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Saturday, February 14, 2004
Kerry’s VP Choices: Kiss My Grits
A candidate’s choice for vice president says volumes about the type of person he is and how he will govern. At no time was that clearer than Bush’s choice of Cheney. Kerry will be signaling the same, hopefully not waiting until the convention to do so, especially if he wins decisively in Wisconsin.
With all the exit polls so far suggesting that the economy, jobs, and health care are the key issues, Kerry could not do better than picking Bob Rubin, former head of Goldman Sachs and Clinton's Secretary of Treasury, as his running mate. Such a maverick choice would stun the political world in a positive way; it would link Kerry to the economic record of the Clinton years without having to campaign with Clinton; it would instantly neutralize any anti-business charges against the Democrats; it would make Kerry credible on the tax cut issues and other economic measures. The only downside I see is the hurt feelings of the South--who already suspect Kerry is running a no-Southern states strategy--and having two old farts on the ticket.
Choosing Edwards would be a big mistake. He adds nothing and probably can’t deliver either of the Carolinas, much less the other states. If Kerry has to go with a Southern strategy, then the current maverick and popular governor of Virginia, Mark Warner would be a good choice—an outsider with executive experience. Bob Graham adds nothing as well. It’s time the South voted for a Northerner; Northerners have been voting for Southerners for over 20 years.
posted by Josh
8:29 AM
Friday, February 13, 2004
My Last Word on You Know What
It's probably too early to applaud but the American press has shown a remarkable maturity about the you know what rumor. This is a watershed moment which may determine whether many otherwise qualified candidates--having seen others pasts dragged through the mud--seek public office in the future. Consensual, nonviolent behavior between adults is nobody's business but the consenting adults involved and it's time to stop the hypocrisy when it comes to vetting political candidates.
But, it's news, Drudge would say. If Bush's National Guard records are a character issue, so is this. Baloney. This is a political stink bomb that doesn't even come close to the minimum threshold of legitimate journalism. An unnamed source says famous person X did something not illegal or unusual with another unnamed person at an unnamed place and time. Some famous news outlets are said to be investigating. There is no evidence to offer in the form of public records and no reason to suspect that anything illegal happened. And, by the way, famous person X happens to be running for president against my guy. Sorry, Matt, but that would get you spiked at any news outlet in the world with journalistic standards higher than the National Enquirer.
One of the troubles with the Internet is that it provides buffoons like Drudge (and, let's be truthful, me, and the rest of you who blog) with enough of an audience to pressure the mainstream media into thinking they're missing a "story" when, in fact, this is simply a case where Drudge created a story where none exists. This story is not about John Kerry; it's about the Internet community and our maturity as a reliable and fair alternative source of political information.
posted by Jerry Bowles
6:38 PM
Fatwa alert
Reuters reports that our allies the Saudis have declared a fatwa on St. Valentines day. The morality police are out in force throughout the kingdom... Al Capone wouldn't be very happy. But the Islamic clerics that did the deed are. Don't let them see that Whitmans Sampler box if you get pulled over outside the compound. On the other hand, Forrest Gump did say "you never know what's inside..."
A big Hatlo tip of the Hat goes out to Shrubby's pal Prince Bandar. The White House won't comment on the fatwa if you might show some interest in buying a few more Bush Debt Bonds and becoming a top lienholder on America's future..
posted by Groom
4:15 PM
Matt Lied
Lots of frustration out there in Drudgeville over the failure of big media to pounce on the you know what story. Turns out that Matt made at least part of it up anyway.
posted by Jerry Bowles
9:58 AM
Calling Dr. Strangelove
It’s coming online February 17, but run out and buy the March issue of The Atlantic, to read James Mann’s story about a secret plan developed 20 years ago by then relative youngsters Rummy and Dick to respond in the event of a nuclear attack that would “decapitate” our government.
Rummy was a CEO at G.D. Searle at the time, and Dick was in Congress, but they took long, clandestine weekends together to work this up. Poppy headed up the project while he was Vice President. One of the key components was to have the constitutional and legal succession process ignored in favor of a cabinet member figurehead puppeteered by – you guessed it – one of the dark lords or their familiars. Congress, naturally, would be disbanded for the occasion.
