Organizing for America

Response to McCain's Most Recent Attack Ad on Taxes

"This ad is a lie, and it’s part of the old, tired politics of a party in Washington that has run out of ideas and run out of steam. Even though a host of independent, nonpartisan organizations have said this attack isn't true, Senator McCain continues to lie about Senator Obama's plan to give 95% of all families a tax cut of $1,000, and not raise taxes for those making under $250,000 a single dime. The reason so many families are hurting today is because we’ve had eight years of failed Bush policies that Senator McCain wants to continue for another four, and that's what Barack Obama will change as President," said Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan.

SCRIPT: ANNCR: Life in the spotlight must be grand, but for the rest of us times are tough.

RESPONSE: MCCAIN'S REPEATING CELEBRITY THEME THAT HE WAS ROUNDLY CRITICIZED FOR BY HIS OWN ALLIES LAST TIME AROUND

McCain's Former Strategist: McCain's Ad Is "Childish" And "Reduces McCain." "John Weaver, for years one of John McCain's closest friends and confidants, has been in exile since his resignation from McCain's presidential campaign last year. With the exception of an occasional interview, he has, by his own account, bit his tongue as McCain's campaign has adopted a strategy that Weaver believes 'diminishes John McCain.' With the release today of a McCain television ad blasting Obama for celebrity preening while gas prices rise, and a memo that accuses Obama of putting his own aggrandizement before the country, Weaver said he's had 'enough.' The ad's premise, he said, is 'childish.' 'John's been a celebrity ever since he was shot down,' Weaver said. 'Whatever that means. And I recall Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush going overseas and all those waving American flags.' Weaver remains in contact with senior McCain strategists and, for a while early this year, regularly talked to McCain. The strategy of driving up Obama's negatives 'reduces McCain on the stage,' Weaver said. 'For McCain to win in such troubled times, he needs to begin telling the American people how he intends to lead us. That McCain exists. He can inspire the country to greatness. He added: 'There is legitimate mockery of a political campaign now, and it isn't at Obama's. For McCain's sake, this tomfoolery needs to stop.'" [The Atlantic, 7/30/08]

Former McCain Adviser Schnur Called First Celebrity Ad An Example Of "Name-Calling." "Even some McCain allies have winced at the Paris/Britney spot. Republican strategist Dan Schnur, a former McCain adviser, said that 'most voters won't see the parallels between a presidential candidate and two party girls. So a legitimate point about inexperience gets lost in the appearance of name-calling.'" [Washington Post, 8/1/08]

David Gergen: Celebrity Ads Diminish McCain "Because They're So At Variance With Who He Normally Has Been." "I think they've made a cold-blooded calculated decision to refocus their campaign away from the positive, toward the negative, bring down Barack Obama at least two or three notches make fun of him. And pave the way to the White House…Over time, these kind of mocking ads will come back to haunt John McCain because they're so at variance with who he normally has been. But John McCain is increasingly put himself in danger that he's going to become the subject of ridicule." [NBC, 8/1/08]

Washington Post: McCain Campaign's Celebrity Ad Shows It Is "Adopting The Aggressive, Take-No-Prisoners Style Of Karl Rove." "As Election Day nears, McCain's campaign is adopting the aggressive, take-no-prisoners style of Karl Rove, the GOP operative who engineered victories for President Bush. The campaign continued the attack Wednesday with a sarcastic television ad deriding Obama as a 'celebrity,' part of an intensifying effort to cast him as an elitist. But the sharp-edged approach is being orchestrated for an unpredictable candidate who often chafes at delivering the campaign's message of the day. It is that freewheeling style that has made him popular with voters and cemented his reputation for candor and straight talk." [Washington Post, 7/31/08]

McCain Said He Was "Proud" Of The "Celeb" And Said It Stresses "Substance And Not Style." "McCain said at a town hall meeting here that he is 'proud' of the ad as stressing 'substance and not style,' and his spokeswoman, Nicolle Wallace, defended it. 'The ad is meant to acknowledge reality -- that he is huge, that he is a celebrity,' she said of Obama. 'It wasn't meant to be insulting. One of the things we learned from Hillary Clinton running against Obama is that railing against his celebrity, whining about his celebrity, doesn't work.'" [Washington Post, 8/1/08]

SCRIPT: Obama voted to raise taxes on people making just $42,000.

