Major McCain reversal - breaks previous vow not to raise taxes - Conservatives Livid

[grantcart]

It's Starting to look a lot like Christmas

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MCCAIN_TAXES?SITE=CACHI&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

McCain breaks vow on no new taxes, " I cannot tell you what I would do "

By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain drew a sharp rebuke Monday from conservatives after he signaled an openness to a higher payroll tax for Social Security, contrary to previous vows not to raise taxes of any kind.

Speaking with reporters on his campaign bus on July 9, he cited a need to shore up Social Security, saying: "I cannot tell you what I would do, except to put everything on the table."

He went a step farther Sunday with his reponse on a nationally televised talk show to a question about payroll tax increases.

"There is nothing that's off the table. I have my positions, and I'll articulate them. But nothing's off the table," McCain said. "I don't want tax increases. But that doesn't mean that anything is off the table."

That comment drew a strong response Monday from the Club for Growth, a Washington anti-tax group. McCain's comments, the group said in a letter to the Arizona senator, are "shocking because you have been adamant in your opposition to raising taxes under any circumstances."

Indeed, McCain frequently has promised not to raise taxes.

At a July 7 town-hall meeting in Denver, he said voters faced a stark choice between him and Democrat Barack Obama.

"Sen. Obama will raise your taxes," McCain said. "I won't."

In a March 16 interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, McCain said he would cut taxes where possible, and not raise them.

"Do you mean none?" Hannity asked.

"None," McCain replied.

Keep up the good work McGoofy

Clean up on aisle 3, clean up on aisle 3

We have applesauce and broken promises on aisle 3



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GayO4pc8S_A

[AtomicKitten]

1. Effin fabulous!!!

I've felt owed a Happy Fitzmas for quite some time now. This will do nicely!

[redstate_democrat]

2. Bwahahahahaha!

Good for them!

McCain knows that Obama would tear him to shreds on his promise not to raise taxes and balance the budget within 4 years. McCain would look like a fugging idiot after Obama got through with him during the debates. Now he is trying to give himself some wiggle room. To bad the tax nuts won't like it. :rofl:

[orwell]

3. McSame finally utters an intelligent sentence...

...and he is roundly chastised by the Con horde led by the "Club for (cancerous) Growth".

Nice...

[Pirate Smile]

4. Don't forget that he had to flip flop to say that sane sentence.

[grantcart]

21. good point of course he also says "I cannot tell you what I would do"

[mrreowwr_kittty]

5. Ruh roh. Looks like McCheeseAisle stepped in it this time. nt

[grantcart]

18. There's going to be a lot of clean up in this campaign

[opihimoimoi]

6. Whoa....McLips said wha...........?

[jazzjunkysue]

7. "I can't say what I would do." Great campaign slogan. Wow.

I can't wait to vote for this one!

[grantcart]

8. Now here is the irony -- if the conservatives who were pissed never wrote the letter we wouldn't

have known about it. The media certainly didn't make a big thing about it.

[grantcart]

9. here is the original letter

An Open Letter to Senator McCain on Social Security

Washington – Today, Club for Growth President Pat Toomey issued the following open letter to Senator John McCain:

Dear Senator McCain:

We listened with concern yesterday to your interview with George Stephanopoulos on Social Security. When asked if you would be open to raising the payroll tax, you refused to rule out a tax increase, saying “There is nothing that’s off the table.”

This statement was particularly shocking because you have been adamant in your opposition to raising taxes under any circumstances. In a March 2007 interview with Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review, you ruled out accepting tax increases as part of a compromise to entitlement reform. And on February 17 of this year, you told George Stephanopoulos, “No new taxes . . . In fact, I could see an argument, if our economy continues to deteriorate, for lower interest rates, lower tax rates, and certainly decreasing corporate tax rates, which are the second highest in the world, giving people the ability to write off depreciation in a year, elimination of the AMT.”

We strongly applaud the above statement and believe further tax cuts would play an important role in stimulating the country’s economy. But your comments yesterday send American taxpayers and businesses a mixed message about where you stand on this issue. Raising the payroll tax or the wage cap on Social Security taxes will increase the tax burden on many Americans and will only exacerbate the key problem with the current Social Security program—the low rate of return workers receive on their contributions into the system. You have long been a strong supporter of personal Social Security accounts, and we hope you will reaffirm you commitment to free-market-based reforms without tax increases so that we can truly empower and enrich workers in their retirement years.

