RNC VIDEO HITS OBAMA ON GAS TAX FLIP-FLOP, ILLINOIS SEN.’S RHETORIC SAME AS THAT OF FLORENCE COUNTY SEN.
The Republican National Committee released a new Web video today titled “Barack Obama’s Gas Tax Hypocrisy.” The video hits the Democratic presidential candidate for changing positions on a gas tax relief plan supported by Sen. John McCain that the USA Today said “could save motorists $6.8 billion in taxes during the summer.”
While serving in the Illinois state legislature, the video claims, Obama supported a gas tax holiday. But that record is inconsistent with his current stance.
“A three-month tax holiday is a bad idea,” Obama says in the video. “It’s a gimmick that’s been tried before.”
The RNC counters saying that, “as Americans are paying record-high gas prices nationwide, Obama has changed his position on providing hardworking Americans with much-needed gas tax relief this summer.”
Most noteworthy for me is the striking similarity between Obama’s recent rhetoric and the pro-gas tax agenda being pushed in the South Carolina Senate by Hugh Leatherman.
Just this week Leatherman told WLTX-TV that the state gas tax is only a few cents per gallon, so it’s really no big deal. “I think that most people, particularly, back in my area would like to see work done on the highway system rather than get back $2.00 a week.”
First of all, the people back in his area of Florence County are responsible for about 75 percent of the pork in the state budget every year.
And secondly, I think if they realized they were paying $104 a year not to pay for roads, as Leatherman says, but to fund Green Bean Museums, performing arts centers, festivals and all the garbage that benefits about five people in the county, then they would probably ask for their money back.
If you ever doubted that Leatherman was still a Democrat, here’s your proof.
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The gas tax holiday is a bad idea, it won’t lower the price that much in the end.
I totally agree, Bob, and many economists do, too. Even our rabidly anti-tax libertarian friends at reason think a gas tax holiday is a bad, bad idea (one of many articles here: http://www.reason.com/news/show/126023.html ).
If completely thinking through the issues at hand and deciding not to support a bad but popular idea makes you a Democrat, sign me up. Your post highlights the weaknesses of McCain (who “doesn’t know much about economics”) and the national GOP, not of Leatherman.
I give credit to John McCain for opposing earmarks and supporting free trade. These are good policies that have been well thought-out. The gas tax holiday is not.
Since agreeing with Democrats makes you a Democrat, thought I’d post this CNN story where it becomes clear that you and Clinton are using the same rhetoric about the gas tax as Hillary Clinton. If you’ve ever doubted that Palmetto Scoop was a Democrat, here’s your proof.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/03/obama-clintons-gas-tax-plan-calculated/
Sorry to keep posting on this, but as soon as I defended Obama by mocking you (with incorrect grammar) for using the “they say the same thing” argument, Obama goes and says that Clinton and McCain are “reading from the same playbook”. I guess even people who will actually listen to economists when it comes to the economy aren’t immune to making stupid arguments.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/02/obama-clinton-mccain-reading-from-same-political-playbook/