MCCAIN CAMP HAS REPEATEDLY MADE INACCURATE CLAIMS ABOUT THIS VOTE--IT DIDN'T RAISE TAXES

Annenberg Fact Check: Vote McCain Refers to Was a Non-Binding Budget Resolution That Doesn't Raise Taxes But Assumes Most Bush Tax Cuts Expire, and "Bears No Relation To Obama's Proposed Economic Plan." FactCheck.org wrote that the vote McCain campaign cites "refers to Obama's March 2008 vote for a non-binding budget resolution that would have set general revenue and spending targets for congressional tax-writing and appropriations committees. The resolution does not contain a specific provision to raise tax rates, but rather assumes that most of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire as scheduled in 2011. It also bears no relation to Obama's proposed economic plan. In fact, Obama has stated repeatedly that his plan would increase taxes only for those making more than $250,000 per year." [Factcheck.org, 7/8/08]

Annenberg Fact Check: The Hypothetical Taxpayer McCain Ad Refers To Would Get a $502 Tax Cut Under Obama Plan, but No Change Under McCain. "The most comprehensive nonpartisan analysis of Obama's tax proposal available is the Tax Policy Center's comparison of McCain's and Obama's economic plans. That analysis mostly supports Obama's claim that his plan won't raise taxes, though it says that families earning between $169,480 and $237,040 would see an average tax increase of $486 under Obama's plan. All those earning less than $169,480 would see tax cuts. In fact, that hypothetical taxpayer with the $32,000 in taxable income would get a $502 tax cut under Obama's plan. McCain's plan, by contrast, would leave that person's taxes unchanged." [Factcheck.org, 7/8/08]

Annenberg Fact Check: Budget Resolutions Do Not Alter The Tax Code. Factcheck.org wrote, "As we have described before, budget resolutions basically set targets for appropriations committees to use. They are more like guidelines than actual rules. And, like many budget resolutions, this one passed on a party-line vote, with just one Democrat and two Republicans crossing party lines." On July 3rd, 2008 Factcheck.org wrote that "Budget resolutions merely set targets for tax-writing and appropriations committees and don't alter the tax code directly." [Factcheck.org, 7/8/08; Factcheck.org, 7/3/08]

MSNBC: The Budget Resolution Is Not A Law And Is Not Binding. First Read at MSNBC wrote, "The budget resolution is NOT/NOT a law, NOT binding. (The President of the United States doesn't even sign it.) Instead, it's a blueprint of sorts that gives guidance to how congressional tax writers write tax laws in the Finance Committee. That panel is not bound to what the budget says, and often votes to "waive" budget rules. [MSNBC, 7/7/08]

SCRIPT: He promises more taxes on small business, seniors, your life savings, your family. Painful taxes, hard choices for your budget. Not ready to lead. That's the real Obama.

RESPONSE: OBAMA PLAN WILL CUT TAXES ON MOST AMERICANS, INCLUDING ELIMINATING INCOME TAXES ON SENIORS MAKING LESS THAN $50,000

Obama Plan: Eliminate Income Taxes for Seniors Making Less than $50,000: Barack Obama will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This proposal will eliminate income taxes for 7 million seniors and provide these seniors with an average savings of $1,400 each year. Under the Obama plan, 27 million American seniors will also not need to file an income tax return. [Barack Obama Economic Plan]

Obama Plan: Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families: Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they need. Obama will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans. [Barack Obama Economic Plan]

Obama Plan: Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans: Obama will dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes. Obama will ensure that the IRS uses the information it already gets from banks and employers to give taxpayers the option of pre-filled tax forms to verify, sign and return. Experts estimate that the Obama proposal will save Americans up to 200 million total hours of work and aggravation and up to $2 billion in tax preparer fees. [Barack Obama Economic Plan]

