How Pathetic Does Bush Sound Saying Kerry Will Raise Taxes?

[DrFunkenstein]

HOUSTON - Challenging President Bush on his home turf, John Kerry decried a "four-year trail of broken promises" that he said have left economic ruin and given free rein to corporate polluters.

Speaking with reporters at his Crawford, Texas, ranch, 206 miles from Kerry's event in Houston, Bush defended his handling of the economy, saying "our economy is getting stronger" and suggesting that Kerry's proposals would raise taxes.

"Raising taxes will make it harder for people to find work," Bush said. Kerry has called for repealing the portions of Bush's tax cut that went to wealthy taxpayers, a move that Bush characterizes as a tax increase.

Kerry casts his proposal in terms of using proceeds of a canceled tax break for the wealthy to pay for crucial education and health programs that have suffered under Bush's watch.

"The people I've met here in Texas and all across America aren't asking for much," Kerry said at a town-hall style meeting. "All they want is a government that honors their values and helps them build a better life."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040306/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_11





The dog is a nice touch.

[ringmastery]

1. yeah I would love to know

how Bush can run on that.

Kerry wants to repeal only the tax cuts for people making over 200,000 a year.

[Tank in Texas]

2. Extremely

I am no Kerry-booster but he has NOT talked about raising taxes any more than any other Dem. He has talked about rolling back Bush's tax cuts for those earning over $200K/year.

[ewagner]

3. Do 'ya 'spose.......??????

Dubya's handlers smeared liver sausage on his heels to get the dog to follow him?

(apologies to Wag the Dog )

on edit: More on point....Repubs are taking the line that not making the tax cuts permanent is a tax increase....more muddled reasoning from the GOP.

[sistersofmercy]

29. BWAHAHAHAHAHA

"liver sausage on his heels" I bet they did, poor Barney.

[incapsulated]

4. It doesn't matter how stupid it sounds to "us"

What matters is, it's what the rethugs are repeating like a mantra all over the media and Kerry's people have to answer it right now.

 
 

[whistle]

10. Precicely....

...be watching the Sunday morning news shows and see what the ReTHUGlican mouths will be saying ad nauseam :puke: :crazy:

[incapsulated]

12. I want to see..

Kerry reps all over the Sunday shows saying that the only taxes that are going to be raised are on Bush's rich friends, the only people that are doing well in this economy.

 
 

[DrFunkenstein]

13. Even Better: Only For People Who Can Afford His Fundraisers

If you can afford to attend a Bush fundraiser, at $2000 a pop, you just might have your taxes raised.

[DrFunkenstein]

11. I Think People Will Get These Two Sentences

"Raising taxes will make it harder for people to find work," Bush said. Kerry has called for repealing the portions of Bush's tax cut that went to wealthy taxpayers, a move that Bush characterizes as a tax increase.



Bob McIlvain, who's son died in the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, appealed to President George W. Bush to withdraw presidential election campaign adverts that use images from the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington.

[donco6]

5. So are people really buying this "economy is getting better

business? Does anyone see any real evidence of it? We're still getting hundreds of apps for every position opening. Unemployment rate hasn't budged. Gas prices going up, up, up. ??? Better WHERE?

[arewethereyet]

17. my portflio is much improved tiny though it is

I'd like to see jobs come up too though, too many friends out of work.

If Kerry has an answer to this tax increase thing he had better start articulating it soon.

And the public WILL see it that way and they will also suspect that if Kery is willing to do it to some, then he'll be willing to do it for all given a percieved need. Like say, medical coverage for all.

John Edwards said it most honestly and best at a "debate" when he pointed out that everyone up there on the stage was taking about a tax increase and that there was no point in denying it or dressing it up.

Trouble is, the people don't want tax increases.

[lyrical di]

6. typical tax taunt

How typical that all Bush can do is threaten with the "T" word. Anyone who argues for equity is tarred with T.

[wryter2000]

8. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[newyawker99]

14. Hi lyrical di!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[NC_Nurse]

7. He sounds pathetic

he looks pathetic, and he IS pathetic!

[wryter2000]

9. My assessment

Like I know anything. :)

If he says "raise taxes," he can get all the idiots who think if you take a nickle from them, you're stealing. If he embellishes it with "lower taxes will lead to more jobs," he has a real credibility problem.

[dsc]

15. With all due respect

The logic Bush is using now is exactly, precisely, and utterly the same as the logic Kerry used against Dean. Which, it should be noted, is exactly and precisely what I said would happen. This attack is right from Kerry's mouth.

[DrFunkenstein]

18. Actually, This Is Part of The Whole "Electability" Issue (See Krugman)

Even Paul Krugman said that Dean's position was political suicide. The reason Bush sounds pathetic is because he is using the attack they planned for Dean, where it would sound more credible.

Here is Krugman arguing for Kerry's plan:

George W. Bush is like a man who tells you that he's bought you a fancy new TV set for Christmas, but neglects to tell you that he charged it to your credit card, and that while he was at it he also used the card to buy some stuff for himself. Eventually, the bill will come due — and it will be your problem, not his.

Still, those who want to restore fiscal sanity probably need to frame their proposals in a way that neutralizes some of the administration's demagoguery. In particular, they probably shouldn't propose a rollback of all of the Bush tax cuts.

