Straight Talk Express Takes Detour
The Straight Talk Express Takes a Detour
Washington - In tonight’s MSNBC’s Republican debate in Florida, Senator McCain argues that he voted against the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts “because I knew unless we had spending under control, we would face a disaster.”
There is one problem with this statement: It’s not entirely true. In 2001, Senator McCain stole a page out of Ted Kennedy’s class-warfare playbook, declaring: “I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle-class Americans who need tax relief.” Senator McCain also teamed up with his buddies Senators Russ Feingold and Tom Daschle in supporting amendments that sought to undermine the tax cuts and their effectiveness. To this day, Senator McCain refuses to support full repeal of the Death Tax, even though making the Bush tax cuts permanent would do just that.
What makes Senator McCain’s support for making the Bush tax cuts permanent all the more disingenuous is that he continues to defend his votes, saying that he would vote against the tax cuts all over again. The following exchange occurred on Hannity and Colmes on December 29, 2007 with guest host Rich Lowry:
LOWRY: If you don't mind, I want to ask you a domestic policy question, a straight talk question, if you will. In retrospect, was it a mistake for you to vote against the Bush tax cuts?
MCCAIN: No, because I had significant tax cuts, and there was restraint of spending included in my proposal. I saw no restraint in spending. We presided over the greatest increase in the size of government since the Great Society. Spending went completely out of control. It's still out of control. Wasteful earmark spending is a disgrace, and it caused us to alienate our Republican base.
“How can American taxpayers trust John McCain to defend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and push for new tax cuts, necessary for stimulating the economy, when he would vote against the tax cuts all over again?” Club for Growth President Pat Toomey asked. “That’s not straight talk; that’s double talk.”
“Tonight, John McCain defended his economic qualifications by saying he was a part of the Reagan Revolution, but voting against the most pro-growth legislation in two decades is more in keeping with a liberal, anti-free-market revolution than President Reagan’s major tax reforms.”
PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.
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