Dems Duel Over Taxes

Washington Post: Obama Calls For More Rebates As Clinton Defends Gas Tax Break Proposal

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Perry Bacon Jr. and Shailagh Murray.

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Two days before critical primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) scolded both Sen. Barack Obama (D) and "elite opinion" Sunday for opposing her proposals to fix the ailing economy, while the senator from Illinois accused her of political pandering.

"There's a big difference between us, and the question is: Who understands what you're going through, and who do you count on being on your side?" Clinton said to several hundred supporters in Fort Wayne. "I believe I have what it takes to stand up and fight for you when you need a president on your side."

Obama appeared to acknowledge that Clinton's populist economic message is finding a receptive audience in Indiana when he called for a second round of government tax rebates. "Let me tell you something, people are really hurting," Obama said during his own appearance in Fort Wayne. "I am here to tell you, you're not on your own. We're in this together."

The two scoured the state before a primary that Obama last month called the "tiebreaker" in the Democratic contest. He is hoping that victories here and in North Carolina would build pressure on Clinton to exit the race for the party's nomination, and both candidates are betting that their rhetoric on the economy -- Obama insisting voters will reject easy answers, Clinton with her proposals for short-term relief -- will give them an edge Tuesday.

The candidates taped appearances on competing Sunday-morning talk shows from Indianapolis, campaigned in Fort Wayne, stopped in towns across the state (Clinton in South Bend, Obama in Elkhart) and returned late in the day to Indianapolis, where they again sparred over gasoline taxes in consecutive speeches at a state Democratic Party dinner.

Sunday was their last full day of campaigning here before Tuesday's vote. Clinton will make two stops on Monday in North Carolina, and Obama has three appearances scheduled. Obama has led by double digits in North Carolina polls for weeks.

In their television appearances, Obama continued to face tough questions about his controversial former pastor, and Clinton was criticized for her aggressive stance toward Iran. But both also renewed their debate over Clinton's proposal to suspend the federal gasoline tax for the summer months.

Obama said his previous support of suspending the gas tax in Illinois, when he was a state senator, was a "mistake." He derided Clinton's plan on NBC's "Meet the Press," calling it "a political response to a serious problem that we neglected for decades."

His campaign launched a new television ad labeling the idea a "bogus gas tax gimmick."

Obama said his proposal for a tax cut for the middle class, as part of an economic stimulus package, would be more effective than Clinton's gas tax suspension.

"Look, people do need serious relief," he said. "They are getting hammered. I mean -- people who can't go on job searches because they can't fill up their gas tank. And so, what I've said is, let's accelerate the second half of a tax stimulus proposal that I have put forward that would put, immediately, hundreds of dollars into people's pockets to get through the summer."

Clinton has her own tax-cut proposals that benefit the middle class, but she said the gas tax holiday would be an important short-term measure.

In ignoring a question about whether any prominent economist embraces the gas tax holiday, Clinton defended her proposal and attacked "this mind-set where somehow elite opinion is always on the side of doing things that really disadvantage the vat majority of Americans."

"I'm not going to put my lot in with economists," Clinton said in a town hall meeting organized by ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos." "When the federal government, through the Fed and Treasury, gave $30 billion in a bailout to Bear Stearns, I didn't hear anybody jump in and say, 'That's not going according to the market, that's rewarding irresponsible behavior.' "

The former first lady was combative in her TV appearance, putting host Stephanopoulos on the defensive by suggesting that he, like her, was a private opponent of the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement in the Bill Clinton White House.

"Now, you remember this, because George did work in that '92 campaign, and George and I actually were against NAFTA," Clinton said, referring to Stephanopoulos's work as a senior adviser to Bill Clinton. "I'm talking about him in his previous life, before he was an objective journalist and didn't have opinions about such matters."

Focusing on the economy in their talk show appearances, Clinton and Obama played down the controversial comments of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., the former pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, which Obama attends. Clinton, when asked about Wright at the town hall meeting, said that "we should definitely move on" from the issue.

Obama, meanwhile, said that he would "absolutely not" seek Wright's counsel if he were elected president.

Despite the stakes and the toll of the long campaign, both candidates appeared in good spirits.

"I've been talking all the time; can I get a throat lozenge?" Clinton said in South Bend as she began coughing and briefly lost her voice. "Glass of water," she shouted.

"See, that's why we need universal health care," she said to laughter. She cut her standard stump speech down to about 20 minutes.

Obama played basketball in Elkhart, joking that he was a "pressure player" as he knocked down several shots, although he lost the game to a local 14-year-old.

Over the weekend, Obama showed up at picnic sites, playgrounds and roller-skating rinks across Indiana with his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha. The girls had not appeared on the campaign trail since before January's Iowa caucuses. Obama even visited a house in Noblesville that his mother's family had owned for generations before moving to Kansas.

Obama was not reaching his usual crowds of thousands in the small-scale events, but campaign advisers were betting that the images would resonate more effectively with Indiana voters by showing Obama as down-to-earth and in touch with ordinary Hoosier life. He kept his prepared remarks short, focused on his critique of Clinton's proposed gas tax holiday and offered a hefty dose of personal detail, including how his grandfather had gone to college on the GI Bill and how his mother had collected food stamps.

