Debate Fact Check

Posted by | January 27, 2012 11:39 | Filed under: Top Stories


From the AP:

Mitt Romney accused Newt Gingrich of calling Spanish a “ghetto language.”

GINGRICH: “It’s taken totally out of context…. I did not say it about Spanish. I said in general about all languages. We are better for children to learn English in general, period.”

FACT:In his speech to the National Federation of Republican Women, Gingrich advocated making English the official language, a position he still holds, and added: “We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto.”

He did not explicitly call Spanish a ghetto language. But at the time, the remark was widely taken to mean Spanish, overwhelmingly the main foreign language spoken in the United States and the primary language of many immigrants.

ROMNEY on the same topic: “I doubt that’s my ad, but we’ll take a look and find out.”

FACT: It’s his ad.

ROMNEY: “Obamacare takes over health care for the American people.”

FACT: Obama’s health care overhaul does increase the role of the federal government in the health care system, but even after it is fully implemented in 2019, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says 56 percent of Americans under age 65 will be covered by employer plans, about the same share as today. That’s hardly a takeover.

SANTORUM: Criticized the Obama administration for its “abysmal treatment” of allies in Latin America, and said Obama has a “consistent policy of siding with the leftists, siding with the Marxists, siding with those who don’t support democracy.”

FACT: Obama has not sided with the leading leftists, such as those ruling Cuba and Venezuela, and instead has roundly criticized them.

GINGRICH: “We’re in a continuous state of war where Obama undermines the Israelis.”

ROMNEY: “This president went before the United Nations and castigated Israel for building settlements. He said nothing about thousands of rockets being rained in on Israel from the Gaza Strip.”

FACT: Obama has spoken at length about the plight of the Israelis and has talked about an Israeli girl near Gaza who fears for her life because of the rocket attacks launched by Hamas. In a June 2009 speech in Cairo, Obama said both Israel and Palestine have a right to exist, but the U.S. does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. That’s not only the view of his administration; it’s long-held U.S. policy. Despite that, the administration sided with Israel by vetoing a U.N. resolution that would have condemned its settlement policy.

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Copyright 2012 Liberaland
By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.

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