If facts mattered to Republican voters, they would be going down a far different path. You would not see people like Trump, Cruz, Rubio, and Carson high in the polls. But the typical GOP voter disdains facts. They know that global climate change is a huge hoax. They know that “Obamacare” is a government takeover of healthcare that includes death panels and pays for abortion. They know that if we just cut taxes on the rich a little more, that money will all start trickling down.

But for the readers of this blog, I think facts do matter. So here is a very interesting fact check on the latest GOP debate.

Some key facts about claims by the candidates:

Obamacare (Cruz)
Jobs have not declined and the number of people with insurance has not declined since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Since Obamacare was implemented, the jobless rate has dropped and more Americans have insurance.

China Trade (Trump – who wasn’t in the debate but still told lies)
The trade deficit with China is not $500B as claimed by Trump. Our total trade deficit is just over $500B (down from $762B in 2006) and our trade deficit with China is $343B. A drop from last year.

Degraded Military (Cruz and Rubio)
Contrary to GOP fantasy, the US Military is not degraded, is not weakened, and still gets more money than China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Germany, United Kingdom, France, and India combined. Plus, military spending levels came from Democrats and Republicans in congress. And any funding problems are more likely due to Congressional insistence of base spending and weapons programs the Pentagon doesn’t want.

Obama Isn’t Arming The Kurds (Cruz)
Actually, he is. There isn’t much to debate here. Either a bold lie or ignorance.

Construction Workers Are Worse Off Under Obama (Christie)
Nope. Construction workers income has gone up 2.7% since 2009, outpacing other professions.

The Way to Beat ISIS Is Carpet Bombing, The Way We Won The First Gulf War (Cruz)
Not at all true. The first Gulf War did feature precision bombing taking out military assets and civilian infrastructure. Those military assets were in traditional deployment outside of the general population. But there was also a ground war that featured tank battles between coalition forces and the Iraqis. The war featured military forces from 14 countries. Cruz ignores the fact that we are fighting ISIS, not fighting a conventional national military. They are embedded among the general population and bombing will undoubtedly result in high civilian casualties whether fought from the air or on the ground. Which would likely turn the general population against us.

Path To Citizenship For Illegal Immigrants (Cruz and Rubio)
Both claimed they didn’t support it. Ever. Both Cruz and Rubio previously supported a bill to provide a path to citizenship for Illegal Immigrants. This should actually be viewed as a good thing. Other than the fact that they no longer support it.

So there you have it. The facts.

http://www.wral.com/ap-fact-check-gop-claims-on-carpet-bombs-kurds-and-economy/15291135/