The Clinton campaign sought to introduce a new issue into the campaign in its late stages. A mailer criticized his stance on the Second Amendment and said: "Where does Barack Obama really stand on guns? Depends on who Barack Obama is talking to." The flier invoked his controversial comments during a closed fundraiser that working-class voters "cling" to guns and religion because they believe that the government has let them down.

[briannorwood]

I''m not going to put my lot in with economists," Clinton said in a town hall meeting ...

Besides the fact that not a SINGLE respected economist thinks this "holiday" ploy is a good idea, Hillary is showing us thatthe only opinion that counts is hers and that she can never admit she is wrong.

Sounds eerily reminicent of another failed President I know of.

[jjp735i]

I still do not understand how Sen. Clinton or Sen. McCain thinks a total savings of $30.00 to $50.00 over this holiday tax will help people? Saving around $50.00 for a rtwo car family over several months does nothing, well maybe the weekly savings of $4.00 or so will pay for a gallon of milk, but not much else.

See the figures as they really are at factcheck.org

This savings is nothing at all in the long term of it.

[xlib]

So where did the "right wing conspiracy" story go?? Must be the powers that be didn''t like some of the posts. Probably a bit too "right wing" for them.
As for this, so briannorwood, what would be your solution to this problem. Can''t build a refinery, ethanol is a disaster and has shown to pollute more, can''t drill for our own oil, and the taxes per gallon continue to go up. So, you seem to know a lot about this, what would be your solution. Let''s hear it.

[omega39-2009]

The federal gas tax is 18 cents a gallon, last week triple A reported gas rose by 15 cents a gallon. IOWs, this "tax holiday" has a shelf life of about 10 days.

[xlib]

We here in the nanny state of NY pay up to 40cents a gallon more than neighboring PA. You know PA, the place where those "bitter people" live.
A local news report here stated that truckers are filling up in PA before coming into the nanny state to avoid the higher fuel prices. Seems to me a bit of relief from the county and state taxes WOULD help. Of course it is not a long term solution but it appears that congress is reluctant to come up with any long term solutions.

[hp32970c]

I''''m not going to put my lot in with economists," Clinton said..

This statement alone should make her unelectable. It says I don''t care what the experts say. I''m doing it my way. This attitude is exactly why the health care plan she worked on during her husband''s administration failed. It is exactly why she will be further divisive in the White House and who needs a cabinet and advisors if that''s the approach you''re going to take. The statement also demonstrates a lack of caring. She knows it''s a bad idea, but it will get her votes and she''s counting on people to be too stupid to pay attention to the facts of this gas tax scheme. And how will she replace the thousands of jobs lost. Let me see...would I rather have 50 bucks now or a job next month??? Hmmmm..... in the words of Bill Clinton, give me a break!!!

[jack3213]

THEY ARE BOTH GUILTY OF "ELITE POLITICAL PANDERING" WHO ARE THEY FOOLING! OH, THAT''S RIGHT- THE SUPPORTERS WHO WANT TO PAY MORE TAXES-..WHAT A BUNCH OF IDIOTS. THEY WANT TO KEEP THE FIGHT GOING UNTIL JUNE3 OR BEYOND- OBVIOUSLLY THEY DON''T HAVE THE DEMOCRATS BEST INTEREST AT HEART- ONLY THEIR OWN.

[sgtrds]

The gas tax holiday is the single most ignorant idea any politician has come up with in a long time. Not only is it political pandering, it would qualify as vote buying except for one thing, it won''t work. The government goes to the retailer and says they aren''t going to collect the 18 cent per gallon from them for a few months so would the retailer be so kind as to pass the savings on to the consumer. The retailer grins and says yeah, un huh, right, sure I will and then pockets the extra profit for his next vacation there''s no a da*mn thing the government can do about it. Since the government does not have the power to fix prices at the pump, there is no way to force the retailers to pass the savings on and they''d be pretty stupid business people to do it. It''s 18 cents more pure profit in their pockets.

[xlib]

sgtrds-no party panders better than the dems. So, what is YOUR solution to the problem?

[craigh9]

I certainly hope that the good people of Indiana can see their way through the shams and fear mongering of Hillary. This is your chance to show her that you are not as simple minded as she thinks. Show her you are tired of the same old rhetoric, like her BS gas tax holiday - She KNOWS it''s highly unlikely that any savings would actually reach consumers, she KNOWS President Bush would never OK going after the Oil Companies to pay for it, she KNOWS that even by some miracle that those things happened it would result in a few pennies in your pocket now but will cost you dollars in the future. She KNOWS it is a seriously flawed concept but she pushes it anyway because she doesn''t think Indiana is smart enough to understand - she is counting on you buying into a "Tax Break" that will be none existant and that she has absolutely no control to implement.
PLEASE Indiana PLEASE, vote against Hillary tomorrow. You have the power to put this country on a new journey, tell the old gaurd - promise anything, deliver nothing politicians like Hillary those days are over. Vote for America, vote for yourself - VOTE OBAMA!