It’s pretty chilling and Mann goes on to look at how this plan – abandoned by the Clinton administration – was brushed off for 9/11. But you have to wonder if those same little sandbox bullies might not consider a Democratic victory in the fall reason enough to head for the bunkers. Or worse, to call out the army.
posted by Evelyn
9:34 AM
Not Much Ado About Not Much
The mainstream press has virtually ignored the Drudge gossip. It's mentioned by some rightwinger outlets like WorldNetDaily and Limbaugh, as well as the British papers, but only the Philadelphia Daily News and the Chicago Sun-Times among establishment types appear to have printed small items on the allegations. Maybe there is some decency and taste left in the media after all or, more likely, the press is going through a period of self-examination after the over-the-top trashing of Howard Dean.
posted by Jerry Bowles
8:03 AM
Asked for $700,000, got $1,402,435.32 vs Asked for $800,000, got $450,000
Check it out for yourself. The numbers on the left are from the website of "defeated" Howard Dean. The numbers on the right are from the website of "frontrunner" John Kerry. It occurs to me that those who diss the Doctor and piss off his supporters are not doing a favor for the Democratic Party.
As Jerry has pointed out, active Internet users may be only 13% of the electorate, not enough to be kingmakers in this round of elections. But if you want to raise substantial small donations (hundreds, not tens) from tens of thousands of people, you'd better treat the Doctor with respect. It would be a waste--and could leave the Republicans laughing all the way to the White House--if those who say that Dean has no place in the Party got their wish.
posted by John
7:05 AM
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Surprise. Rush Blames Clinton.
Poor Rush Limbaugh. He must be hitting the pills again. On the topic of who spilled the beans about you know what, he writes: When you see the name Chris Lehane, affectionately dubbed here Chris Leheinous, you have to think Clinton, not Clark, because Clark wouldn't know Chris Lehane from Beetle Bailey. Doesn't the Rushbo know that Lehane has been working for Clark for the last two months? Is he suggesting that Clark didn't know the members of his own senior staff?
posted by Jerry Bowles
8:09 PM
What Was That Girl's Name?
So we've gotten to the "gutter politics" already. A few observations: Drudge is a stooge of the RNC so the decision by Matt's handlers to go with the Kerry-boffed-a-British-journalist-20-years-ago-maybe story now, rather than hold it until after Big John sews up the nomination is clearly an effort to stop him before the Shrubster has to compete against him in the general election. Some might call that desperation.
A second thought is that the American public sent a rather strong message during the Clinton impeachment mini-drama that it made a clear distinction between public and private acts, even private acts performed on public property. The same folks who claim to be outraged by Janet Jackson's tit are inclined to cut others some slack on the subject of adultery because, let's face it, it's a topic on which every family has a leaky boat or two. Who among men Kerry's age didn't boff a British journalist in the 1980s?
I think the mainstream media is going handle this one very delicately, that there will be backlash among independents, and that the whole thing will fade quickly.
posted by Jerry Bowles
3:54 PM
Dr. Dean and Mr. Hyde
The doctor is ailing, but fortunately he’s not contagious. He should be quarantined, and maybe that’s what the voters of Wisconsin will do in five days if he comes in third behind Kerry and Edwards, as it looks now like he will. Dean’s latest symptoms are calling Kerry “the lesser of two evils” and a “Republican” who “appears to be more like George Bush than he does a Democrat.”
This is the good/bad Doctor Dean’s way of honoring his commitment to stay in the race but not run a “quixotic” or “scorched earth” policy!? Based on this behavior, reports are that Senator Tom Harkin, one of his cheerleaders in Iowa, is thinking of withdrawing his support. It looks like Dean may be a winner in a new category: the candidate to have the most people and groups withdraw their support before the race is over.
I no longer believe Dean when he says he will support the eventual nominee. These comments are too personal and too vitriolic. This man is hemorrhaging and at this rate I see no future for him in the Democratic Party. Instead of starting a Rough Rider party maybe he could start a Rough Doctor party and go the ill-fated way of all third parties in the US. Look for this man to be a spoiler by either continuing to pout, delay his endorsement of the front runner, or sit this one out.
posted by Josh
3:17 PM
Monica Alert
Drudge is going crazy about a supposed Kerry "intern" issue. Didn't we do this one already? Wasn't it kind of boring the first time?
posted by Jerry Bowles
1:16 PM
Higher and Deeper
Buried on page A33 of today's New York Times (but, there, nonetheless) is the allegation by a retired lieutenant colonel in the Texas National Guard named Bill Burkett that in 1998 Dan Bartlett, then a senior aide to Governor Bush and now White House communications director, and Gen. Daniel James, then head of the Texas National Guard cleansed Shrub's National Guard files to sure that there was nothing "embarassing" in them. Kind of thing that makes you wonder if somebody who knows for sure thought there might be. Kevin Drum at Calpundit has an interview with Burkett.
posted by Jerry Bowles
10:17 AM
Beyond the usual suspects...