We hope you will clarify where you stand on this important issue and reaffirm your commitment to eschew all tax increases.

Sincerely,

Pat Toomey

President, Club for Growth

[book_worm]

10. OK Obama camp this is a gift from above--run with it!

[Captain Angry]

11. A well crafted message could do wonders.

Don't point to what McCain said.

Just this: Our campaign is going to try as hard as possible to maintain tax rates for everybody who makes less than $250,000 a year. If you make more than that, we'll see. But under that line, we're going to try to hold, if not cut.

[grantcart]

12. wish we could get the you tube of it

[Occam Bandage]

13. Wow, between support for timetables and this, it's like he's decided

that being Bush didn't work, so now he'll be Obama.

[Fleshdancer]

14. Losing a Presidential Campaign For Dummies:

Step One:
Embarrass yourself by being attacked in the canned foods aisle of the Supermarket...by the actual canned food. On film.

Step Two:
Is your opponent giving a speech to hundreds of thousands of people overseas? Pick that moment to visit a small restaurant which serves the cuisine from the same country your opponent is in at the moment. In Ohio.

Step Three:
Make your own map! Create new borders by forgetting entire countries! Better yet, go ahead and follow your instincts and make the former Miss Teen South Carolina your foreign policy adviser because, uh, some, people out there in our nation don't have maps and, uh, I believe that our, uh, education like such as, uh, South Africa and, uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, or, uh, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future, for our children.

Step Four:
When millions of Americans don't have health insurance, please go on Larry King and remind them to visit their dermatologists and make sure they too don't have skin cancer. This is a great tactic because it says "Hey, I might have more health problems!" AND it reminding viewers that you benefit from government paid health care but you don't think they should! Everyone loses!

Step Five:
Summer is in full swing. May I recommend a pair of flip-flops? Your left foot quickly slides into a 16 month timetable for pulling troops out of Iraq and your right foot slides into higher taxes!

Follow these 5 easy steps and you too can lose! :bounce:

[TheKentuckian]

15. I'll tell you that if McCain wins

I hold the electorate responsible and liable. That or it's utterly fixed and we have a constitutional responsibility to reboot this thing.

This is clear cut the worst campaign ever on maybe any level, running on stupid issues with a stupid philosophy.

If we lose it is 99.999999999999999999999999999999% someone else's crime. I warn you fellow democrats, I will never vote for a candidate as out of it with such worthless people around him as we see with McCain. Thankfully, at least in my time Democrats haven't come within 30 IQ points of McCain and Company. We've had some less than stellar campaigns but nothing even approaching this.

My faith in the nation will be shaken to the core if McCain gets north of 30% of the vote, not to even utter the thought of him winning.

[grantcart]

17. great post you should make it an OP

has touches of the great NancyGregg

[Fleshdancer]

20. Now that's a compliment!

thanks you! :D

[Major Hogwash]

16. McCain has lied about almost every issue within the same month - yet the MSM gives him a pass.

He has taken every position known to man on every issue he has talked about.
More often than not, he contradicts himself within just a few days or weeks.

How can the mainstream media not report all of the false positions that McCain has taken on all of these issues.

I just don't understand how they can look the other way.
McCain has yet to explain what "victory" means to him concerning the Iraq War.

If the surge worked, then we won, so we can leave Iraq.
If the surge didn't work, then we need to get out of Iraq because "more of the same" won't ensure victory.

Obama is blowing it.
He only needs to make one tv ad, saying just that - either acknowledge the surge worked so well we won the war, or claim the surge was only a temporary solution to a long-term problem and that we need to get out of Iraq.

McCain is running radio and tv ads in Idaho.
That's not a good sign.
They hate McCain in Idaho.

[grantcart]

22. lol Idaho wait till they have to waste money in Utah lol

[NewJeffCT]

19. I'm sure he'll change on this a few more times

this week...

[grantcart]

23. lol

[sourmilk]

24. "Sen. Obama will raise your taxes," McCain said. "I won't."

Are we just witnessing a simple case of senile dementia? He often looks pretty ruffled, especially when questioned a little agressively.

I wonder if he was pushed hard enough, would he blow a gasket and really go off the rails at some point? This could get entertaining.

[barack the house]

25. It's hard to keep up with McCain he formerly was anti social security ??? Vote Dems save SSI.

[truthisfreedom]

26. McLame receives SS every month. Plus Full Disability benefits.

[polichick]

27. There goes that "maverick" again! Wheeeee