Super Tuesday is only one month away, which means it’s showtime in Georgia for the GOP’s presidential candidates.
GOP candidate Mitt Romney stumped at a small Atlanta business Wednesday to persuade Georgians to choose him in the March 6 primary.
PolitiFact Georgia was there, too. And we happened to bring our Truth-O-Meter.
(Editor’s note: With the Iowa caucuses only two months away, PolitiFact Georgia will dedicate this week to summaries of key fact-checks on the leading GOP candidates as well as President Barack Obama’s performance on his 500 campaign promises. Today we look at Ron Paul.)
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Every month since 9/11, there have been as many suicide attacks against the United States and its allies as there were in all the years leading up to 9/11.
Paul made this remark Sept. 30 at a forum in Manchester, N.H., to criticize the U.S. for playing "policeman of the world."
Whether Paul meant al-Qaida suicide attacks only or all groups who have executed suicide campaigns against the U.S. and its allies was unclear. Either way, the number of suicide attacks against the U.S. and its allies since 9/11 is not "equivalent" to the total before 9/11.
The average number each month is actually greater than the total number that predated that day, so Paul is actually understating the magnitude. And the data support his underlying point that the number of attacks since Sept. 11, 2001, has grown.
We rate Paul's claim Mostly True.
(Editor’s note: With the Iowa caucuses only two months away, PolitiFact Georgia will dedicate this week to summaries of key fact-checks on the leading GOP candidates as well as President Barack Obama’s performance on his 500 campaign promises. Today we look at Herman Cain.)
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The 9-9-9 plan "does not raise taxes on those that are making the least."
Herman Cain made this claim to defend his tax plan against accusations it would raise taxes on the middle class and poor during the Oct. 18 Republican presidential primary debate in Las Vegas.
His plan includes a 9 percent income tax, a 9 percent sales tax and a 9 percent business tax.
Based on what Cain’s campaign has said about the plan, the only exemptions on the income tax will be for charitable deductions and for undefined "empowerment" zones that would encourage development in inner cities. The 9 percent sales tax would exclude used goods. Payroll taxes on workers would go away.
The Tax Policy Center, an independent policy group that includes tax analysts who have worked in both Democratic and Republican administrations, found that high percentages of lower-income tax filers would see tax increases.
Cain’s campaign may release more details on his plan that could change this picture, but knowing what we know now, his claim is False.
(Editor’s note: With the Iowa caucuses only two months away, PolitiFact Georgia will dedicate this week to summaries of key fact-checks on the leading GOP candidates as well as President Barack Obama’s performance on his 500 campaign promises. Today we look at Newt Gingrich.)
Want to comment on our findings? Visit us on Facebook.
Editor’s note: With the Iowa caucuses only two months away, PolitiFact Georgia will dedicate this week to summaries of key fact-checks on the leading GOP candidates as well as President Barack Obama’s performance on his 500 campaign promises. Today we look at Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
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"We cut property taxes by one-third in the state of Texas while I’ve been governor."
On the campaign trail in New Hampshire Oct. 1, Perry repeated this common battle cry in his campaign for the Republican nomination.
He’s referring to House Bill 1, which he signed into law in 2006. It’s intended to reduce property taxes paid to local school districts.
The overhaul effectively lowered the maintenance and operation segment of the school tax, from $1.50 to $1.00 per $100 of assessed property value, or about one-third. But it didn’t translate to 33 percent lower bills for taxpayers.
If you look at total property tax revenue, Texans paid about the same amount in 2010 as they did in 2005. If you adjust for inflation, he's closer (it's about 9 percent less), but it's still far short of one-third. We find his claim Mostly False.
Editor’s note: With the Iowa caucuses only two months away, PolitiFact Georgia will dedicate this week to summaries of key fact-checks on the leading GOP candidates as well as President Barack Obama’s performance on his 500 campaign promises. Today we look at Mitt Romney.
Want to comment on our findings? Visit us on Facebook.
