Thursday, August 25, 2011

Media Matters Daily Summary 08-25-11

Right-Wing Media Ignore Bush Effect On Debt To Suggest Obama Criticism Is Hypocrisy
Right-wing media have seized on a 2008 video of then-candidate Barack Obama, in which he criticized President Bush for adding $4 trillion to the debt, to accuse Obama of hypocrisy because $4 trillion in debt has also accumulated since Obama took office. However, this ignores the fact that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected $1.2 trillion in deficit before Obama took office -- based entirely on Bush's actions and economic conditions -- and that wars, policies, and the economic downturn that all began under Bush continue to inflate the debt. Read More

Fox's Megyn Kelly Wrong On Impact Of EPA's Coal Regulations
Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly reported the claim that "a fifth of America's electricity generating capacity is about to be taken offline" due to Environmental Protection Agency limits on pollution from coal plants. In fact, this statement vastly overstates even the worst-case scenarios pushed by industry groups, which are themselves based on assumptions that the Congressional Research Service has called into question. Read More

Note To Cal Thomas: Virginia's Budget Surplus Was Made Possible By Stimulus Funding And "Budget Tricks"
Citing Virginia's $500 million budget surplus, Washington Examiner columnist Cal Thomas claimed that the federal government should "emulate" Virginia Governor McDonnell's fiscal policies. In fact, under McDonnell, the state of Virginia received more than $2.7 billion in funds through the federal Recovery Act, and even The Wall Street Journal has pointed out that Virginia used "budget tricks to make the surplus appear larger than it really is." Read More

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