Media Matters Daily Summary 08-09-10

Wash. Examiner falsely claims Obama wants to "raise everybody's taxes"
A Washington Examiner editorial falsely claimed that President Obama is "determin[ed]" to "raise everybody's taxes by allowing the Bush [tax] cuts ... to expire" and advanced the falsehood that the stimulus bill "failed to create jobs." In fact, Obama has proposed rolling back the Bush tax cuts only on American families making more than $250,000 a year, and many analysts agree that stimulus spending significantly raised employment over what would have happened without it. Read More

Did the author of the Citizenship Clause really say it would exclude the children of "foreigners"?
Right-wing media have claimed that Sen. Jacob Howard, the author of the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause, said that it would not apply to the children of "foreigners." However, scholars dispute this interpretation of Howard's remarks; and the Supreme Court noted in 1898 that the white children of European foreigners "have always been considered and treated as citizens." Read More

Conservative media advance dubious claim that Bush tax cuts drove economic recovery
Conservative media have pushed the dubious claim that the Bush tax cuts were responsible for economic recovery. In fact, economists have stated that the Bush administration's tax policies failed to make the economy grow faster and contributed to a decline in median household income. Read More

Conservative media's attacks on Spain vacation based on falsehoods
Conservative media are pushing the falsehoods that taxpayers picked up the tab for Michelle Obama's private vacation expenses in Spain and that 40 friends accompanied her and her daughter Sasha on the trip. In fact, the Obamas were accompanied by two of the first lady's friends and three of their daughters, and all of them, including the Obamas, reportedly paid for their own personal and travel expenses. Read More