One look at the Washington Post and you’d think that Pakistan, North Korea and Iran were the only countries in the shell game to build the “Islamic Bomb” and the missiles to deliver it. Guess again. If Argentina, Brazil and Egypt don’t ring a distant bell, you better fax your resume over to the Carnegie Endowment and make your bed with the rest of the brie and Chablis crowd who, like Leon, the overpaid football star on the Budweiser ads, don’t wanna go there.
John Kerry, you’re probably too busy campaigning to remember Saudi money man Gaith Pharaon from your BCCI investigation but he helped get the party started too… down in Argentina.
Iran was working with Argentina, Israel and the US on nuclear technology during the time of the Shah. The stuff didn’t take a walk when the Ayatollah flew in from Paris to take power.
Way too much editorial budgeting is being spent on the nuclear sideshow featuring the “axis of evil.” Far too little is being budgeted for the real story, namely, that most of the technology got loose during the Reagan administration and on Poppy Bush’s watch. See Jim Baker and Bob Mosbacher for details.
posted by Groom
3:52 AM
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Did Shrub Order United Flight 93 Shot Down?
If you don't believe the White House knows a lot more about 9/11 than it wants the American people to find out, read this frightening, infuriating, appalling article by Gail Sheehy.
posted by Jerry Bowles
8:01 PM
Change for America
Joe Trippi has a blog.
posted by Jerry Bowles
6:11 PM
French kiss
They're watching Shrubby squirm over in Paris with delight. Le Monde headlines "Kerry puts Bush in difficult position." Mais oui. Se tete dans se cul. The French like Kerry because they've been into the Vietnam war hero thing since Dien Bien Phu. They probably sense from all his soul searching that he knows what an existential dilema is. Shrubby and Ed Gillespie would need to send their gofers to buy Cliff Notes.
posted by Groom
6:02 PM
Mano a Mano
The folks who questioned Max Cleland's patriotism in the 2002 election are now screaming "gutter politics" at those inquiring minds who want to know why the Shrubster appears to have been AWOL for much of his National Guard duty during 1971 and 1972. I suppose it would be really rude to add that it was around Christmas 1972 that Shrub took his 16-year-old brother Marvin out and got him (as well as himself) drunk, hit a neighbor's trash can on the way home, and challenged the old man to settle this thing "mano a mano" in the den. A youthful indiscretion, no doubt. He was 26 at the time.
posted by Jerry Bowles
3:09 PM
Tactical recon
That’s what Shrubby was supposed to be doing in the air guard whilst allegedly working on the Winton Blount for senate campaign in Alabama. Blount was one of the pillars of Dick Nixon’s “southern strategy.” Is it any wonder that with the wayward Shrubby at his side that Postmaster General Blount got his butt kicked.
There’s more to the story, writes Paul Waldman in the American Prospect. The Texas air guard unit Shrubby bought his way into was known as the “Champagne Unit.” The usual suspects included the sons of Lloyd Bentsen, John Tower and John “I got hit by the single bullet” Connolly along with a crew of Tom Landry’s Dallas Cowboys.
Waldman points out that during their respective election years, the media did 10 stories about how Bill Clinton avoided Vietnam for every one they did about the “Bush AWOL” situation. Meanwhile the French SPOT satellite reports that there’s a big pile of wood waiting to be chopped down in Crawford.
posted by Groom
3:02 PM
Coincidence?
Does anybody except me find it a bit too coincidental that there is a full-page ad for the National Guard in the front section of today's New York Times promoting the idea that Guardspeople are now serving on the "frontlines" in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as here at home. The ad is pretty darn close to the jump page for the story of Shrub's less-than-heroic service during the era when you joined the Guard because you knew you wouldn't be sent to battle. Could somebody be trying to pump the Guard's new image and, by extension, that of one its prominent graduates? There is a story in there somewhere for a real journalist to find.
posted by Jerry Bowles
12:49 PM
Fortunate Son
Viet Nam was a morally ambiguous war that divided Americans mainly along generational lines. Most young people opposed it; people of the World War II generation supported it, at least in the beginning until it dragged on for years and the loss of American lives became intolerable.
