Debbie’s Downer Days

Newly Minted DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz Is Showing A Flair For Getting Her Facts Wrong And Launching Hypocritical Attacks

DWS Wrong On Medicare’s Solvency:

DWS CLAIM: ObamaCare Helped Extend The Life Of Medicare By 12 Years. “In fact, we added 12 years of solvency to Medicare and ensure that it would be better for seniors…” (MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” 5/25/11)

FACT CHECK: Medicare’s Trust Fund Will Be Exhausted In 2024, Five Years Earlier That Predicted Last Year. “Medicare's trust fund will run dry in 2024, five years earlier than forecast just last year, and Social Security's will be exhausted by 2036, adding fuel to the debate over cutting one or both programs to reduce annual budget deficits.” (Richard Wolf, “Medicare, Social Security Running Out Of Money Faster,” USA Today, 5/13/11)

• The Nonpartisan CBO Projects That Medicare’s Trust Fund Will Be Exhausted Even Sooner, In 2020.(“March 2011 Medicare Baseline,” Congressional Budget Office, March 18, 2011)

And The Trustees Projections For Medicare Are “Suspect” Because They Depend On Savings That May Never Materialize. “The Medicare figures are suspect, because they rely on billions of dollars in savings projected under the health care law signed by President Obama last year. Those savings depend on many factors, such as cuts in payments to doctors that Congress habitually sidesteps, as well as improvements in doctors' and hospitals' productivity. There is no guarantee those will happen; in fact, the physician payment cuts surely will not.” (Richard Wolf, “Medicare, Social Security Running Out Of Money Faster,” USA Today, 5/13/11)
DWS CLAIM: “Rep. Wasserman Schultz: GOP Pushing 'Outright Lies' on Obama Israel Stance.”(Devin Dwyer, “Rep. Wasserman Schultz: GOP Pushing 'Outright Lies' on Obama Israel Stance,” ABC News’ The Note, 5/26/11)

·       “‘We Will Address The Unfounded Characterizations Of His Record And Outright Lies,’ She Added.”(Devin Dwyer, “Rep. Wasserman Schultz: GOP Pushing 'Outright Lies' on Obama Israel Stance,” ABC News’ The Note, 5/26/11)

·       REALITY: MAYBE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ SHOULD CALL HARRY REID?

·       Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV): “The place where negotiating will happen must be at the negotiating table – and nowhere else.”(Josh Gerstein, “Harry Reid Rebukes Barack Obama Over Israel,” Politico, 5/24/11)

·       Reid: “Those negotiations … will not happen – and their terms will not be set – through speeches, or in the streets, or in the media.”(Josh Gerstein, “Harry Reid Rebukes Barack Obama Over Israel,” Politico, 5/24/11)

·       Reid: “No One Should Set Premature Parameters About Borders, About Building, Or About Anything Else.”Josh Gerstein, “Harry Reid Rebukes Barack Obama Over Israel,” Politico, 5/24/11)

DWS Just Wrong About Congressional Districts:

DWS CLAIM: “Democratic National Committee chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Wednesday that N.Y.-26 is ‘the 426th worst-district for Democrats in the country. There's only nine districts out of 435 that are worse than this one.’” (Dan Roem, “Reality Check: How Republican Is NY-26?” National Journal’s Hotline On Call, 5/26/11)

FACT CHECK: “A more useful metric to measure the partisanship of House districts is the Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index, and it shows that the district is less Republican than the average Republican-held House seat. … According to the Cook Political Report, there were 149 districts after the 2008 election that were more Republican with ratings between R+7 and R+29. Twenty-five other districts also share the R+6 value of NY-26.” (Dan Roem, “Reality Check: How Republican Is NY-26?” National Journal’s Hotline On Call, 5/26/11)

FACT CHECK: “Wasserman Schultz says there are only 9 districts worse for Dems than NY-26. I'm sorry, but that's very wrong.” (Aaron Blake, Twitter Feed, Accessed 5/26/11)

Source: Republican National Committee Research, www.gop.com