海角大神

Elizabeth Warren gave a stirring populist speech to the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night. Currently much pundit discussion is focused on Bill Clinton鈥檚 defense of President Obama, and rightly so, but Ms. Warren 鈥� the warmup act 鈥� got some of the biggest cheers of the evening by attacking Wall Street and positioning herself as a champion of a beleaguered middle class.

The bio of the Senate hopeful from Massachusetts, which includes a stint waiting tables at 13 and marriage at 19, gave her credibility with delegates on this issue. She talked about the middle class being hammered, and that people 鈥渇eel like the system is rigged against them.鈥�

Then Warren chided Mitt Romney for saying 鈥渃orporations are people, my friend.鈥� She brought the crowd to its feet by adding her own twist to this much-used Democratic attack.

鈥淣o, Governor Romney, corporations are not people,鈥� said Warren. 鈥淧eople have hearts, they have kids, they get jobs, they get sick, they cry, they dance. They live, they love, and they die.鈥�

The last words of those lines were drowned out in the hall, inaudible over the roar of the audience.

But did Warren stretch some facts to make her charges? That鈥檚 what some independent fact checkers say. In particular, they鈥檝e focused on her flat assertion that Romney鈥檚 economic plan raises taxes on middle-income earners.

Here鈥檚 the way Warren put it Wednesday night: Romney 鈥渨ants to give tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires. But for middle class families who are hanging by their fingernails? His plans will hammer them with a new tax hike of up to $2,000 dollars.鈥�

She鈥檚 not the only Democrat who鈥檚 said this from the podium this week. Keynote speaker San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro said pretty much the same thing, for instance. The only problem is that strictly speaking it is not true, .

鈥淒emocrats base their claim on a study that doesn鈥檛 necessarily lead to that conclusion,鈥� says the FactCheck.org site.

Here鈥檚 the fuller context: Mitt Romney has promised that if elected he鈥檒l cut tax rates for all while keeping federal government revenue level by eliminating some deductions and broadening the US tax base. He鈥檚 added that he won鈥檛 raise taxes on the middle class.

But according to an analysis from the Tax Policy Center, he can鈥檛 do all those things. There isn鈥檛 enough credible base-broadening available to make those numbers work.

鈥淚n other words, Romney has overpromised. But that鈥檚 no reason to assume ... that Romney would choose the course of breaking a promise not to raise middle-income taxes. He could choose, for example, to renege on his promise to cut rates or to keep the amount of revenue neutral rather than violate his promise not to raise taxes on those in the middle,鈥� writes FactCheck.org.

(It鈥檚 worth noting that the Romney campaign has challenged some of the Tax Policy Center numbers that lie at the heart of this issue.)

An also dinged Warren for saying that she talks to Massachusetts small business owners all the time, and that 鈥渘ot one of them ... made big bucks from the risky Wall Street bets that brought down our economy.鈥�

Not even one?

鈥淭he idea that no one in the Bay State, so close to New York and Wall Street, benefitted from the bankers鈥� profligacy is off the mark,鈥� writes ABC鈥檚 Gregory Krieg.

In the end, while Warren may have helped her image with national Democratic delegates in the hall, it鈥檚 not clear whether her convention appearance will help her win over the independent voters she鈥檒l need to unseat Republican Sen. Scott Brown.

Independents make up nearly half the Bay State electorate, so their electoral role there is decisive, according to the Democratic-leaning poll firm Public Policy Polling. And many of them may perceive Warren as too strident and harsh. In a late August PPP survey, 50 percent of independents said they were worried that she is 鈥渢oo liberal.鈥� By contrast only 19 percent said they felt Senator Brown is 鈥渢oo conservative.鈥�

Among all voters Brown led Warren by 49 to 44 percent in the survey.

鈥淪cott Brown鈥檚 been able to hold up his image as a moderate, and that has him in a good position right now,鈥� said Dean Debnam, president of PPP, in an Aug. 21 press release. 鈥淒emocrats will have to convince voters who like him to vote against him anyway to keep the Senate from going Republican.鈥