Center for American Progress slams Factcheck.org distortion

Fact Check.org accuses the Center for American Progress Action Fund of twisting the facts about McCain’s proposal to cut Medicare benefits. Not true.

Summary

In a purported “fact check,” FactCheck.org is making the bogus claim that the Center for American Progress Action Fund is “twisting facts to scare seniors” about McCain’s proposal to cut $1.3 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid to finance his tax care health credits.

These claims are false and are based on the denials of McCain senior policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who “states unequivocally that no benefit cuts are envisioned.” Since McCain and his aides have promised to reduce Medicare and Medicaid spending to pay for their health care plan, have not proposed a realistic cost-containment proposal, and have refused to offer specific budget numbers and estimates, CAPAF concluded that McCain could only make up the budget shortfall by cutting benefits. Given the schizophrenic nature of McCain’s health care proposal, we’re skeptical that McCain can deliver the savings he promises, and see no basis for Fact Check to accuse CAPAF of “scaring seniors.”

Analysis

FactCheck.org began misrepresenting McCain’s health care plan in a post released on September 22, 2008 and followed up on their efforts in another post last week. In both cases, the organization relies on the denials of the McCain campaign and fails to conduct a through analysis of the implications of McCain’s proposals.

In its latest post, FactCheck.org claimed that McCain has never proposed to cut Medicare or Medicaid benefits, and argued that CAPAF’s analysis twisted McCain’s financing-mechanism by claiming that he would be forced to make “cuts in benefits, eligibility, or both.”

But in fact, FactCheck.org’s claim is based on a false reading of McCain’s proposed financing mechanism, amplified by McCain aides’ own one-sided, partisan denial that piles McCain’s confusion about his health care plan atop misinterpretation.

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Nevertheless, a so-called non-partisan “fact checking organization” quickly twisted CAPAF’s analysis into a post with a headline stating that CAPAF’s analysis was wrong. The tone of the piece smeared CAPAF analysts as partisan hacks, while failing to question McCain’s numbers or asking the McCain campaign for its own budget estimates. Rather, the author bent over backwards to give the McCain campaign the benefit of the doubt.

Why Should We Believe McCain?

For the record, the McCain campaign said, after its health care plan was released, that it did plan to “reduce the growth in Medicare spending.” McCain has a long record of voting to cut Medicare and just this weekend, McCain advisers said the senator would force Congress to “control the growth” of Medicare spending.

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But achievable or not, FactCheck.org is unwilling to question the McCain campaign’s competing assertions — that their proposal is budget neutral, does not raise taxes for most or all taxpayers, and does not cut Medicare or Medicaid benefits. It’s a rank distortion for FactCheck.org to claim that CAPAF’s analysis twists McCain’s plan, when all it does is try to analyze the consequences of $1.3 trillion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.