According to PolitiFact's audience, the number one lie of 2011 was the Republican Party's false claim that the economic stimulus failed to create a single job. But according to their editorial team, the number one lie of 2011 was something that's actually true:
For the first time, readers disagreed with the editorial team's "Lie of the Year" selection
But despite calling it the "Lie of the Year," last April, PolitiFact
admitted:
The Republican proposal will end the aspect of Medicare that directly covers specific services, such as hospital coverage. ... Democrats, including Obama, have said the plan would end Medicare "as we know it," a critical qualifier. But the 30-second ad from the DCCC makes a sweeping claim without that important qualifier.
So according to PolitiFact, if Democrats had said Republicans had voted to end Medicare "as we know it" or that Republicans had voted to end Medicare as a program that directly covers medical expenses, their statement would have been accurate. As I pointed out in April, and as PolitiFact failed to rebut today, by their logic if Republicans had voted to replace the FBI with a voucher program giving citizens subsidies to pay for private investigators, it would have been inaccurate to say they had "ended the FBI."
I just hope the same thing doesn't happen with the Fire Department. I hear it's hard to douse flames with vouchers.