind immediately. Michael Steele, former head of the RNC appears on ALL of the MSNBC shows ALL the time. S.E. Cupp, conservative pundit, appears on MSNBC every weekday at 3:00 pm. On weekends Chris Hayes has Republicans on his show all the time.
ncman
@BJ McFrisky: Also, Steve Schmidt, John McCain’s campaign manager, has been participating in MSNBC’s convention coverage every night this week. And, he appears regularly on Rachel Maddow’s show. So, please stop trying to sell your idea that there are no conservative voices on MSNBC.
BJ McFrisky
@ncman: Well, there you go. You watch MSNBC all the time and know where and when all the conservative pundits show up, and I watch Fox and know when the liberals pop up. And on the side, we can debate and discuss and agree to disagree. America, what a country!
Regarding Sally Kohn’s TV appearances today, unfortunately she neglected to send me her personal schedule (that Sally, she’s such a klutz), so I’m not up-to-the-minute with her whereabouts, but when I get it, you’ll be the first one I’ll update, so keep checking back.
ncman
@BJ McFrisky: Ah, but the fact is that you made the claim that there are no conservatives on MSNBC. I proved you to be wrong. I didn’t make any such claim about FOX. I just said that Sally Kohn wouldn’t be on to give “VOICE” to her opinion of Ryan’s speech. In fact I’ve seen it reported that all the FOX News shows today have been defending the honesty of Ryan’s speech despite what all the independent fact-checkers have said about it.
BJ McFrisky
@ncman: Your statement, “In fact I’ve seen it reported that all the FOX News shows today have been defending the honesty of Ryan’s speech despite what all the independent fact-checkers have said about it,” verifies what we already knew: That you watch MSNBC and get all your info from that source.
And by the way, I didn’t say that your channel never has on alternative viewpoints, I simply stated that they’re more opinionated and one-sided. You, for some reason, took that as a challenge, which it wasn’t intended to be—it’s just my opinion.
Again: We can agree to disagree.
ncman
And, now, based on the information I provided, we know that your opinion is wrong. But, good little conservative that you are, you take the tack of claiming that you now just want to agree to disagree instead of admitting you were wrong.
By the way, I did not see the reports of how FOX is reporting the content of Ryan’s speech on MSNBC. I saw it reported on the internet. And, not an MSNBC web site.
BJ McFrisky
@ncman: I’ll say it again: I didn’t say that your channel never has on alternative viewpoints, I simply stated that they’re more opinionated and one-sided. I was wrong about nothing: I simply stated an opinion, and just because that opinion doesn’t jibe with yours, it doesn’t mean I was wrong. Anyway, it appears anything I say will only ellicit a fighting response from you, so I’m signing off. Enjoy the convention in Charlotte next week, Carolina man.
Marjorie 0120
@alexoloughlin:
Biden is so senile he can’t wipe his own butt with both hands so I doubt he will be any threat to Ryan.
Sally Kohn is a liberal idiot so not surprised at her commentary being negative. The way to judge any person is by their actions and the results. Can we now take a look at the alternative to Romney/Ryan.
Oh yes, we have obama and biteme biden. Both are pandering to our gay community claiming they like us us and that’s all that matters to us. Not the unemployment numbers, not the homes lost or under valued, not the growing number of families on food stamps. obama likes gays, let’s throw our support behind him and to hell with everything else!
Rockery
This is amazing. Has Ryan had an evaluation done by a psychologist?
ncman
@BJ McFrisky: Your previous statements were:
“You know that whole “Fair & Balanced” thing? That’s because they have numerous liberal commenters as well as conservative—unlike their competition over at MSNBC.”
“Unlike Al Sharpton, Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz, Rachel Maddow, et al, who spout one-sided sermons, the FNC shows like O’Reilly and The Five bring on opposing views. Hence, fair and balanced.”
Despite what you say now, both of these are your “opinionated” claims that MSNBC doesn’t have conservatives expressing their points of view. I listed many of the conservatives who appear on MSNBC and proved your “opinion” to be wrong.
We are all entitled to our own opinion. But, we are not entitled to our own facts. The facts are that MSNBC does include many conservatives on their programs.
PerryBrass
I really enjoyed some of the more intelligent reactions to this piece, minus the usual cross-biting and hair pulling. I guess this goes to prove, to paraphrase Abe Lincoln: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” The GOP is just hoping they can fool enough of us—but if you are gay, they don’t stand a chance. Even the Log Cabin Republicans are starting to get queazy with the Grand Old Party of Liars. Perry Brass, author of King of Angels, A Novel About the Genesis of Identity and Belief.
