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Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Here's the problem with John McCain
I've been watching and listening as Democrats start cranking up ways to trash John McCain (while moaning about the evil "Swift-Boating" that they're sure will come their nominee's way). None of it has been particularly imaginative -- equating him with Bush is a favorite, although it certainly stretches credulity.
For the most part, they miss the one thing that bothers me most -- and no, it's not his age. It's his having bought into the Bush tax cuts, after having opposed them so strenuously in 2000, and for good reasons (he did favor cuts at the time -- just not nearly as deep). Sure, once the cuts are part of the tax structure for several years, I can see how someone might accept them as a fait accompli, but I don't. (Call me wacky, but whether we're talking the war or entitlements or anything else, I think we should pay what our government actually costs.) Also, I would hesitate to go back to the old rates when we're in an economic slowdown -- but McCain's change of position occurred before that.
This is not a deal-killer for me, any more than Barack Obama's preacher is. It's just something that goes on the ledger in the negative column.
So it's kind of galling to see this on the latest McCain fund-raising e-mail:
My Friends,
Today, April 15th, marks the deadline when all Americans must file their income taxes. While many of us are aggravated and displeased when we see exactly how much of our hard-earned money goes to the federal government - if one of my Democratic opponents is elected in November, you can be certain your tax rate will increase across the board.
When we elect our next president in November, we will make a clear statement about the direction we want to take our economy and our tax system. As I have said before, this election will present Americans with a clear choice between my vision for our country and that of my Democratic opponents.
I believe today, as I have always believed, in small government, fiscal discipline and low taxes. I believe that tax cuts work best when accompanied by lower spending. And I make the promise to you that if elected president, I plan to make the present tax cuts permanent, lower corporate rates from 35% to 25% and end the Alternative Minimum Tax, which will affect millions of middle class families....
Then, of course, we get to the point of the message:
But I cannot succeed in my efforts without your immediate financial support...
In other words, Quick! Send me your money before those crazy Democrats spend it on universal health care or something...
Such moments are not the senator's best.
Posted by Brad Warthen at 12:16 PM in 2008 Presidential, Elections, John McCain, Republicans, Taxes, The Nation
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Comments
The so-called "Bush tax cuts" were actually only a partial rollback of the Clinton tax increases on wage workers, which increased their income taxes by 50% between 1993 and 2000, bringing on 3 downturns and a recession in 2000.
The small minority which actually pays taxes is at the breaking point. The economy is at the saturation point. Any of the new taxes proposed by Obama or Hillary would be enough to send us into another recession.
Our corporate taxes are the highest in the world.
Our actual personal income taxes are among the highest in the industrialized world, making us uncompetitive.
Posted by: Lee Muller | Apr 15, 2008 12:53:19 PM
McCain cannot win unless he says he will cut taxes. He has to say SOMETHING that appeals to the red state base besides "More war!".
So the question really becomes is he saying something he doesn't believe (which would tarnish his "straight talk" persona) or is he truly committed to cutting taxes and spending (which would harm his ability to get crossover votes).
Not that it matters but I find that I'm almost resigned to voting for McCain now over Obama or Clinton. The economy is going to be THE issue for the next President and I am very concerned about having anyone who might be pre-disposed to increasing the size of government. The healthcare initiatives alone could destroy the economy.
Posted by: Doug Ross | Apr 15, 2008 1:04:33 PM
McCains' reversal on Bushs' tax cuts and the economic stimulus package (which amounts to nothing more or less than a tax rebate), are both proof that republicans and democrats alike in Washington know very well the truth about taxes.
That truth is this: Government does not produce, it consumes. The good of the country and the economy and individuals is always served when people are allowed to keep as much of their money as is possible. The health and vitality of the country are always invigorated when the government extracts as little as is necessary to perform its' constitutional duties.
McCain knows this, hence his reversal on tax cuts. Pelosi and Reid know it, hence their quick work to pass the stimulus.
