It's the competition in U.S. politics that no one wants to win. Who told the biggest lie of the year?
The folks at PolitiFact.com have tallied the votes and announced the "winner."
What do you think?
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Obama has lied bigger & more often than Palin but you Media Liberals would never bash him. Conservative Women Republicans as targets are so typical of you.
Most of what spews fort from demagogues is at least half truth and most of the time outright falsehood, Palin is the poster zealot in this regard.
What about the whole Heene family incident and when Mr. Heene decided to call the police?
Like most everything else Bobama has said, there are two meanings... so he has the opportunity to go back and forth depending on the audience. HE IS THE LIAR OF THE YEAR. Sarah is just a monitor reporting on how much of the country views this Islamic Kenyan.
Josh, I knew before I watched your story what the biggest lie was. I knew if the "death panel" lie did not win, there was some kind of "lie" going on in the results!
For Palin to stand behind the lie further discredits her witness as a Christian. To say, in essence, that it is okay to lie as long as it gets people to catch you in your lie is ridiculous. Of course, who better to share such a ludicrous comment than the most idiotic politician in American politics today.
Thanks for the research and story. – Bobby
Politifact.com has scored a huge home run with this one! They definitely got it right for sure. This loud mouth chatterbox has lied about a string of things that just aren't true at all; and I'm very glad to know that Politifact.com was able to catch her in the act, just like many smart Americans have. I just thank God that this lady is not currently our sitting Vice-President of the U.S.A.!
What a vapor-head!
A well deserved award for Palin - the only bigger lie is that she is someone with enough intellectual wherewithal to receive national media coverage...
If the President's proposed health care bill is modeled ANYTHING like the UK's National Health System, then "death panel" is probably an appropriate reference. All one needs to do is live in the UK for a while, read the locally produced statistics and be exposed to the NHS to understand Palin's aim.
Anytime the government controls something rationing occurs. Those who determine the rationing would be the "death panels." So while Palin's statement may have been wrong, it was not necessarily an outright lie. Why not go to the statements from Obama throughout the year? What happened to transparency? Not using signing statements? Lettings bills be in public review for several days before signing them? Simply put this president is nothing more then Bush wrapped in shiny packaging and with a "cool" soundtrack. Where is the change he promised? Where is the end of the laws Bush enacted infringing upon our freedoms? You can keep the change... I'll keep my money and my freedom.
Sarah Palin's comment about death squads is in effect true because the design of the health bill will increase rationing of care paid for under the Medicare, Medicaid and private health care insurance programs. If the test or procedure isn't paid for, it won't be delivered by the medical provider. Fraud, waste and inefficiency should be rooted out of the existing system regardless. So the biggest lie of the year is that the new health care legislation won't increase the deficit. I have no confidence that efficiency will be improved or that waste/fraud will be eliminated.
I would like to thank sarah and some of the other republican fear-mongers for these type comments and lies that helped some of us to make up our minds concerning the healthcare reform debate. Also I would like to thank fox news for continually broadcasting these lies so that we would not miss a single one of them. The only fear they put in my heart was that we need health care reform, especially after showing the lady at the town hall meeting in Florida foaming at the mouth and quoting sarah palin on "death panels". Thanks sarah and thanks fox news.
The obstructionists in our Congress who refuse to deal with the many challenges (serious) that our country and citizens face. It appears to me that their focus is about maintaining the status quo in economic development (or lack there of), environmental degradation, social injustice, and political cronyism. They are a lie, and what they "sell" to the American people is a lie.
Yes...Yes...,Yes....That ...unbelievable statement...is such a perfect example of the FEAR campaign used so often in politics. It is sad that anyone with even an ounce of common sense would believe such a thing. It is a great example of WHY I am so ashamed of Palin because being a woman....I believe we need more women in politics but NOT WOMEN LIKE HER ! Disgusted and shamed by the Biggest lie!
Palin has'nt actually been prooven to be a lie yet I myself believe the lie of the year should go to Nancy Palosi when see denied knowledge of C.I.A. detainee tactics to gain information.
"Vernon December 21st, 2009 7:47 am ET
Obama has lied bigger & more often than Palin but you Media Liberals would never bash him. Conservative Women Republicans as targets are so typical of you."
This is funny...just absolutely funny...Palin and her fearmongering like she used on the campaign trail...
Nancy Palosi seem's to have been over looked for her C.I.A. denial why is that.
The term 'death panel' coined by Palin is accurate when you consider the fact that government will begin to ration care and indirectly make decisions about who will receive care including those who near death.
