McCain's new ad claims that Obama "says he'll raise taxes on electricity." That's false. Obama says no such thing.
The attack is based on an interview Obama gave to Carlos Guerra, a reporter with the San Antonio Express-News. While Obama does in fact say, "What we ought to tax is dirty energy, like coal and, to a lesser extent, natural gas," the quote is taken out of context. Obama and Guerra were discussing possible ways to fund education through taxing emerging energy forms, which Obama discounts all together.
What was Obama talking about with his "dirty energy" remark? Obama is referring to cap-and-trade policy which John McCain also supports. Cap-and-trade programs are designed to decrease the use of fossil fuels by requiring that industries (including power companies) cap their total carbon dioxide emissions. Companies would receive credits for CO2 emissions; any company that managed to stay under its quota would be permitted to sell its additional credits. The cap (or total number of credits issued) would shrink over time.
Obama has proposed auctioning the initial credits, a policy that he says will generate revenue that can be invested into alternative energy research. This can be interpreted as a tax but will actually make new cleaner technologies competitive with fossil fuels. McCain wants to attack Obama for pushing cap-and-trade programs which will tax fossil fuels, when in fact McCain too, supports the same policy.
As to the claim Obama is like Britney Spears ad Paris Hilton, this is just as dirty as a smear campaign can get. Obama is a devoted husband and father. Obama grew up in a middle-class home and worked hard to achieve all he has accomplished. The only thing Obama has in common with Britney Spears ad Paris Hilton is they all attract big crowds. In politics, that’s a good thing. In fact, Obama has stated that it’s not about the big crowds and the celebrity, but the enthusiasm for the political process. On June 4, 2008, Senator Obama said, "I love when I'm shaking hands on a rope line and I see a little old white lady and a big burly black guy and Latino girls and all their hands are entwined, and they are feeding on each other as much as on me. It's like I'm just the excuse."
McCain pledged to run a clean and honorable campaign, but his vicious attacks against Obama seems straight from Karl Rove’s playbook.
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1 comment:
I hope John keeps running his campaign like this. Look what it did for Hillary. Keep it up, McCain! You're about to guarantee the Democrats a victory in the November with all your negativity!
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