Meet Hillary The Tax Cutter

TV Ad Paints First Lady As A Fiscal Moderate

(CBS)  The CBS News Political Unit is tracking the latest campaign commercials. Francesca Gessner analyzes a new New York Senate race campaign ad from Hillary Clinton that champions her fiscal plan.

---

The Ad: Hillary Clinton has released a new TV ad contrasting her tax plan to that of her New York Senate opponent Republican Congressman Rick Lazio. The 30-second ad titled Affordable, highlights Clinton's plan to provide targeted tax cuts while paying down the debt. The ad says Lazio’s tax cut plans would “squander the whole surplus” and are “just like George Bush.” The commercial is airing in downstate New York, while a similar version is airing upstate.

Audio: Announcer: Hillary Clinton supports tax cuts...that's right....she has a plan for a $10,000 tax deduction to help pay for college, tax credits for long term care and child care, a reduction of the marriage tax and the estate tax, and Hillary's tax cut plan is affordable...We'd still be able to pay down the debt, and extend Social Security. Rick Lazio's tax plan costs more than a trillion dollars...And just like George Bush, Lazio's plans squander the whole surplus. Hillary...the right tax cuts...the right choice.

Visual: The ad features various shots of Hillary interacting with people. The following text appears on the screen in succession: “Hillary Clinton supports tax cuts,” “$10,000 College Tax Deduction,” “Tax Credits for Long Term care,” “Tax Credits for Child Care,” “A Reduction of the Marriage Tax,” “A Reduction of the Estate Tax,” “Hillary’s Plan is Affordable,” “Pay Down the Debt,” “Extend Social Security,” “Rick Lazio’s tax plan more than a trillion dollars,” “Rick Lazio’s tax plans squander the whole surplus,” and “The right tax cuts - the right choice.”

Fact check: Lazio says his tax cut would cost $776 billion over 10 years, but several independent experts and newspapers have put the cost at $1.1 trillion. The ad’s charge that Lazio’s tax cut would “squander the whole surplus,” is based on an analysis conducted by the Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization in New York. However, Lazio insists his plan would reserve 75 percent of the government surplus to protect Social Security.

The Strategy: By explicitly linking Lazio’s tax plan to that of presidential candidate George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton is following Al Gore’s strategy of portraying her Republican opponent’s tax cut plan as risky and irresponsible. More broadly, Clinton is trying to tie Lazio to Bush, who is running poorly in New York. Affordable depicts Clinton as the fiscally responsible candidate in the race who cares about protecting the surplus and paying down the det. Meanwhile, the ad’s opening line, “Hillary Clinton supports tax cuts,” aims to counter a Lazio commercial released one week earlier that accused Clinton of supporting 15 tax increases. Moreover, the ad highlights tax cuts such as college tuition deduction and reducing the marriage penalty that are highly popular with mainstream voters, not to mention some Republican leaders. In this way, the ad aims to paint Clinton as a fiscal moderate, flying in the face of the “tax and spend” label traditionally affixed to Democrats.