BJ McFrisky
@ncman: Oh, okay, now I get it. You’re good and I’m evil. Got it. Will change immediately to appease you. Thank you for being there when a lost soul like me needed direction.
Must . . . watch . . . MSNBC . . . NOW!!!
invcounsl
It’s sad to me that the rhetoric expressed by both liberal and conservative citizen commentators here and elsewhere reflects the kind of vitriol that we see in Congress. Maybe our representatives are accurately reflecting the public state of mind and we should expect no better from them.
There were no outright lies in Paul Ryan’s speech. Did he stretch the truth? Probably. Did he seek stimulus for his district? Of course, if the government is going to spend stimulus dollars in part collected in taxes from his constituents he would be derelict not to try to get their fare share. Does this make him a hypocrite?
I, for one, am amazed and greateful that Mit Romney has put himself through the electoral gauntlet in order to try to bring order to the mess this country is in. He could have just settled into a fabulous retirement. President Obama is well meaning but seems to not grasp how our economy produces prosperity and jobs.
If you choose to vote for President Obama it seems that change is out the window as far as how he operates in Washington, so all you are voting for at this point is hope. I’d suggest the addition of prayer.
Marjorie 0120
@invcounsl:
You are very correct invcounsl. For me it comes down to my priorities.
First I am a human, sharing my life with all other humans, some I like or love and others, not so much. Then I am an American and to say I love this country would be a gross understatement, there is none better! As an American, I must vote for the survival and well being of this country, not just on any one’s opinions of sexuality or because of any one’s religion or personal opinions. The President cannot make people accept gay people, nor can he/she make anyone hate gay people, individuals believe what they believe. In my opinion, I have to vote for survival of this country with all of it’s freedoms, quirks, grand accomplishments and failures. Our current pres has grandiose ideas, but they do not work, we’ve seen it over and over. Libs blame repubs for the mess obama inherited when he came into office. But, here’s the real scoop. Before the libs got control of both house 01-03-07, unemployment stood at 4.6% the GDP was 3.5% and the national debt was $9T having grown by less than $4T over the six years since Bush had taken office. Enter the Democratic control, things started changing immediately. Bush warned both Houses that the housing market was going to crash 17 different documented times, they laughed and called him an alarmist, obama was among them as Senator. What obama inherited was a mess he helped create and poor guy has no clue as to how to fix it. It must be fixed and fixed quickly or life as we know it will change, when the American dollar is no longer the currency used by the world for trade, you will know what real poverty is as prices will shy rocket beyond your wildest dreams and it’s coming as the world watches us flounder and go further into debt.
Aidan8
@Marjorie 0120: Bush inherited a surplus, gave us two wars he didn’t pay for, a huge Medicare benefit increase he didn’t pay for, and left office with trillions in debt and huge deficit. I’m not a huge fan of the Democrats either, but you’re drinking the Kool-Aid if you think the GOP is fiscally responsible. The facts don’t bear it out. Sorry, it’s not some liberal conspiracy. Just reality.
As for saying you are “human first”…. shouldn’t humanism hold higher place to nationalism? e.g., can we really fuck over poor people and old people just because we have a “saving vision” for the country? We are not the United Corporations of America, we are the United States of America.
Marjorie 0120
@Aidan8:
There was no surplus, that’s a myth. When Bush took office 01-20-01 there was debt of over $5T.
Date Dollar Amount
09/30/2010 13,561,623,030,891.79
09/30/2009 11,909,829,003,511.75
09/30/2008 10,024,724,896,912.49
09/30/2007 9,007,653,372,262.48
09/30/2006 8,506,973,899,215.23
09/30/2005 7,932,709,661,723.50
09/30/2004 7,379,052,696,330.32
09/30/2003 6,783,231,062,743.62
09/30/2002 6,228,235,965,597.16
09/30/2001 5,807,463,412,200.06
09/30/2000 5,674,178,209,886.86
These figures are from a gov website, not FOX News or any other politically slanted site.
On one hand you say the Repubs are going to screw over poor people and on the other condemn Bush for Medicare Advantage, a prescription drug program. I remember those days and the news articles about seniors and the disabled eating pet food and living without lights or heat to pay for their medicines. When they got them they skipped doses or cut them in half to make them last. This bill was the height of human compassion and yet Bush is condemned for it.
