Chronicling Mitt's mendacity VI

By Steve Benen

 - 

Fri Feb 17, 2012 2:56 PM EST

Associated Press

Several weeks ago, I launched a new Friday afternoon feature, highlighting the most offensive Mitt Romney falsehoods of the week. It moved to Maddow Blog a couple of weeks ago, so let's keep this going with this week's installment.

1. At CPAC, Romney vowed, "I will finally balance the American budget, and as I'm sure you know, that will start with the easiest cut of all: I will eliminate Obamacare."
This is just bizarre. The Affordable Care Act cuts the deficit considerably; trying to balance the budget by killing the law is ridiculous.

2. Also at CPAC, Romney promised, "I will cut off funding for the United Nations Population Fund which supports China's barbaric one-child policy."
This is a common lie on the right, but UNFPA does not support the one-child policy, and cutting off funding for the fund -- a fund that enjoyed broad, bipartisan support as recently as Bush's first term -- would be a real example of barbarism.

3. In trying to lower expectations, Romney claimed he won the Michigan primary in 2008 "by two points," adding, "[I]t was pretty darned close."
In reality, Romney won Michigan by more than nine points.

4. In a statement, Romney claimed, "This week, President Obama will release a budget that won't take any meaningful steps toward solving our entitlement crisis. The president has failed to offer a single serious idea to save Social Security and is the only president in modern history to cut Medicare benefits for seniors."
Not only does the second sentence contradict the first, but Obama didn't cut Medicare benefits for seniors.

5. Complaining about the auto industry rescue, Romney claimed, "While a lot of [GM] workers and investors got the short end of the stick, Obama's union allies -- and his major campaign contributors -- reaped reward upon reward, all on the taxpayer's dime."
That's really not what happened.

6. Romney claimed this week, "My campaign hasn't run any negative ads against Rick Santorum."
Well, that depends on how one defines "campaign."

7. Trying to take credit for the auto-industry-rescue policy he opposed, Romney claimed "the course I recommended was eventually followed."
No, not really.

8. Romney said the "real unemployment rate" is actually 15%.
No, it's not.

9. On contraception access, Romney's campaign published an online petition arguing, "The Obama administration is ... now using Obamacare to impose a secular vision on Americans who believe that they should not have their religious freedom taken away."
Oh, please.

Jon Chait argued recently that Romney appears to be "an audacious liar," adding, "Even by the standards of politicians, Romney seems unusually prone to dishonesty."
The former governor doesn't appear eager to change this perception anytime soon.