OUTSIDE OBSERVERS AGREE: CLAIMS THAT OBAMA WILL RAISE TAXES ARE "WRONG," "FALSE," "MISLEADING"

McCain's Chief Economic Advisor: "I Used To Say That Barack Obama Raises Taxes…I Stand Corrected." "Take this one, for instance: 'The choice in this election is stark and simple,' John McCain said at recent Denver event, repeating a phrase that is a staple of his stump speech. 'Senator Obama will raise your taxes. I won't.' Seems clear enough, right? You already know the old argument: Republicans cut taxes, Democrats raise them. Except it's not true, at least not in the way that it seems. But don't take my word for it. Here is Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain's chief economic policy adviser. 'I used to say that Barack Obama raises taxes and John McCain cuts them, and I was convinced,' he told me in a phone interview this week. 'I stand corrected [about Obama's plans].'" [Time, 7/24/08]

Economists At The Tax Policy Center Came To The Conclusion That Obama's Tax Plan Offers A Net Tax Cut. Michael Scherer of Time wrote, "So I want to make a few things clear. First, the Obama campaign calculates that its tax plan offers a net tax revenue reduction over ten years, if the health plan is included. Second, independent economists at the Tax Policy Center come to the same conclusion. Third, Holtz-Eakin has repeatedly, and quite seriously, invoked the net-tax-cut calculations of Obama to make the argument that the Democrat has a fiscally irresponsible economic plan." [Time, 7/30/08]

Time: McCain's Tax Plan "Benefits Mostly Those In Higher Income Brackets While Obama's Plan Benefits Mostly Those In Lower-And Middle Income Tax Brackets." "They do, however, offer plans that differ strikingly from each other. McCain's tax plan benefits mostly those in higher income brackets, while Obama's plan benefits mostly those in lower- and middle-income tax brackets. McCain wants a tax cut for corporate profits, while Obama has proposed a whole host of tax cuts that will benefit those in the middle-income brackets." [Time, 7/24/08]

Stanford Group Economist: "Overwhelmingly Most Americans Will Not See Their Income Taxes Increased" Under Obama's Tax Plan. Anne Mathias, an economist at the Stanford Group Company, "points out that 95.1% of the American people are in households that earn less than $200,000 -- so overwhelmingly most Americans will not see their income taxes increased, if Obama's math is correct." [ABC News, 7/7/08]

Washington Post Fact Checker: McCain Campaign Attacks on Obama Tax Plan "Overblown," "Wrong," and "Greatly Exaggerated." "The McCain camp is attempting to persuade Americans that their taxes will increase dramatically with Barack Obama as president. The presumptive Republican nominee has repeatedly said that Obama would enact 'the largest tax increase since the Second World War.' A surrogate, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, insists that Obama has not proposed 'a single tax cut' and wants to 'raise every tax in the book.' … The claim that Obama will 'enact' the largest tax increase since World War II is also overblown. The Bush tax cuts will expire automatically at the end of 2010, so it is hardly a question of 'enacting' a new tax increase. ... Carly Fiorina is wrong to claim that Obama has proposed no tax cuts and wants to raise 'every tax in the book.' John McCain is on more solid ground when he claims that Americans from many different backgrounds could be affected by a rise in capital gains taxes, but he has greatly exaggerated the adverse impact." [Washington Post, 6/11/08]

Politifact: McCain's Statement That Obama's Tax Plan Would Raise Taxes Is "False." Politifact reported, "So calling it a tax increase might not be considered fair. There's no disputing that taxes will rise, but the question of who's responsible for that tax increase is another matter entirely. At PolitiFact, we've concluded, as have others, that it's unfair to call Obama's plan a tax increase merely because it doesn't change existing tax law to keep rates low. We think about it this way: The reason taxes will increase is because of tax policy signed into law not by Obama, but by somebody else… the more recent data — combined with the fact that Obama's proposal does not constitute a tax increase in the traditional sense, since some taxes would be lower under his plan than they would under current law — persuades us to classify McCain's statement as False." [Politifact, 6/11/08]

