The Hillary Deathwatch: Obama slams Wright, Clinton's gas-tax plan gets jeers, and Indiana is still

[Leo 9]

The Hillary Deathwatch
Obama slams Wright, Clinton's gas-tax plan gets jeers, and Indiana is still a tossup.

By Christopher Beam
Posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008, at 1:27 PM ET

The Hillary Deathwatch is now a widget. Add it to your Facebook page or blog.

http://www.slate.com/id/2190281/

Barack Obama slams the Rev. Wright, Clinton's gas-tax plan receives jeers, and Indiana is still a tossup, all of which brings Clinton down 0.3 points to 12.6 percent.

Obama's decision to cut Wright loose Tuesday was an investment in the future: Let the story dominate news for one more day, then hope it tapers off. In a press conference, Obama said he's "outraged" at Wright's recent remarks about Louis Farrakhan, the government inventing AIDS, and U.S. military efforts being equivalent to terrorism. These comments "should be denounced," Obama said, adding, "I do not see the relationship being the same after this."

It's too early to say whether this move diffuses the Wright issue. Now that Wright got a taste of the spotlight, he probably doesn't want to go away. (Obama had better hope Wright's book tour happens after Nov. 5.) But at least Obama can dissociate himself fully from his pastor, as opposed to upholding the earlier wishy-washy (some would say nuanced) disown-the-words-but-not-the-man stance he articulated in his Philadelphia speech last month.

Meanwhile, Clinton is making her "gas-tax holiday" the centerpiece of a new ad campaign, condemning Obama for failing to address high prices at the pump. But among pundits, her proposal (and McCain's similar plan) is getting laughed out of the room. The normally sympathetic Paul Krugman calls Clinton's plan "pointless" and McCain's "evil," while his colleague Thomas Friedman denounces the plan as "money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks." Still, it's the kind of pander that could work, no matter how transparent or absurd. If voters associate Clinton with cheap gas, mission accomplished.

snip

http://www.slate.com/id/2190281/

[patrice]

1. Calling Indiana tonight. nt

[redqueen]

2. The normally sympathetic Paul Krugman calls Clinton's plan "pointless"

OUCH!

:rofl:

[dionysus]

5. is he dead to the shillbots now?

:rofl:

[redqueen]

7. I would be SO not surprised.

:crazy:

Is there a formal list somewhere?

[dionysus]

10. no, that list would be too big... they have a list of ppl they like and keep crossing ppl off of it.

i think taylor marsh might be the last one standing...

[americanstranger]

8. No, he's still alive.

They just won't quote this particular article.

But if it happens again.... watch it, Krugman.

- as

[Buzz Clik]

12. Krugman can now breathe through his nose again.

[redqueen]

14. You think he minded the stench?

It seems most of the people around her campaign find it downright pleasant, the way they so willfully wallow in the crap.

[Leo 9]

19. All Economists Despise 'Gas Tax Holiday', What With Its Hilarious Lack Of Logic

All Economists Despise 'Gas Tax Holiday', What With Its Hilarious Lack Of Logic



Many of you may be aware that gas prices are rising about 20 cents a week, causing much despair among Average Americans. John McCain found the perfect anti-solution for this energy Depression, in which the price of crude oil is reaching $120 a barrel, in his hilarious tax plan (the other aspects of which include slashing corporate taxes from 35% to 25%, eliminating the alternative minimum tax entirely thus re-opening old loopholes for the wealthy, and making the Bush tax cuts permanent — all of which will be balanced by the elimination of like $200 million in earmarks). McCain proposes a "gas tax holiday" — a break from the current 18.4-cent gas tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day — and Hillary Clinton has announced she is all for it as well. Barack Obama isn't. Every. Single. Economist. Agrees with Barack Obama — even the conservatives and Hillary's favorite Paul Krugman!

While the "tax holiday" looks nice to the Average American, because it is both a vacation AND an elimination of taxes, it is completely void of any economic sense. At least supply-side theory pretends to have a logic behind it. Even former Bushies hate the tax holiday, it being such a comical insult to their profession:

"Score one for Obama," wrote Greg Mankiw, a former chairman of President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. "In light of the side effects associated with driving ... gasoline taxes should be higher than they are, not lower."


And it's not just that 18 cents/gallon off of your fill-up is insignificant. It's that THERE WILL BE NO 18 CENTS/GALLON OFF OF YOUR GAS BILL AT ALL, but, uh, oil corporations — already making record profits — will have one less tax to pay. Tell them, Hillary Clinton economist Paul Krugman:


Why doesn't cutting the gas tax this summer make sense? It's Econ 101 tax incidence theory: if the supply of a good is more or less unresponsive to the price, the price to consumers will always rise until the quantity demanded falls to match the quantity supplied. Cut taxes, and all that happens is that the pretax price rises by the same amount. The McCain gas tax plan is a giveaway to oil companies, disguised as a gift to consumers.

snip

http://wonkette.com/385781/all-economists-despise-gas-tax-holiday-what-with-its-hilarious-lack-of-logic





http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5753984&mesg_id=5753984

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Wait, did Clinton propose the same idea as McCain?

The one that would help petroleum companies, ruin roads, and put construction workers out of work?