Of course, the government has already done this with other mostly bankrupted programs, so it's not new.
No, I haven't read the bill that was passed in the cover of darkness by the spendocrats, but I'm smart enough to know that people will take advantage of a service they believe is free much more frequently than if a cost was associated with it.
Maybe the government should also require car dealers to provide cars to those who can't afford it. And maybe electricity, water, food, clothing, plane tickets to see family, and the list goes on...
WHO'S GOING TO PAY FOR ALL THIS? It's nice to have a big heart and care for people, but THEY ARE BANKRUPTING our country!
Sarah Palin is without doubt the biggest liar of the year, and having the audacity to say she's like President Reagan is unbelievable. Yes, she makes people think alright–think that she's an airhead!!!!
Without a doubt Sarah is the BIG winner!!
It's not important that Sara Palin lies because she has squat to do with our lives we need to be eyeing the people that does have squat like Nancy Palosi.
According to the dictionary, the definition of a lie is a "falsehood uttered to deceive". I would say the liberal media is a prime example of this. In fact, the media does this so well that rather than consider the truth in Obama's healthcare proposal that would show how TRUE Sarah Palin's comment was and will prove to be, instead the liberal media encourages "a falsehood uttered to deceive" the American people into thinking that the real truth exposed is a lie.
Sarah Palin and all those republicans who keep lying about how they can run the U.S. better. I say PROVE IT!
"Death Panels", Lie of the Year. That women (Palin) is such a ignorant twit to make such a statement . And for 35%+ of the american public to consider her qualified to hold office is beyond me. A Democracy only works properly with a educated and informed public.Corporations are sure scraping the bottom of the barrel for people to represent their interests these days. But then again, that's where they've always found them. Always compromised in one way or another.
Way to go Palin, can't wait to see what kind of crap you spout next. Do you think you can drag the Republican party any lower? No wait that wasn't a request!
Everyone should see this lie for what it is...and while they're at it, a close look at the ridiculous source, this trashy cash-in know nothing who told it, would be in order as well.
Sarah has an arsenal of lies, but by far the biggest was the "death panel" whopper, but that's her all over. I don't know anyone in politics who lies like she does, and then blythely defends those lies with more mush. Also, comparing her death panel lie to Reagan's "evil empire" statement, just shows how sophomoric and boneheaded she is, but then again, that IS her all over.
What a surprise! One of the most liberal papers in the US picks a comment by a Republican as the biggest lie of the year. Believe me, when I want to check whether a political claim is true or fale, I DO NOT go to the St Petersburg Times, and I live in Florida.
Ridiculous choice. It's obviously true that any insurance evaluates whether a procedure is necessary. Here, the government will do that. And, as Palin correctly says, metaphorically that's like death panels for the aged/seriously infirmed.
BTW, your politics is showing. CNN's too. What an objective medium!
Wow! It must have been difficult to choose the greatest among Sarah's many lies.
Hey Josh,
Not only is Sarah Palin the top liar of the year, she is the biggest Joke of the year!
Thanks for an interesting piece,
Mike
South Bend IN
Sounds like Sara needs to either retire or else find a new gig but there's one thing the words from her mouth has no binding consequence .
Former Gov Palin should've won lie of the year for the past 2 years. Her lie for government death panels and her lie about refusing the money for building the bridge to no where in 2008.
Death panels are what we have now, People with out health care. That's what The Republicans want not the Dems.Just ask someone without insurance and dieing with cancer.Republicans had 8years to do something,All we got was the crash of the century and a Iraq war.Just one thing, most Politician's LIE, thats what they do for a living.
Absolutely the LIAR of the year...but then remember ANYTHING S. Palin says is a Lie, Distortion, False Allegation, Fluff. LIES LIES, fear fear..etc...These statements she made spread fear and dissension among seniors, that alone scores her as a terrible person.. fits her for someone to put a brick in her mouth..
Of course her purpose...then she can come back for more attention.. and explain it all, in her usual dimwitted way. As if we are all as dimwitted as she is.
Yep, that was pretty much it. Too bad they didn't also give awards for the biggest "liar" of the year... (hint: same person who told the biggest lie)
I'll pay a $1000...if you can show this to be a lie...READ THE ACTUAL QUOTE... "The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."
...IT'S NOT A LIE...It's a sentiment and perhaps a prediction. She is talking about what America is NOT. Its voracity cannot be determined because it's talks about system that does not currently exist, presumably hoping it never will.