You don't know it Brad, but then you can't find a reason not to vote for BHO either, so one can't expect too awfully much I suppose. David
Posted by: david | Apr 15, 2008 1:07:08 PM
Doug, if you're concerned about someone who is going to be predisposed to increase the size of government (I am too by the way), you oughtn't let McCains' convenient reversal on Bushs' tax cuts fool you.
He has drunk the koolaid and fully embraces the global warming hoax. The measures he intends (by his own words) to support as president to respond to this fake non-emergency pseudo-crisis are going to amount to the largest expansion of government and consequent loss of freedom since the great society under Johnson.
David
Posted by: david | Apr 15, 2008 1:15:19 PM
Reasons not to vote for McCain:
He's a war-monger promising a 100 year occupation of Iraq that will continue to cost American lives and treasure while failing to make us safer. And let's not even get started on how this quagmire is bringing about the slaughter of thousands of Iraqis. The only surge that's going on over the past few months is the surge in violence, death and taxpayers money down the drain.
McCain, by his own admission, knows little about economic policy. He will certainly continue with the failed Bush economic policies that have given us an unprecedented destruction of American jobs (worst job growth record since Hoover) especially in the manufacturing sector.
McCain will spend more and raise less money for the U.S. treasury. This is a certainty given his promise to continue with the quagmire and other wasteful military projects. How anyone can still be duped into believing the Democratic party is the party of big spending is beyond the ability of any thinking person to understand.
McCain (or McBush since he has become a clone of the current president) offers nothing in the way of reform for our disasterous, expensive health-care system. This will result in a continued decline in life expectancy for American citizens relative to the rest of the industrial world. Soon we will be looking with envy at the life expectancy of Cuban citizens.
Crime will increase under McCain as the economy deteriorates further. Given Bush's abandonment of the police initiative of the Clinton administration we are at greater risk to domestic violence.
It is hard to avoid the amazing similarities between the failed Bush policies and the promises of McCain. War, poor health, rising inflation, declining job prospects are all part of the sad legacy of the Bush administration. Sadly this will likely continue under McBush.
Posted by: bud | Apr 15, 2008 2:12:07 PM
This is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is really a stunning indictment of just how much of a disaster George W. Bush has been to our economy. It shows the number of jobs during the first month of GWB vs WJC compared to the figures in March of their last year in office. Given that it is likely that job growth will be slow or even negative during Bush's last 7 months this comparison will only get worse. All figures are in thousands:
Labor Force in Jan, 1993 - 117,027
Labor Force in Mar, 2000 - 136,054
Job growth first 86 months Clinton - 19,027
% increase first 86 months Clinton - 16.3%
Labor Force in Jan, 2001 - 136,181
Labor Force in Mar, 2008 - 145,108
Job growth first 86 months Bush II - 8,184
% increase first 86 months Bush II - 6.0%
Astounding isn't it? The job growth rate under George W. Bush is much less than half of what it was during the glorious Clinton era. This election really should be a no-brainer. The economy is now the number 1 issue in America. The top GOP candidate promises to continue with the same failed policies of Bush. The two Dems promise change and a return to policies that create jobs and control inflation. There simply is no choice.
Oh wait. Clinton just insulted someone's cat and Obama's ex-boy scout leader said John Wayne wasn't really a cowboy. I guess I'll have to vote for McCain.
Posted by: bud | Apr 15, 2008 2:45:12 PM
Before someone else corrects this. The Bush Job figures should be:
Labor Force in Jan, 2001 - 136,181
Labor Force in Mar, 2008 - 145,108
Job growth first 86 months Bush II - 8,927
% increase first 86 months Bush II - 6.6%
The main point is still valid.
Posted by: bud | Apr 15, 2008 2:49:09 PM
"... the global warming hoax."
HOAX? Whaaa??? The last time I checked, it wasn't 1938 and the world wasn't tuned into Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre. Live in denial if you must, but the fact that the climate is getting hotter and hotter is just as real as the mercury in your tuna fish. Do the research - the documentation is massive. Too massive, in fact, for any "hoax", no matter how carefully orchestrated.
Sorry to go so off-topic, but that one was just a jaw-dropper.
Posted by: Claudia | Apr 15, 2008 3:11:05 PM
David,
McCain and Obama have both drunk the koolaid. We may as well write in Koolaid Man in November.