Has it occurred to you that if there were more jobs, that there would be fewer people living in poverty? Clinton signed NAFTA into law it offered tax incentives for companies to take their businesses abroad. The idea was to share the wealth of America across the world, sounds good huh? Well when those companies saw the lower tax rates and ease of doing business in other countries they liked it and other businesses joined them.
Repubs say given our corp[orate tax rates are the highest in the world, perhaps if we lower them those companies will come home. That makes sense to me. obama wants you to think that only the corps will benefit, not the people who will find jobs enough to be choosy about. The loss in corp taxes will be made up by all of the other taxes we already pay, and more people will be able to pay them, everyone will benefit.
LandStander
Why won’t anyone admit that their news channel is biased?? All of the MSNBC people say “oh, we have conservatives!” and all the FNC people say “oh, we have liberals!” and both try to pretend they give both sides a fair shake.
They do not.
MSNBC is extremely liberal, and its programming is used to espouse the liberal viewpoint 95% of the time. FNC is extremely conservative, and its programming is used to espouse the conservative viewpoint 95% of the time.
Both of them answer to corporate sponsors. Both of them are manipulating people through the guise of “news”.
Try Link TV, and FreeSpeech TV, who have no corporate sponsors (though to be fair, they are still pretty liberal).
Aidan8
@Marjorie 0120: Marjorie, there was a surplus. A deficit and surplus refer to the budget, not the national debt. Two distinct things. Had Bush included in his budgets all the money spent on the wars and the Medicare expansion, his numbers would look even worse. This isn’t MSNBC or “liberal talk” here…. check the CBO or other independent analysis. BTW, I’m not saying I support Obama’s approach to a lot of things here, I don’t give him a “pass.” But the GOP-historical-revisionism has just got to stop.
Joel J
@Marjorie 0120: The president cannot make others love gays and lesbians, but he can ensure that the federal government no longer discriminates against us. Obama directed the agencies of the federal government to adopt gay-friendly personnel policies and ended Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. He endorses same-sex marriage and is committed to ending the Defense of Marriage Act.
Clinton did not offer companies tax incentives for moving their companies abroad. In fact, ending those tax breaks was a plank in his 1992 campaign. The Congress, which controls the tax code, did not go along, a testament to the power lobbyists hold over politicians.
The Bush administration was a disaster for America. If it were otherwise, he would have made an appearance at the Republican convention.
ScaryRussianHeather
No wonder Obama got elected AND GLAAD gets so much support while being political ass kissers in bed with mainstream TV, with geniuses like internet contributors completely incapable of researching (or admitting) ANYTHING.
That piece was an OPINION EDITORIAL by Sally Kohn, a FAR LEFT commentator.
http://sallykohn.com/
“And second, for the record, no I do not get paid for my writing for Fox News. So if you’re inclined and want to help keep me off the stripper poles in Tampa, feel free to make a tax-deductible donation via my fiscal sponsor the Grassroots Policy Project in order to support my work. I’d be grateful.”
Even the LINK says Fox News dot com slash OPINION. WAKE UP.
Joel J
@ScaryRussianHeather: As gay people, we are used to being bashed and denigrated by idiots like you and the gay-hating Religious Right. So what else is new?
Marjorie 0120
@Aidan8:
I thought long and hard about how to respond. There is no surplus if there is debt. At least that’s how it works in real budgets. Any left over monery after paying monthly bills goes to extra payments on credit cards or whatever. Surplus means you’ve paid ALL of the bills and this is what’s left over. Therefore the surplus Clinton claims is not real because there were bills left unpaid.
Joel J
@Marjorie 0120: Better think some more. You don’t understand the difference between the annual federal deficit and the cumulative federal debt. With such muddled thinking you are hardly one to be advising anyone else on economics or politics.
davros
just as Tiffany implied I’m stunned that some one able to get paid $5098 in one month on the computer. have you seen this web link N u T t y R i C h d o t c o m
EquesNiger
@Marjorie 0120: Marjorie, in the interest of being helpful, as opposed to an adsz, consider it the difference between profits and debt. “Surplus” is profit – revenues less expenses. Debt is clear. Just like any business, the govt can show a profit in a year but still have debt. Without surplus, debt could never decrease. It decreased during the Clinton admin.
Regardless, this indictment of Ryan’s speech is a clear departure from the usual FOX partisan positioning. Seems both FOX and CNN are moving (slightly) toward a more informational and fact-driven format. As people inevitably want sound-bytes and spoon-fed conclusions without having to understand the broader picture, it’s uncertain how long it will last – but it’s nice to see it happen even if a flash in the pan.
I would suggest reading the post directly as written and on FOX so as to eliminate “Chinese whispers”