#7. BUSH CLAIMS: “I proposed a constitutional amendment. The reason I did so was because I was worried that activist judges are actually defining the definition of marriage, and the surest way to protect marriage between a man and woman is to amend the constitution.”
REALITY:
Bush Previously Claimed Gay Marriage Was a State Issue. In a 2000 Republican primary debate, Bush responded to a question about same-sex marriage as follows: "The state can do what they want to do. Don't try to trap me in this state's issue." <2/15/00 Republican primary debate,
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0002/15/lkl.00.html;>
#8. BUSH CLAIMS: “He talks about PAYGO. I'll tell you what PAYGO means, when you're a senator from Massachusetts, when you're a colleague of Ted Kennedy, pay go means: You pay, and he goes ahead and spends.”
REALITY:
Bush Has Increased Non-Defense Discretionary Spending By 36 Percent During His First Term. In total, non-defense discretionary outlays increased approximately 36 percent during Bush’s first term in office. Brian Riedl, a budget analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation, estimates that government spending has climbed twice as fast under Bush as under Clinton.
Bush Has Not Vetoed A Single Spending Bill. During his first term in office, Bush has not vetoed any bills.
#9. BUSH CLAIMS: “It will be the largest increase in government health care ever.”
REALITY:
Bush’s Charges About Kerry’s Health Care Plan Have Been Roundly Discredited. ABC News said they were “not true.” “This is hardly a government takeover that would put bureaucrats in charge of your health care, as President Bush has shamelessly contended,” said the New York Times. The Washington Post said, “There is no evidence that the Kerry blueprint is a ‘government-run’ plan.” The Detroit News said they are “absurd accusations.” And the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said, “Mr. Bush's allegations are wildly inaccurate.”