Posted by: Hillary'sLookingBetterEveryday | Apr 15, 2008 3:19:46 PM
It is a hoax. And it is designed and intended to extend and expand governmental power, increase the taxes collected by the government and to destroy civil liberties.
This is a jaw-dropper to you? Where have you been...Mars? There is a huge contingent of scientists, meteorologists and just plain thinking people that call global warming exactly what it is: A sheer hoax. Carbon is not a pollutant, and carbon offsets are Al Gores' method to enrich himself in the absence of any other talents. Carbon offsets have been endorsed and adopted by government because there is money to be extracted from them. The earth may be warming slightly now, but it has been much warmer in the past when there was no human activity to have caused it. We aren't causing it now, and we certainly cannot stop it. Last year was the coolest year since 1998, and suspiciously, global warming wingnuts have quietly begun morphing into "climate change" activists.
It is a tremendous hoax. Don't buy it. You aren't causing it. You cannot stop it. David
Posted by: david | Apr 15, 2008 3:23:43 PM
I should have said don't buy it, you aren't causing it, you cannot stop it and it isn't a problem anyway.
There is no evidence that a slightly warmer climate will mean a disaster for mankind. I believe it will probably mean longer and warmer growing seasons and increased crop production. Whatever higher temperatures might have done to growing seasons in times past, they ultimately resulted in the flourishing race of human beings we now have. That is sort of inarguable isn't it?
We will be fine. Live your life. Pay no attention to theridiculous alarmist calls for draconian reductions in quality of life in the name of "fighting" this hoax. David
Posted by: david | Apr 15, 2008 3:40:41 PM
David,
You are absolutely right. Global warming IS a HOAX. Check out Glenn Beck's piece on Ted Turner's prediction that global warming will lead to cannibalism. It is quite entertaining. Which is exactly what Al Gore and his WHOLE FAMILY has been up to all these years. Entertaining.
Posted by: Hillary'sLookingBetterEveryDay | Apr 15, 2008 4:15:13 PM
It is absolutely a hoax HLBE, and Claudia needs to learn it, love it and live it.
People like her express outrage and horror at the amount of freedom that has been surrendered under all of the national security initiatives and laws that have been put in place during the last seven years, and yet utter not a peep at the huge costs to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that have resulted from the hysterical embrace of global warming in the same time frame.
It is astounding. I am astounded. Are you astounded? I am.
Astounded.
David
Posted by: david | Apr 15, 2008 4:28:45 PM
Given your recent posts Brad, I was sure the problem with John McCain was going to be that he is not Peter Beattie.
Posted by: Frank | Apr 15, 2008 4:37:12 PM
Why listen to actual scientists when we can listen to David, preach brother! (And tell us again why evolution is a myth while you're at it.)
FACT: The world is getting warmer.
FACT: A lot of that warmth seems to be due to historical cycles that have nothing to do with humanity.
FACT: A lot of human activities should raise the earth's temperature according to basic scientific principles.
OPEN QUESTION: How much of the warming is caused by man, and if the answer is a significant amount can we counteract it.
I _defy_ you to find any meaningfully sized group of scientists who disagree with the three things I list as fact. I also _defy_ you to find any meaningfully sized group of scientists who are 100% certain that man isn't adding to the warming.
If you want to say "We can't be sure, and I'd rather risk &#*! up the planet so that I can keep driving a hummer and living in a 5,000 sf house" I can at least respect your honesty. If you want to say that there is absolutely no reason to think that humans might be having an effect then you're an idiot.
Posted by: just saying | Apr 15, 2008 5:36:27 PM
On a more productive note, is there any hope of getting a law passed barring the federal government from bailing out property owners who will lose land/land-use due to rising sea levels? (If you don't believe they'll go up enough to matter then you shouldn't care either way -- and if you do believe they will you shouldn't be rewarded for building in a dumb place).