This vote is either the height of intellectual dishonesty, or is it the epitome of honest dis-intellectuality, take you pick. Here's mine...This award is a LIE!
I would certainly agree that the death panel lie was the lie of the year, and Palin is the lier of the year. Were it not for this lie being spread so readily by conservative politicians and media we may have seen true healthcare reform. Instead what it appears we are going to get is a bill that proposes reform but does nothing for those who truly need it and shows insurance companies that the government is too weak to stand unified against their premium thievery and refusal to insure those deemed with pre-existing conditions.
Thank you Sarah Palin and all other conservative liers who have made the goal of healthcare reform into nothing more than Congress patting themselves on the back for wasting our time and money because you rendered them impotent to do little else.
How about these:
I will post new bills online for 5 full days before I vote.
No more earmarks.
No more lobyists.
Health Care meetings on CSPAN.
.
.
This is soooo typical of Democraps! You follow blindly the "party line", goose-stepping all the way! You vote for laws to be put into effect without thinking out the consequences of what they will do.
Fact: When money is tight, say like it is now, and the country owes more money than it takes in, say like it will be in a few short years, who is going to get the medical attention they need? Palin is trying to make you think AHEAD of the vote of the likely consequences of your vote.
Youth!?!?!?!? It's wasted, period. Absolutely zero wisdom whatsoever!
BTW, when you Democraps are paying through the nose for this HC package, don't ever say we Conservatives (notice I didn't say Republicraps) didn't tell you it would happen.
The saying goes, "always error on the side of caution" (and I might add, because it's a long way down to the bottom of the well).
Well as if there was ever any doubt for those of us that need not be told what to believe.....the facts stand on their own merit.
Of course, this now qualifies Palin head my once great republican party as she has learned from the master of lies.....he that swore that "the economy is fundametally sound."
And we all know how that worked out. I can't wait until my republican party banishes those that lie and regain integrity once again. Yet, I fear that may take some time as they seem hell bent on blaming the democrates when the lack of integrity lies within.
Perhaps someday they will wake up to what is happening in the real world........good luck......because as they falter.....we are left in certain peril.
Personally, I believe that the biggest lie of the year, the one that touches every American, no matter what their political affiliation might be is when Candidate Obama promised a change in the 'normal' pattern in which Congress/Administration/Washington is run by providing more open, honest, frequent transparency. Transparency means "free from pretense or deceit; easily detected or seen through; characterised by visibility or accessibility of information concerning business practices". The 'closed door', late-night, partisan discussions, bill production, voting and passing of documents that will affect every American, the majority of whom do not agree with what is being forced down their throats the complete opposite of transparency. Now President Obama's "transparency" has left behind only an overwhelming stench of greed for power, deception, cheating, stealing, lying, and many other distainful symptoms, as well as results, of heavy-handed and crooked politics, the likes of which are a thousand times worse than before. That, my fellow Americans, is my opinion of the biggest lie.
Everyone who believes we are operating a true democracy should get this award. Listen to all the lies people on all sides of the isle tell to gain an edge. It’s disgusting. And no one is innocent. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, green party and such. They all lie to get your vote or to sway us from one position to another. Sarah Palin and Barack Obama are angels compared to the old timers in congress some of our more famous political commentators.
The biggest lie of the year in my opinion was that President Obama was going to bring change to Washington DC and not have politics as usual. Where is the change? Where is the transparency? Where is the bi-partisan policy making? "Change we can believe in" that is the BIGGEST LIE OF THE YEAR
One more thing, be careful of what you wish for, for you may get it!
Has any of the HC people told you just how much YOU are going to have to pay for this? No, not the "rich", YOU Mr. and Mrs. You're-Going-To-Jail-If -You-Don't-Pay-Our-Premium.
Is THAT last statement a lie of the year candidate? That is exactly what is being passed in both versions of the HC bill.
How many will end up in prison for non-payment of government mandated HC premiums? Law Abiding Citizen comes to mind...
Sarah Palin's "death panel debacle" is definitely the winner in my mind.
Her other misinformation during the election also ranks up there.
Sarah Palin gets my vote for the lie of the year – She is the head of the Republican Party for lies with Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck 2nd and 3rd.
I think there are too many lies to vote for just one. Just like there are too many parties in this country to vote for than just two. But in my opinion, the biggest lie goes to President Obama's entire presidency. To be fair I would have voted for Bush's entire presidency as a lie back on 08. Since the presidency itself is a lie, I will continue to.
