Clinton stands by gas tax proposal
Posted: Thursday, May 01, 2008 12:44 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
2008, Economy, Clinton, Obama
From NBC's Andrea Mitchell, Lauren Appelbaum, and NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
After being roundly criticized by newspaper editorials, economists, and energy experts for her gas tax holiday proposal, Clinton is still plowing ahead.
She just told a town meeting in Indiana, "I think we should have a gas tax holiday and pay for it" by taxing oil company "windfall" profits. McCain also supports a gas tax holiday (although wants to pay for it through general revenues), while Obama doesn't.
Clinton added, "You know, Sen. Obama says we shouldn't do it and it's gimmick. And Sen. McCain says we should do it but shouldn't pay for it. I sometimes feel like the Goldilocks of this campaign. Not too much, not too little, just right. And I think we should have a gas tax holiday and pay for it."
She also tried to rebut critics by saying that it's easy for people who can afford to pay to criticize.
Meanwhile, Obama once again stated his opposition to such a holiday while also campaigning in Indiana. "This isn’t a real solution. This is a gimmick," he said. "And this is what Washington does whenever there’s a big problem. They pretend that they’re solving it to try to get though a political season but they don’t really solve it. And unfortunately, after John McCain made the proposal ,I guess Sen. Clinton thought it was gonna poll well, so she said, 'Me too, I’ll do the same thing.’ and so now it’s the McCain-Clinton proposal to suspend the gas tax.
He then said, "You know people are more concerned about looking good for the cameras and for politics than they are at actually solving problems. You remember when George Bush five years ago put up a big sign in front of an aircraft carrier saying ‘Mission accomplished’ in Iraq. I’m sure they thought that was good politics. Except five years later we’re still in this war in Iraq."
