McCain: Raising taxes?
Posted: Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:09 AM by Mark Murray
On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, McCain called it “disturbing” that a generic Republican loses by 18 points in the NBC/WSJ poll. But he blamed the negative overall environment for Republicans on spending, which he called “out of control.” He went on to say it his “dispirited our base.” He said “we have to energize our base.” He then briefly mentioned the economy, but the bulk of his answer was on spending. Despite criticism of his proposed gas tax holiday by editorial boards and economists, McCain also said it was an opportunity to give the lowest income voters “a little break for the summer.” Maybe they can “buy a meal for their kids. It’s a little thing, to give some people a break…. We want to pump up Americans… give them some optimism.”
Whew. The Senate officially believes McCain is a natural born U.S. citizen.
So McCain's health-care plan will raise taxes? Well, sort of. "The campaign cannot yet project how many taxpayers might see their taxes go up, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Mr. McCain’s top domestic policy adviser. But Mr. Holtz-Eakin said in an interview that for some, Mr. McCain’s health care tax credits would not be large enough to compensate for his proposal to eliminate the tax breaks afforded to workers with employer-provided health benefits."
The AP: “McCain is making promises that would cost billions of taxpayer dollars, yet he is vague about how he would pay for them. McCain is handing around a campaign grab bag of goodies. There are little treats like a summer gas-tax holiday and new mortgages for struggling homeowners, and there are big plums like tax breaks for corporations and families with children. The expected GOP presidential nominee has nothing on the Democrats. … The difference? Unlike the Democrats, McCain has made a career of trying to cut spending.”
“McCain will host his richest fund-raiser to date next week in New York City -- with prices for a premium seat hitting an eye-popping $100,000,” the New York Daily News reports. “That's how much donors will have to raise if they want to dine with the Arizona senator at the Fifth Ave. home of Jets owner and event Chairman Woody Johnson, who expects to collect at least $4 million from a who's who of the city's real estate and finance set.”
Apparently, McCain has some trouble driving, according to his wife, Cindy. “His wife … confided to Jay Leno on Wednesday that the former Navy fighter pilot is a not exactly Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the freeways. ‘He's not the best of drivers,’ she said on ‘The Tonight Show’ on NBC. ‘I drive most of the time.’”
