Media cite .. Gallup .. question .. masked .. Dem proposals for .. Katrina

[struggle4progress]

Media cite Gallup poll question that masked actual Dem proposals for funding Katrina relief

A September 16-18 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll (subscription required) asked respondents whether they would support "raising taxes" to fund the recovery for Hurricane Katrina. But the poll did not ask a question that more accurately reflects current proposals: whether respondents would support paying for Katrina recovery by allowing Bush tax cuts to expire. Democratic leaders have advocated the latter, and polls that include it as an option produce very different results from Gallup's. CNN and The Washington Post both referenced the "raising taxes" question in reports on paying for Katrina relief.

Gallup used the Republican label -- "raising taxes" -- as an apparent proxy for the predominantly Democratic proposal of not extending the tax cuts upon their statutorily mandated expiration date. Similarly, as Media Matters for America noted, USA Today, one of the sponsors of the poll, equated a proposal not to extend President Bush's tax cuts past their sunset date with a proposal to "rais taxes," echoing the characterization of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX).

Accusing Democrats of raising taxes is a standard Republican line of attack. During the 2004 presidential campaign, for example, the Bush-Cheney campaign pummeled Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) by accusing him of voting to increase taxes 350 times, even though many of those votes were, in fact, to not reduce taxes or to reduce taxes but not to a level Republicans advocated.
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http://mediamatters.org/items/200509220011