DNC: John McCain Doesn't Understand the Challenges America's Families Face
6 Mar 2008 17:49 Africa/Lagos
DNC: John McCain Doesn't Understand the Challenges America's Families Face
WASHINGTON, March 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
With oil prices hitting a new record high today, people across the country are feeling the pinch. America's working families are struggling with skyrocketing health care, energy, and college costs, stagnant wages, and a foreclosure crisis that has many Americans struggling to pay their mortgages. But John McCain just doesn't understand the challenges working families face and is offering nothing more than a third Bush term on the economy that will leave America worse off.
The candidate who himself admitted "[t]he issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should" and said that the economy is strong has shown time and time again he just doesn't understand the challenges confronting the American people. Asked this week what short-term relief he would offer, all he could come up with was making Bush's budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy permanent in 2010--nearly two years from now. Not only are the Bush tax cuts skewed to the wealthy, as McCain himself argued in 2001 and 2003, but McCain has refused to explain how he will pay for the never-ending war in Iraq while making Bush's tax cuts permanent. Together, they would cost $6.3 trillion over 10 years. [Boston Globe, 12/18/07; Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08; Senate Budget Committee Fact Sheet, 1/24/08]
McCain has backed President Bush's decision to veto a children's health insurance bill, skipped a key vote on the economic stimulus package, and refused to say whether he supports President Bush's threat to veto a Democratic mortgage relief bill. [AP, 2/6/08; Politico.com, 2/6/08; Congressional Quarterly Today, 2/27/2008]
"John McCain just doesn't understand the challenges American families face every day," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "If he did, he wouldn't try to defend and extend Bush's economic policies that have been devastating for America. Instead, McCain offers more of the same out-of-touch policies that do nothing to help working families, and that's the last thing voters want."
McCain Is Sure No Expert On the Economy...
McCain Says He Doesn't Understand the Economy. McCain admitted to reporters "[t]he issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should." [Boston Globe, 12/18/07]
McCain's Short-Term Solution For the Economy? Tax Cuts for the Wealthy in Two Years, Of Course. When asked what efforts would have a short-term impact on the economy, McCain responded "In the shorter term, if you somehow told American businesses and families, 'Look, you're not going to experience a tax increase in 2010,' I think that's a pretty good short-term measure. And as far as confidence is concerned, I think if you say, 'Congress is going to cut corporate taxes right away,' if you say that you've got a plan to eliminate the AMT, I think some of those are kind of short-term measures right now." [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08]
Republicans Postponing Consideration of Housing Bill So McCain Doesn't Have to Make a Hard Vote. "Consideration of the mortgage package was delayed earlier in the week when a debate over the Iraq War lasted longer than expected. At the time, Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., maintained that Republicans were intentionally delaying consideration of the mortgage package so that Arizona Sen. John McCain -- the presumptive GOP presidential nominee -- would not have to cast a vote on the bill before the March 4 Ohio primary." [Congressional Quarterly Today, 2/27/2008]
McCain Skips Vote to Give Tax Rebates to Seniors and Disabled Veterans. "McCain skipped a difficult Senate vote Wednesday on whether to make 20 million seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans eligible for rebate checks as part of a proposed economic stimulus package" despite the fact that he "was actually in Washington -- his plane landed at Dulles Airport by 5 p.m., leaving plenty of time to make the vote." [AP, 2/6/08; Politico.com, 2/6/08]
Cost of "Four More Years" Placed At $6.3 TRILLION. Yesterday's CBO "January Budget and Economic Outlook" showed continued deterioration in the budget outlook with the projected 2008 deficit growing to $219 billion. But as bad as the budget situation has become under the current Republican Administration, continuation of the Republican policies by any of the Republicans on stage tonight will only make things worse. The majority staff of the Senate Budget Committee estimates that funding Republican priorities like making the Bush tax cuts permanent and funding ongoing - and perhaps permanent - operations in Iraq will add $6.3 trillion to the CBO's already dismal ten-year predictions. http://budget.senate.gov/democratic/documents/2008/cbojanupdatefactsheet2008.p df
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, http://www.democrats.org/. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Source: Democratic National Committee
CONTACT: Karen Finney or Caroline Ciccone, both of the Democratic
National Committee, +1-202-863-8148
Web Site: http://www.democrats.org/
DNC: John McCain Doesn't Understand the Challenges America's Families Face
WASHINGTON, March 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
With oil prices hitting a new record high today, people across the country are feeling the pinch. America's working families are struggling with skyrocketing health care, energy, and college costs, stagnant wages, and a foreclosure crisis that has many Americans struggling to pay their mortgages. But John McCain just doesn't understand the challenges working families face and is offering nothing more than a third Bush term on the economy that will leave America worse off.