[sgtrds]

Xlib

You have shown yourself to be a troll and a toad far too often to be taken seriously. You''re not worth my effort. Shoo troll, shoo.

[nonayabiness]

Yep, Oil companies would only keep the 18 cents by manipulating the pricing.

[samny2]

Senator Clinton is either ignorant of how business works or thinks the average person is. Shifting a tax from the consumer to the manufacturer (oil company) increases the manufacturer''s overhead which gets added to the base price. In the end the consumer pays all the taxes. That is a simple business reality.

[texanforlogi]

She really thinks the average American is an idiot--this bad gas tax idea, the transparent lies. PLEASE, Indiana and North Carolina, please prove her wrong. Please show her we''re too smart to fall for the same old lines again.

[ddaryl1]

I see no benefits in temporarily removing the fed gas tax. For average folk like myself, the $30 a month savings for 3-4 months doesn''t do anything for me. I need $3000 a month not $30 to survive and invest into my retirement while maintaining a life with my family. As for truckers sure they can use the tax breaks, but the dumbasses in out government need to do a heluva alot more to fix this country...

Doing the right thing is never easy... the decisions our leaders muyst make are not going to be easy, and they will probably make most everyone angry... and then make those decision makers unelectable, but it doesn''t change the facts... MAJOR CHANGE IN AMERICA IS NEEDED !!!... hopefully moderate dems and moderate repuplicans can set aside their differences and focus on the middle ground and form a 3rd party that can finally make the real changes... I can dream can''t I.

[broncfan1661]

I''''''''m not going to put my lot in with economists," Clinton said..
This statement alone should make her unelectable. It says I don''''t care what the experts say.
Posted by hp32970c at 09:36 AM : May 05, 2008
__________________________________________________-

One of the major problems is we have too many "Experts" and not enough doers in this country. You can see them every time you turn on your TV set. They are sometimes called the "TALKING HEADS"

[Syndicate]

I''ll take both tax cuts. Thank you.

[realpatriot1]

Xlib,

Obama has the solution: a permanent $1,000 tax credit
that doesn''t raid the highway fund, signing a windfall profits tax bill as soon as Bush is out of the White House(sorry Hillary, it won''t happen until then), and doing something about alternative fuels which Bush & Clinton both had 8 years already to do something about.

How about not re-electing the fools who put us in this situation? How''s that fr a solution?

[lochlan-2009]

Why not put huge taxes on the Oil Companies?

Do these people have any brains, around 80% percent (it''s all money stollen from us anyway) would get the oil company profits closer to what they were seeing before the Bush Regime.

Take that 80% and reimburse gas stations for selling their gas for a 50% off discounted price. That will put the cash savings at the pump immediately.

[truthyness]

DON''T FORGET THAT A TAX CUT THIS SUMMER WILL ALSO BRING DOWN THE PRICE OF FOOD. (food is delivered in trucks that eat a lot of gas)

[hlryshmnbald]

EUWWWEEEEE!

LOOK AT HILLARYS WIG SLIPPING OFF HER HEAD, AND(!)
SHE HAS A 5 O''''CLOCK MUSTACHE SHADOW!!

THESE GW BUSH PHOTO OPS ARE GETTING DOWN RIGHT CREEPY! SHE CAN LIE HER WAY OUT OF HER CONTINUOUS LIES. SHE-MAN BUTCH LESBIAN LOOKING TO POUNCE ON THE SAME YOUNG GIRL PAGES OL SLICK WILLY HAD GIVING HIM K N O B J O B S!

JEEPERS CREEPERS, WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE MANLY LOOKING PEEPERS? RIGHT MS SHE-MAN MASCULINE LESBIAN PRESIDENT: A FIRST OF FIRSTS, WITH ROSIE ODONELL AS VP!!

[tawpdawg11]

Concerning the gas tax issue-My vote is worth a lot more than 30 dollars over the whole summer, Mrs, Clinton. If you want me to switch my vote you''''ll have to up the ante. I''''ve already donated to Barrack''''s campaign to the tune of three-hundred dollars. You make it five-hundred dollars and I''''ll think about it.-INDY VOTER

[tawpdawg11]

"I don''t care what the experts on economics say."


This is the exact same go-it-alone bullheadedness that has brought our country to the brink of depression. How can INDY and NC want more of this shid? I gotta believe Indy voters will see this gas tax thing for the bribe that it is and GET RID OF CLINTON! SHE IS MORE OF THE SAME! WE NEED CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN! Please Indiana, please North Carolina.....activate the ejector seat. Throw the bum OUT!

[agog2]

Come on American Voters. This is really simple to understand. If you need to fill up you gas tank and you see two AIMCO gas stations. One of the stations has a sign saying Regular $3.00 dollars a gallon and the other AIMCO station has a sign saying Regular $3.18 cents a gallon. Which gas station are you going to pull into to fill up your gas tank?

[pensacola88]

You can''t spend taxes, until you create more workers first, to pay them.