From The Heritage Foundation, I’m Ernest Istook.

We’ve all heard some really infamous lies. Such as, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”

Now the fact-checking group Politifact has picked what they dubbed the biggest lie of 2011:

It’s the claim by Democrats that Republicans had voted to abolish Medicare. Democrats even ran TV ads showing Grandma being pushed over a cliff in a wheelchair.

Politifact says it’s the whopper of the year. The plan was not to change Medicare for anyone 55 and over. But for everyone younger, at retirement they would instead receive an insurance premium subsidy, which they could use to buy their own choice of health care.

That concept still has merit and recently got some bipartisan support.

There’s a simple lesson here: Don’t believe all the political accusations that you hear. But you probably already knew that.

From The Heritage Foundation, I’m Ernest Istook. (0:56)