The candidate who himself admitted "[t]he issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should" and said that the economy is strong has shown time and time again he just doesn't understand the challenges confronting the American people. Asked this week what short-term relief he would offer, all he could come up with was making Bush's budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy permanent in 2010--nearly two years from now. Not only are the Bush tax cuts skewed to the wealthy, as McCain himself argued in 2001 and 2003, but McCain has refused to explain how he will pay for the never-ending war in Iraq while making Bush's tax cuts permanent. Together, they would cost $6.3 trillion over 10 years. [Boston Globe, 12/18/07; Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08; Senate Budget Committee Fact Sheet, 1/24/08]
McCain has backed President Bush's decision to veto a children's health insurance bill, skipped a key vote on the economic stimulus package, and refused to say whether he supports President Bush's threat to veto a Democratic mortgage relief bill. [AP, 2/6/08; Politico.com, 2/6/08; Congressional Quarterly Today, 2/27/2008]
"John McCain just doesn't understand the challenges American families face every day," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "If he did, he wouldn't try to defend and extend Bush's economic policies that have been devastating for America. Instead, McCain offers more of the same out-of-touch policies that do nothing to help working families, and that's the last thing voters want."
McCain Is Sure No Expert On the Economy...
McCain Says He Doesn't Understand the Economy. McCain admitted to reporters "[t]he issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should." [Boston Globe, 12/18/07]
McCain's Short-Term Solution For the Economy? Tax Cuts for the Wealthy in Two Years, Of Course. When asked what efforts would have a short-term impact on the economy, McCain responded "In the shorter term, if you somehow told American businesses and families, 'Look, you're not going to experience a tax increase in 2010,' I think that's a pretty good short-term measure. And as far as confidence is concerned, I think if you say, 'Congress is going to cut corporate taxes right away,' if you say that you've got a plan to eliminate the AMT, I think some of those are kind of short-term measures right now." [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08]
Republicans Postponing Consideration of Housing Bill So McCain Doesn't Have to Make a Hard Vote. "Consideration of the mortgage package was delayed earlier in the week when a debate over the Iraq War lasted longer than expected. At the time, Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., maintained that Republicans were intentionally delaying consideration of the mortgage package so that Arizona Sen. John McCain -- the presumptive GOP presidential nominee -- would not have to cast a vote on the bill before the March 4 Ohio primary." [Congressional Quarterly Today, 2/27/2008]
McCain Skips Vote to Give Tax Rebates to Seniors and Disabled Veterans. "McCain skipped a difficult Senate vote Wednesday on whether to make 20 million seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans eligible for rebate checks as part of a proposed economic stimulus package" despite the fact that he "was actually in Washington -- his plane landed at Dulles Airport by 5 p.m., leaving plenty of time to make the vote." [AP, 2/6/08; Politico.com, 2/6/08]
Cost of "Four More Years" Placed At $6.3 TRILLION. Yesterday's CBO "January Budget and Economic Outlook" showed continued deterioration in the budget outlook with the projected 2008 deficit growing to $219 billion. But as bad as the budget situation has become under the current Republican Administration, continuation of the Republican policies by any of the Republicans on stage tonight will only make things worse. The majority staff of the Senate Budget Committee estimates that funding Republican priorities like making the Bush tax cuts permanent and funding ongoing - and perhaps permanent - operations in Iraq will add $6.3 trillion to the CBO's already dismal ten-year predictions. http://budget.senate.gov/democratic/documents/2008/cbojanupdatefactsheet2008.p df
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, http://www.democrats.org/. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Source: Democratic National Committee
CONTACT: Karen Finney or Caroline Ciccone, both of the Democratic
National Committee, +1-202-863-8148
Web Site: http://www.democrats.org/
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