Purists will raise two objections. The first is that an incomplete rollback of the Bush tax cuts won't be enough to restore long-run solvency. In fact, even a full rollback wouldn't be enough. According to my rough calculations, keeping the child credits and the cutout while rolling back the rest would close only about half the fiscal gap. But it would be a lot better than current policy.

The other objection is that the tricks used to sell the Bush tax cuts have made an already messy tax system, full of special breaks for particular classes of taxpayers, even messier. Shouldn't we favor a reform that cleans it up? In principle, the answer is yes. But an ambitious reform plan would be demagogued and portrayed as a tax increase for the middle class. My guess is that we should propose a selective rollback as the first step, with broader reform to follow.

Will someone be able to find the political sweet spot, the combination of fiscal responsibility and electoral smarts that brings the looting to an end? The future of the nation depends on the answer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/17/opinion/17KRUG.html

John Kerry believes that we should keep the middle class tax cuts that Democrats fought for in 2001 and 2003, which increased the child tax credit, reduced the marriage penalty and lowered tax rates. He strongly disagrees with Democrats who want to repeal these tax cuts, which would cost a typical middle-class family with two children an additional $2000.

John Kerry is committed to balancing the budget. He has put forward a sensible plan that will at least cut the deficit in half in his first term, while investing in economic growth and investing in workers.

Powerful special interest groups make it hard to cut special tax loopholes and pork barrel spending projects. John Kerry supports a Commission that would recommend cuts and require Congress to vote on all recommendations, so no single special interest could fight for pet projects. Under Kerry’s plan, the President would identify wasteful spending items in the budget and submit the list to Congress to vote on in an up-or-down fashion – saving billions of dollars.

http://www.johnkerry.com/news/releases/pr_2003_0828.html

[dsc]

21. The best case senario

is that Kerry wins the battle (the election) but then loses the war (governing). Clinton did precisely this in 92 and we have this to thank for us having Speaker Hassert and Majority Leader Frist. We can't run billions and billions of dollars in deficits. Kerry will add to our debt if he does all of what he says. While, he would be adding to our debt with better things it still would be adding to our debt.

[mot78]

24. Kerry won't be able to repeal all of the * tax cuts

A Repug Congress won't allow it, and if all of the tax cuts are repealed, it will be 1994 all over again in Congress.

[dsc]

25. If they aren't the elderly poor will be eating cat food

in 2030. It wasn't that long ago that the elderly poor did exactly that.

[DrFunkenstein]

26. If That's Your Best Case Scenario

You really ought to try to be more optimistic. It sounds like you want Kerry to fail, so that it would prove to you that we should have gone with Dean (who presumably would have been a resounding success).

Given that Kerry has a history of fiscal conservatism, what is the basis for you idle speculation?

[dsc]

28. the promises he has made

He has already spent all of his extra revenue plus some.

[alcuno]

16. I have the perfect line for Kerry when * points to an audience and

says that John Kerry is going to raise your taxes.

"No, Mr. President, I'm going to raise your taxes. And the taxes of your buddies who have been mooching off of the hard work of the American people. It's appalling that we have to listen to whining coming from people earning more than $300,000/year. It's embarassing to a country as great as the United States of America. You know, Mr. President, there ARE hard-working, wealthy people in this country who acknowledge that what they are receiving in terms of tax breaks makes no sense when balanced against American citizens struggling for jobs, health care, and the chance to put their kids through college. They accept responsibility, Mr. President, and are honored to do so."

[sandnsea]

23. There you go, and...

"I'm talking about tax cuts for small business that will create jobs HERE, not tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy that create jobs overseas."

The two together are winners, don't you think?

[alcuno]

30. Absolutely

I'm no expert on tax policy, but even I know that the dividend tax cut was simply a giveaway to the well-to-do. Eliminate the estate tax? How many estates are even eligible to be taxed? Is it really 5000? There are 250 million people in this country and we have a president who is looking out for the estates of 5000? Including his own.

I think that Kerry should blast the shit out of *. And stop talking percents. Tell the American people HOW MANY people are actually affected by these "tax increases." Too many people apparently THINK they are in the top 1%. Remember the survey last year. 20% of Americans think they are IN the top 1%.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

19. I think it's important that Kerry use the $200,000 figure when talking

about this. It's just in the nature of Americans to believe they are a little bit better off than they are. So if you just say 'middle-class' a lot of folks are under the impression that they are 'upper middle-class' or even just plain richer than they really are and maybe their taxes will go up. Using a number grounds it in reality, not perception.

[DrFunkenstein]

20. Or Talk About Ken Lay

Kenny Boy's taxes will definitely go up.





Bye, bye Jeffy!

[Mairead]

22. I think he sounds believable (or at least *what* he says sounds so)

Because that's what Dems historically do: they do what Kerry is talking about doing: giving us some programs that have built-in benefits for the wealthy, and which therefore will come out of our pockets via a tax rise.

[sistersofmercy]

27. bush* cannot get anything correct

it is repealing tax cuts not raising taxes and of course, there is always pulling the scare tactics out of his bag of tricks. Fear, you must fear.