Posted by: just saying | Apr 15, 2008 5:49:12 PM
Wow. Again, WOW. John McCain has totally lost his mind. What is he thinking with this proposal to eliminate federal taxes on gasoline. This is wrong on so many levels. First and formost is the obvious, critical need to move toward a future characterized by an ever shrinking supply of oil. If taxes are eliminated that will simply push oil prices higher since demand must be reduced to come in line with dwindling supplies.
Given the nature of the current economic crises perhaps a gas tax increase is imprudent, but why propose something as stupid as a gas tax cut? It is simply beyond the pale.
Posted by: bud | Apr 15, 2008 6:22:03 PM
What is John McCain thinking? He just proposed the elimination of federal gasoline taxes for the next several months. We simply must find a way to reduce our consumption of oil. By eliminating the tax we merely necessitate that gasoline prices will rise that much further and faster so that demand is brought in line with the dwindling supplies. If taxes need cutting to stimulate the economy do something, anything else besides this. Of all the pandering, self-serving, counter-productive ideas ever proposed this one is at the top of the stupid list.
Posted by: bud | Apr 15, 2008 6:29:17 PM
Anyone else see the blatant hypocracy in McCain seeing how he is openly breaking a law that is named after himself? When it was cool, McCain helped passed the McCain-Feingold Act for campaign election finance "reform". Today, it is McCain who is breaking the very same law in total "screw-you" defiance. As we've seen over the last 8 years, that's not a positive attribute for a President to have (whether it be criminality or attitude).
Posted by: Hall Burton | Apr 15, 2008 6:58:10 PM
As y'all can see, we have all flavors of koolaid on this particular aisle.
But wait -- you say John McCain ISN'T Peter Beattie? Dang!... you just can't trust anybody in politics any more...
Posted by: Brad Warthen | Apr 15, 2008 7:27:59 PM
just saying, I'm just sayin. My points have been made. Global warming is a hoax. I cite as many scientists as you have, and my anecdotes are better than yours. Where'd you get your "facts?" Back of a cereal box? You chose to believe the ridiculous and fat Al Gore? I would suggest that makes YOU the idiot. Again, I'm just sayin. David
Posted by: david | Apr 15, 2008 8:38:50 PM
Actual scientists say "global warming" has no scientific basis, and they have said it at every convention of climatologists, meterologists, and physical oceanographers.
The ONLY group of scientists to ever say that there was a global warming trend was last year's hand-picked UN convention which excluded the majority who think it is junk.
* NASA just announced a 10-year study of satellite thermal images shows the Earth has been cooling since 1998.
* A long-term study of deep sea temperatures shows no change, and the oceans store most of the thermal energy outside the molten core of the Earth.
* The founder of the Weather Channel called Al Gore's book "bogus junk".
Posted by: Lee Muller | Apr 15, 2008 9:02:48 PM
Since the unemployment rate barely changed under Clinton from his predecessor, GWH Bush, the only way he could claim to have "created jobs" is
* the 15,000,000 illegal aliens he let into America
* the number of Americans who had to take a second job after their manufacturing jobs were sent to Red China.
Posted by: Lee Muller | Apr 15, 2008 9:04:45 PM
2014 NEW MILFORD, Conn. — One positive side effect of global warming is that children no longer fall victim to frostbite during the winter.Because of the increased temperature,the Children’s Health Study Center reports that they suffer from a milder form called ‘frostnibble.’
2015 MANHATTAN, N.Y. — Among the many changes to the Earth's climate caused by global warming,cities experience powerful winds that blow nonstop in the same direction.Workers turn these air currents to their advantage by stepping into their paths and riding them to work.
Many praise the development,which makes their commute ‘a breeze.’
2016 DES MOINES, Iowa — Environmentalists discover that certain kinds of vegetables actually lower the surrounding temperature within a five-square-foot area. To combat global warming,they suggest that farmers begin planting iceberg lettuce all over the world.
Posted by: bill | Apr 15, 2008 9:10:44 PM
David: I got my "facts" from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html ) and the seeming consensus of the scientific community ( http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5702/1686 ). And your battalion of climatologists?
While your at it, I'm also interested to see where Bud's figures led him astray too.
Posted by: just saying | Apr 15, 2008 9:11:36 PM
