MCCAIN'S TAX EVOLUTION
From NBC's Carrie Dann and Mark Murray
The metaphor of Joe the Plumber, an aspiring entrepreneur wary of an Obama tax hike that could punish his success, has rapidly become a plunger-wielding symbol of the crusade against “Socialism.” Obama’s perhaps-inartfully-stated response to Joe last week that his policies would help to “spread the wealth around” crystallized GOP efforts to paint the Democrat's progressive tax system -- which would cut taxes for those making under $250,000 annually and raise them for the top income brackets – as just a shade to the right of Marx.
This weekend, McCain told FOX News Sunday's Chris Wallace that Obama’s words embodied “one of the tenets of socialism.” At a rally today, McCain said that his opponent’s plan is based in “redistributing wealth, not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs and opportunities for all Americans.” And his running mate Sarah Palin took issue this week with Obama’s tax hikes on “hard working families” and small business owners, calling it “another government giveaway.”
But McCain has not always been such a vocal champion of slashed tax rates for wealthier Americans.
It’s well documented that McCain’s full-throated support of cuts for those in the top tax brackets represents something of a reversal since 2001, when he voted against Bush-backed tax slashes for top earners. “I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief,” he wrote in a statement at the time.
But archived MSNBC videotape from 2000 further demonstrates how McCain’s tone has shifted on taxes and what constitutes socialism since the end of his last presidential race. Answering questions during a Hardball College Tour show
in October 2000, McCain defended the progressive tax system when questioned by a town hall participant who warned that the high tax bracket of her father – a doctor – smacked of an inching towards “socialism and stuff.” McCain said that progressive tax systems are based on the fact that “we feel, obviously, that wealthy people can afford more.” He spelled out this response: “Here's what I really believe, that when you are -- reach a certain level of comfort, there's nothing wrong with paying somewhat more.”
McCain then added a caveat, saying that benefits that are too high can certainly hurt productivity.
). Apparently people were lining up before the sunrise.
