Minnesota Independent

Bachmann campaign claims get mixed reviews by fact-checkers

By Andy Birkey | 03.31.11 | 9:30 am

Rep. Michele Bachmann’s announcement last week that she’s mulling the idea of becoming a potential contender for the GOP nomination for president in 2012 has brought about a new round of fact-checking her statements this week. PolitiFact gave her a “Pants on Fire” rating on Tuesday, while Poligraph gave her an “inconclusive” on Wednesday. A member of Congress even used committee testimony this week to try and debunk one of her more frequent claims.

Fact-checkers hit Bachmann over claim that $105B hidden in healthcare reform

By Andy Birkey | 03.09.11 | 11:31 am

Rep. Michele Bachmann hit the cable news circuit this week alleging that the Affordable Care Act contained $105 billion in “hidden” spending. She dubbed the revelation a “bombshell” and announced the news on Meet the Press, Fox’s Sean Hannity show, Fox’s “On the Record” with Greta Van Susteren and WCCO’s Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy over the last few days. Politifact found Bachmann’s claim to be “barely true,” but the Washington Post disagreed, giving Bachmann four of its “Pinocchios.”

MPR catalogues Bachmann’s ‘misstatements’

By Andy Birkey | 01.21.11 | 11:55 am

Minnesota Public Radio previewed Rep. Michele Bachmann’s trip to Iowa on Friday with a piece looking at her frequent and bold statements that more often than not turn out to be untrue. The article points to Bachmann’s past whoppers and includes her track record at the Pulitzer Prize-winning website, Politifact, which has documented 13 false statements by the Sixth Congressional District Republican since 2009. There seem to be few, if any, consequences for politicians who repeat known falsehoods, MPR notes.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Photo: IowaPolitics.com, Flickr

Pawlenty attack on public sector unions rated ‘Pants on Fire’ wrong

By Andy Birkey | 12.16.10 | 1:25 pm

Gov. Tim Pawlenty got it wrong in his weekend Wall Street Journal piece that decried a perceived growth in public sector jobs and high pay for government employees, according to the St. Petersburg Times’ Politifact: “Not only did he apparently mangle the time frame, contradict his own definition of federal workers and fail to acknowledge the huge caveat of Census worker hiring, he also repeated a statistic that had been criticized as inaccurate as long as six months ago.”

Bachmann in running for ‘Lie of the Year’ in PolitiFact contest

By Patrick Caldwell | 12.07.10 | 4:47 pm

With the end of 2010 approaching, the St. Petersburg Times’ PolitiFact is holding a contest letting readers chose the “Lie of the Year.” In the running — for her recent incorrect claim that President Obama’s trip to India would cost $200 million per day — is Minnesota’s Michele Bachmann.

Bachmann’s health care statements rate ‘false’ at Politifact

By Andy Birkey | 03.06.10 | 11:06 am

Appearing with Rep. Alan Grayson on Larry King Live on Thursday night, Rep. Michele Bachmann said that President Obama’s health care reform plan would not bring down the costs of health care for average Americans. On Friday, Politifact evaluated…

Bachmann called out for mis-stating Obama aide’s view of healthcare jobs impact

By Chris Steller | 12.15.09 | 9:38 am

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann claimed again Monday that Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, estimated health care reform would cost 5.5 million jobs. Last month PolitiFact called that claim “problematic and contrary”…

Bachmann surprises Beck with stat on government piece of economy pie

By Chris Steller | 10.14.09 | 12:16 pm

A statistic from Michele Bachmann made Glenn Beck go, “Whoa!” on his radio show this morning: The federal government owns or controls 30 percent of private wealth. Beck exclaimed that the stat was new to him and even to his aghast studio crew. Where’d she get that? Bachmann (again) cited as her source an unnamed Arizona State University professor. The Minnesota Independent found the prof and asked him where he got the number.

Bachmann warns of sex clinics, abortion in schools

By Andy Birkey | 10.01.09 | 1:42 pm

On the House floor Wednesday night, Rep. Michele Bachmann warned that the health insurance reform package currently being debated by Congress would set up “sex clinics” in schools where students “taken away” to have abortions.