"The people in Massachusetts like [the state health care plan] by about a 3-1 margin."
This was a defense of his record on health care -- when he was governor of Massachusetts -- during an Oct. 11, 2011, debate in Hanover, N.H., where he took heat for signing into law a health care program similar to the reforms passed nationally in 2010.
Romney has strong support for this claim. A recent survey by a credible pollster found the ratio of support to opposition for the Massachusetts law at 3 to 1, and other polls suggest levels of support even higher. So we rate Romney’s statement True.
Who would have thought that presidential long shot Herman Cain would become the sweetheart of the Republican field?
On Friday, the Georgian appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Sunday, he was on ABC’s "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour. Monday he hobnobbed with developer Donald Trump. He even gabbed with the ladies of The View.
His new memoir "This is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House" cracked Amazon’s top 10 list.
This political Cinderella tale might not be a fantasy. A CBS poll released Tuesday shows Cain tied with front runner former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for first place. Support for the political newbie more than tripled to 17 percent of likely Republican voters in only two weeks. Other polls have also placed him at or near the top of the race.
Fans of limited government, put down those pompoms and get off the sidelines. GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich wants you to join Team 10.
Long a rallying point for those who want to curtail the power of federal government, the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution describes the powers held by states and people. It’s been neglected for too long, Gingrich said in a conference call announcing the effort.
That’s why Gingrich launched Team 10, an Internet crowd-sourcing initiative, to brainstorm ideas to end big government and get the federal government to "enforce the 10th Amendment," the effort’s Facebook page says.
Thank goodness the Truth-O-Meter’s a polymath. PolitiFact Georgia relied on its encyclopedic knowledge to tackle subjects as utterly unrelated as pit bull aggression and health care reform.
Rulings varied. La Raza, a Hispanic issues advocacy group, earned a True for its claim on the percent of Latino children on Medicaid. U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey earned a False for his claims that a federal health care board can kill you. A DeKalb County commissioner earned a Mostly True on those controversial canines. Former Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall earned a False.
Curious? Here are shortened versions of our extensive fact-checks.
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The Truth-O-Meter endures. But we occasionally give it a tuneup.
Due to overwhelming response from our readers, we’re making a slight tweak to our ratings. We are changing our Barely True to Mostly False.
Many readers complained the Barely True rating put too much emphasis on "true" when the rating actually describes something without much truth. The definition will remain the same -- "The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."
Sadly, last week, politicians did not give us the chance to shift the Truth-O-Meter to Mostly False mode. They earned two False ratings one Pants on Fire, and a single True.
There’s always next week.
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Politicians kept the truth close at hand at PolitiFact Georgia last week.
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp earned a True on a claim about election law violations. So did Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker, who talked about the region’s transportation needs. A criminal justice expert earned a Mostly True when he questioned the effectiveness of Atlanta’s curfew law.
State Sen. Jack Murphy strayed the furthest from the truth with a statement on immigration. Half True, we ruled.
All in all, not a bad week for Truthiness.
To comment on our findings, hit the "like" button on our Facebook page.You can also follow us on Twitter.
A state investigation that confirmed reports of widespread cheating at Atlanta Public Schools sent politicians into full spin mode. Last week, PolitiFact Georgia found some of those pols were well worth a fact check -- or two.
The Truth-O-Meter first put former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin to the test. She said ex- Superintendent Beverly Hall, who was implicated in the scandal, left APS better than she found it. Franklin earned another check when she said that only a small percentage of district educators were involved in cheating.
Midweek, PolitiFact Georgia took a break from education matters to see whether Gov. Nathan Deal fulfilled a promise on zero-based budgeting. Then we aimed the Truth-O-Meter at state Rep. Ralph Long, who laid some of the blame for APS cheating at the feet of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.
How did politicians fare? Read shortened versions of these fact checks below.
To comment on our findings, hit the "like" button on our Facebook page. You can also follow us on Twitter.