[redqueen]

4. Krugman calls McCain's plan "evil" but hers simply "pointless"...

maybe that's bias... but I tend to think there may be some differences (windfall tax on oil co's, perhaps?)

[Andy823]

9. The windfall tax

Was different than McCains, but how many years have we been hearing congress talk about a so called "windfall profits tax" and then they drop it? It just isn't going to happen, to much oil money in the pocket of those in congress for that to ever happen!

[redqueen]

13. Exactly!

*Congress* has to pass the windfall profits tax... so... like her husband before her, she can promise the tax (or in Bill's case... legislation like the Fairness Doctrine), then just forget about it later, and blame it on Congress.

[americanstranger]

17. This blogger SO nails it.

Clinton Vows to Pretend to Fight Status Quo

At a New Year’s Eve campaign stop in Concord, New Hampshire, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed to, “Pretend to fight the status quo that exists in Washington. I know that’s what the people of America want, and I intend with every fiber of my being to act like I’m doing that.”

Clinton spoke in a town-hall meeting type environment at the Concord Veteran’s Hall. She spoke about health care, the war in Iraq, and the economy, but what seemed to stick out in the minds of people in attendance was Clinton’s pledge to pretend to fight the status quo. “You know, there’s an accepted way things are in Washington. There are rules. And these rules lock out the little man, the average, good-hearted, hard-working American. And I promise you that you’ll get a tough, committed mock fight out of me.” She then went on to make an analogy to a fistfight. “I wouldn’t be hitting it with fists,” she said. “I would maybe yell at it a bit. I may throw something at it from a distance, something light. Paper, maybe. A Dixie cup. But I’ll be loud, and I’ll be consistent, and though I may not mean it, I promise it will sound like I do.”

One man, an apparent veteran of the Korean War, yelled from the crowd, “So what are you saying? You’re not going to fight it? You’re telling us that now?”

“I’m trying to level with you here, and be honest with you, and tell you I won’t be being honest with you later. Just so you know. I think you deserve that much. And that’s the kind of person I am, and the kind of president I will be. Honest in dishonesty. Truthful in future untruth.”

http://thenationalprotrusion.com/2007/12/31/clinton-vows-to-pretend-to-fight-status-quo/

---

The Protrusion does the best political satire this side of The Onion. Just about my fave blog right now.

- as

[4themind]

20. Well a lot of economists are saying that...

McCain's plan will basically cut the tax, without finding a means to provide alternate funding for roadway infrastructure, at the same time the relative resitance of demand to price among gasoline, could very well mean that the oil companies will just raise the price to pre-tax levels and pocket the change, that's why it's "evil". HIllary's plan , assuming she can get the windfall plan in place (a BIG if), will probably not gut infrastructure as much, but again the oil companies, with the gas tax reduction, can just raise it up to the prior levels, and not suffer much profit loss (if common thinking on the elasticity of gas sales are valid). The result of which is we're basically in the same place then, as we are now, which makes it "pointless" . The real "evil" here IMO, is that these people should be smart enough to know how bad of an idea this is, but as long as they can "frame" it as a positive now, it seems that they don't mind pitching it anyway.

[redqueen]

21. They ARE smart enough to know it's BS. They know very well it's BS.

They don't care... "conventional wisdom" says you pander to get votes, and they're both a-panderin to beat the devil!

[americanstranger]

6. Sure did.

I think Krugman's blog notes a couple of cosmetic differences (hence the classification of HRC's version as 'pointless' vs. McCain's as 'evil'), but they're essentially the same plan.

and Krugman also lauded Obama for not falling for it. Funny, none of the clinton supporters who regularly quote Krugman happened to quote that little item.

- as

[Cha]

18. Obama's too smart for that and

sooner or later krugman is going to get it.

And you better believe if hilary's involved then her plan is as "evil" as mccain's.

[NJmaverick]

11. In sports this is what we call a momement swing

It's gone from Hillary back to Obama. With Hillary's back against the wall, it's the last thing she could afford.

[Zachstar]

15. Clinton is like HDDVD eventually it is just going to rapidly fail.

[Cha]

16. But, but, but, the hilarys have everything

so well planned down to the last smear. I know they aren't very intelligent but :wtf: made them think the the evil "gas tax plan" would work.

And yeah, Wright's being insulting made it necessary for Obama to fucking cut him loose.

[chill_wind]

22. "If voters associate Clinton with cheap gas, mission accomplished. "

Hillary's been getting free "gas tax holiday" blitz ad time ALL DAY today on MSNBC.

Much as I revile her for it, it's lethal. And they-- MSM-- are eating it up.

Where's Obama's ad and how does it compare? Just saying that it is a gimmick, which of course it IS, is not going to be enough, this time around. The anger about gas prices all over this country is very palpable. I want him to knock her out on this one NOW.

[redqueen]

23. Let me guess... they haven't bothered to share the "$25 to $35 savings" information?

I'm sure there's at least a slight chance they have... however slim. :)

[chill_wind]

24. They've had plenty of debunkers, but they're cheerleading HRC's ad, anyway.

They're in awe of her tactics.

[sandiegoboy]

25. Clinton is favorite to win Indiana

Although Obama will win NC.