Here are the statements to fact-check from the August 22, 2010 Meet the Press:
VIDEO/TRANSCRIPT
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Statements are listed in chronological order
SEN. MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY)
1) The top 2 [income] brackets of Americans include 50% of small business income and 25% of the work force.
2) In the last quarter of 2009, 84% of jobs lost were in small businesses.
SEN. McCONNELL:Â What the administration is proposing, and the majorities in the House and Senate, is to raise taxes on the top 2 brackets, which will affect 50 percent of small business income and in–and impact 25 percent of the work force. For example, if you look at last–the last quarter of last year, 84 percent of the jobs that were lost were lost in small business.
SEN. MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY)
1) A few weeks ago President Obama heard from small businessmen, regarding why they weren’t expanding, that the reason was his agenda.
2) The healthcare reform bill includes a provision that requires small businesses to send a 1099 to the IRS for every vendor they do $600 worth of business with.
SEN. McCONNELL: Look, the president called in a bunch of small businessmen to the White House a few weeks ago, and he asked them why they weren’t expanding. And their answer was, “Mr. President, with all due respect, your agenda”–healthcare mandates, tax increased headed their way, more and more burdensome regulation. I mean, look at the new healthcare bill for example. There’s a provision in there that requires that small businesses send a 1099 form to the IRS for every vender they do $600 worth of business with. That’s just a massive amount of paperwork and problems. This administration…
GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D-MI)
1) Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is a member of the Sufi sect of Islam.
2) The Sufi sect is thought of as the most peaceful sect of Islam.
3) The Sufi sect is targeted by Al-Qaeda
GOV. GRANHOLM: Well, I think that any time somebody stands up for the Constitution, which is exactly what he did, I don’t think there’s any disagreement that they have the right to be able to worship and to build on private property. I don’t think anybody would disagree with that. The question is whether it is a good decision on their part, right? What’s the imam saying. Now, the imam apparently is overseas and has been overseas on a State Department mission bridge building for three weeks. And so the question is, what is the nature of this particular imam and the sect? It’s a Sufi sect, apparently, and that’s supposed to be the most peaceful of all the–that sect is under attack by al-Qaeda.
GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D-MI) | Michigan has the largest Arab-American population in the country.
GOV. GRANHOLM:Â David, I called, because Michigan has the largest Arab-American population outside of the Middle East.
GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D-MI) | A recent poll indicated that 85% of Americans don’t want to see Social Security cut to solve the deficit.
GOV. GRANHOLM: Well, you know, no. I think it’s far outside the mainstream. In fact, one of the things–you just held up Paul Ryan’s, you know, proposal regarding Medicare and regarding Social Security. I think a lot of which you’ve jumped onto as well. But there was a recent poll out that said that 85 percent of Americans don’t want to see Social Security cut to solve the, the deficit.
FMR. REP. DICK ARMEY (R-TX) | No Republicans/conservatives are suggesting that Social Security be dismantled.
REP. ARMEY:Â Now, there’s nobody that’s talking about dismantling these systems.
FMR. REP. DICK ARMEY (R-TX) | Revenue in America doubled as a result of President Reagan cutting taxes.
REP. ARMEY:Â Reagan cut taxes, revenue doubled.
GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D-MI) | The CBO has said that cutting taxes for the wealthiest 2% of Americans is the least effective way to create jobs.
GOV. GRANHOLM: It’s–the question is, should the tax cuts expire for the wealthiest 2 percent so that we can make the investments that will grow jobs? Yes. That’s the most effective way of creating job growth. The CBO has said that cutting taxes for the wealthiest 2 percent is the most ineffective way of creating job growth.
FMR. REP. RICK LAZIO (R-NY)
1) Within a month of Sept, 11, 2001, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said that Americans were “an accessory to the crime of 9/11.”
2) Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said that Osama bin Laden was created in America.
3) Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has made statements with the past several months that could be deemed supportive of Hamas.
4) Recently one of the Cordoba House developers said that they would consider taking money from Iran.
FMR. REP. LAZIO: Well, first of all I would say, David, there are millions of peace-loving, good Muslims in America. This Imam Rauf is not one of them. He’s not a bridge builder. This is a man, the very same month that people were burying their loved ones that were lost in 9/11, he said that America was an accessory to the crime of 9/11. He said that Osama bin Laden was created in the USA. He refuses, only months ago, to, to distance himself from Hamas, in fact, protecting him–protecting them, and only recently one of the developers said that they would consider taking money from Iran.
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