FactCheck.Org: McCain's Largest Tax Increase Charge Wrong and Misleading. According to the Annenberg Public Policy Center's Factcheck.org: "By the measure most economists prefer, McCain is wrong in his claim that Sens. Clinton and Obama want to implement "the single largest tax increase since the Second World War;"… At a more basic level, it's misleading to tag Clinton and Obama for something that was scheduled during the Bush administration – the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, which by law will occur at the end of 2010." [Factcheck.org, 5/14/08]

OBAMA TAX PROPOSAL WAS PRAISED AS A "TAX FAIRNESS, PRO-CAPITALIST INITIATIVE," WILL NOT RAISE TAXES AND WILL PROVIDE A BIGGER BREAK FOR MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES THAN MCCAIN'S PLAN

Analysts Say That Obama's Tax Cut Plan "Offers Three Times The Break For Middle Class Families Than Proposals" Of McCain. "The tax cut plan of Democratic nominee to be Barack Obama offers three times the break for middle class families than proposals of likely Republican nominee John McCain, according to analysts working for a left-leaning think tank. Families making between $37,595 and $66,354 of annual income with Obama would get an average tax cut of $1,042 per family while McCain's tax cut for this group would be $319, the report states." [Nashua Telegraph, 6/12/08]

Under Obama's Plan The Middle Of The Middle Class Would See Taxes Cut By $1,042 A Year; McCain's Tax Plan Would Give Them Only A $319 Tax Cut. According to the non partisan Tax Policy Center's computations, "under Mr. Obama's plan, the middle of the middle class, or those earning $37,595 to $66,354, would see taxes cut by $1,042 a year. Under Mr. McCain's plan, taxes for people in that category would also fall, but by $319; the largest chunk of the benefits would go to those making $2.8 million a year or more." [New York Times, 6/13/08]

Obama Plan: $80 Billion A Year In Tax Cuts "To Middle-Class Workers, Homeowners And Retirees." "Senator Barack Obama proposed a plan on Tuesday to provide at least $80 billion a year in tax cuts to middle-class workers, homeowners and retirees, saying if he was elected president he would 'end the preferential treatment that's built into our tax code.' Mr. Obama said he would give a $500 tax credit to more than 150 million workers, create a tax credit for homeowners who do not itemize their deductions and eliminate income taxes for older taxpayers who make less than $50,000 a year." [New York Times, 9/19/07; Tax Fairness For The Middle Class]

Martire: Obama's Tax Plan Is A "Tax Fairness, Pro-Capitalist Initiative." Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, wrote in an article, "The audacity of Sen. Barack Obama is now clear. He actually intends to make tax fairness - targeted at workers and seniors, no less - a platform in his candidacy for the White House. Obama just unveiled a proposal that would cut taxes by about $80 billion annually for middle-class folks, low-income folks, homeowners and seniors. The senator would pay for this program by, now get this, increasing taxes on capital gains and dividends, and eliminating other tax loopholes that primarily benefit the most well-to-do…Under Obama's proposal, more than 150 million workers - those who have been left out during America's recent economic expansion, would get a tax break. Better yet, because their incomes are stagnant or declining, they'll in all likelihood use this tax break to purchase necessities, creating a stimulus in their local economies. Bush's tax break for dividends and capital gains, on the other hand, overwhelmingly benefits the richest Americans. According to Internal Revenue Service data, three-quarters of this tax break, about $68 billion annually, goes to the wealthiest 0.6 percent of income earners, while costing over $91 billion in 2005 alone. Not only does this worsen income inequality, but it is patently anti-capitalist. Eliminating this tax break would more than cover the $80 billion annual cost of Obama's tax fairness, pro-capitalist initiative." [Springfield Journal-Register, Editorial, 9/24/07]

Kansas City Star Editorial: "Obama's Plans For Reducing Inequalities In Tax Policies And Helping Working Families Offer The Better Blueprint To Move Forward." "Discussions about health care, Social Security and energy are needed to produce a big picture of how each candidate will manage the economy. Based on proposals so far, however, Obama's plans for reducing inequalities in tax policies and helping working families offer the better blueprint to move forward." [Kansas City Star, 6/13/08]