Hell, the Republicans invented lying. Yep, I believe it was 1AD and most of them have burned more than Kentucky Fried Chicken! Their philosophy was not to teach them how to lie but run for a political office and that will teach them to lie for a lifetime!!!!!
I agree that Palin is the biggest liar winner of 2009. She loves to cause controversy by spreading lies, and hate, and instills fear in people with her lies and hate. What's truly sad and scary, is that a lot of people believe her!
Wish I could get the video on my iphone.
She's not bright, she's not equipped to lead the nation and, as she has amply demonstrated, she has no grasp of actual facts. Thank god we dodged the bullet last year in showing Governor...er....ex-Governor Quitty McPalin the door.
What a tool.
she's a lair and quiter.
I agree – she is so bad for the country. And the only reason she got chosen by the republicans was because she was a female. And her book tour is so stupid. I wish she would just go away.
WAIT A MINUTE! – - – WHAT ABOUT SARAH's LIE THAT "OBAMA PALS AROUND WITH TERRORIST"?
Sarah Palin LIES about candidate Obama "paling around with terrorist like Bill Ayers" was a far bigger LIE, and on so many different levels.
(1.) – President Obama "met" Bill Ayers at an after-hours event, which is NOT the same as paling around. An example of paling around would be Dean Martin paling around with the Rat Pack.
(2.) – By the time Obama met Bill Ayers, Bill was already a changed man, leaving his radical life behind him. Obama was a child when Bill Ayers was acting radical.
(3.) – Sarah Palin later admitted she didn't believe her own "paling around" LIE. Sarah claimed she was only reading the lines given to her by the campaign speech writer.
(4.) – Either Sarah Palin was too stupid to understand the grave danger she placed President Obama in with all the misguided violent ultra wing-nuts out there who naïvely believe Obama is an anti-American terrorist; or she knew the danger she was placing Obama in but she didn't care because Sarah wanted the V.P. spot at "any cost".
The biggest lie of the year was that Obama promised that the Healthcare debate, and others could be viewed on C-Span by the public. The Republicans can't even get a look at the debate. I think you obviously have and agenda.
Do You really think there are Death Panels, Hell No !
Does this get People Looking at What is Really Going on , Hell Yes !
When Actually Crunch the Numbers Looking at Life Span , One does have to say – This Will Effect the Life Span of United States of
America's People .
Gas Tax – Up !
Diesel Tax – Up !
Senior – Retired Home Owners , in NY have had their – Tax Breaks Removed !
Car Insurance Up !
DMV – cost Higher to have a Car !
Increase in Home Valve Taxes , even thou Home Values are Down !
Food Cost Way Up !
Insurance Cost Off the Chart !
Income the Lowest – per Person ( No Jobs ) !
We the People are Baling Out Main Street !
What's the News Report about – Inflation ,They say there Isn't Any,
Inflation is very Small – ( Well – BS )
NOW MINATORY INSURANCE – Cost , but No Gov. Plan !
All of the Above is Inflation !
The Media Holds the – Biggest Lie of the Yr. !
It's so obvious what this attack amounts to. I, along with countless millions knew exactly what she was talking about the minute she said it. And if you doubt for a minute that there will be some level of scrutiny, which will ultimately decide what is cost effective vs. the value of life, you're a mind numb idiot.
Lie of the year belongs to no one other than Obama, just which one of the myriad blatant lies he has told we should pick, that is the question. Come on CNN, you were once the premier news source, now you’re becoming a joke for what you consider and report as newsworthy.
Whether Republican or Democrat, you can tell when a politician is lying. His or her lips are moving.
A lie is a conscious act to deceive, so for that it qualifies. But a better category would be to vote Palin "Idiot of the Year."
While the literal statement is not true, the core of the statement contains some truth. The "death panels" will not be something individuals will stand before, but WILL decide, based upon groups and statistics, who gets treatment and who does not. Those at risk are those who are elderly, who fall outside the statisical range of effectiveness and expense, that bureaucrats on such boards choose not to treat. That is the nature of centralized, government-controlled health care, which of necessity will entail rationing.
If you don't believe this, look at the Indian Health Service, which by treaty is required to provide medical care to Native Americans. By its own admission, the IHS is funded at only 70 percent of CURRENT need. Many Native Americans forego using it because clinics are often too far from where they live to be of use, and the care is seriously limited.
One case I know of personally is someone who went in to have a broken tooth fixed. It took two years to get the appointment, because it was not deemed an emergency. During the course of repairing the broken tooth, the dentist cracked the two teeth around the broken one. These require crowns ... which the IHS will not provide. They are not "within the budget."