What made Viet Nam different from Iraq is that it touched virtually every American family directly. At 18, all able-bodied teenage boys were required to register for the draft and win a chance to be the first kid on the block to come home in a box.
Inevitably, this forced every healthy American male between, say, 18-26, (women didn't go into combat in those days) to come up with a strategy for dealing with their service obligation. College deferment was good but lasted only as long as you were in school. Getting married and having a kid reduced your chances of being called but you still had to sweat it. That left signing up for active duty and getting it over with, getting drafted, seeking asylum in Canada, or leaving a letter under a pile of garbage at the bottom of a cliff in rural Massachusetts as the primary means of dealing with your obligation.
On the theory that the Viet Cong did not have a navy, I signed up for the Naval Reserves while still in college, attended meetings every week, and after graduation spent two years on active duty--most of it on an icebreaker defending Antarctica.
Oh, there was one other way you could fulfill your duty but it was extremely difficult to get into and you really had to know someone. That, of course, was the National Guard which, in those days, was never called to active duty unless you count the occasional few days of sandbagging flooded rivers. Only the fortunate sons seemed able to get those posts.
My bottom line on Viet Nam is that it was such a mistake and national tragedy that however each individual dealt with it is okay. If you served; thank you. If you went to Canada or got into the Guard or strung together enough deferments to beat it (like Dick Cheney); you were smart. If your old man could get you into the National Guard, why not? Viet Nam was never worth a single life to Americans.
On the other hand, if you lie about where you were and what you did during the war, you are a person of faulty character. If you send other people off to do things you were unwilling to do yourself, and greet them coming home in a uniform that implies that you are one of them and share their honor, then you are liar and a fraud.
posted by Jerry Bowles
11:40 AM
The Looming Bill Clinton Factor
I keep hearing that menacing John Williams theme from the movie Jaws. He’s out there somewhere. We know he is. Circulating in the political waters, maybe off the coast of Amity Island, or will that turn out to be Enmity Island?
With Dean out of the real picture, Kerry’s candidacy has removed the urgency for Clinton to get his book out and hog the media this summer in defense of his centrist record. That Clinton may not finish it on time is good news because Kerry will not take the bait and make this election a referendum on the Clinton political strategy as Dean would have. Bubba can relax and take some long cornbread and bean lunches at Sylvia's without worrying about his "legacy" being trampled (or, even worse, ignored), the way Al did in 2000.
On the other hand, it’s clear that Bush is going to run against Clinton. You heard the hints on his Meet the Press interview. Bush fully intends to try to shift the failure of intelligence to Clinton’s watch, a point that, unfortunately, has some resonance. The GOP will also blame Clinton for the failing economy Bush “inherited” beginning in March 2000 when some economic indicators began to decline. But these issues are best addressed this year by the candidate rather than the former president, who could do us all a favor by keeping a low profile. Clinton speaking on his own sleazy behalf, only muddies the waters.
Poor Al Gore did not know how to handle BC, either. At first he tried to be his own man, then, in the closing days, he came on strong with a reminder of the Clinton economic achievements. Many blame Gore’s early ambivalence about how to run in Clinton’s shadow as part of his “failed” campaign.
What should Kerry do? My recommendation is campaign with Clinton on the issues of the economy and only the economy. Clinton should NOT do any lengthy interviews where the subject will switch to Iraq and the quality of intelligence. On that subject, Clinton provides cover for Bush. Hillary should campaign with Kerry in order to secure a cabinet position as part of broadening her resume for 2008 when Kerry will be an old fart.
Dean, no doubt, will pout about his role or non-role in the Democrats’ convention and end up as the Oprah Winfrey of the new Democratic talk shows that Gore is backing. A great place for him?
posted by Josh
8:01 AM
Stubgate
When I requested my DOD 214 and other files a few years back, some of the photocopies came back smudged, partially legible, with some information crossed out, incorrect data. That stuff came from the National Military Personnel Records Centers center in St. Louis, you know, the one that had a fire back in 1973, when our leader says he wasn't AWOL. Over 15 million records were lost. Apparently the Colorado shop where we're told Shrubby's pay stubs were stored has a first rate fire protection system. It's reassuring to note that Scott "the more I lie the more I look like George Wallace" McClellan claims that the White House is working on obtaining more legible copies of paystubs according to Shrubby. Could they have been lost in the St. Louis fire? Dios mio! Or maybe they'll be coming at us through the latest enhanced imaging technology developed at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
posted by Groom
7:22 AM
What If
Just watched Wes Clark's concession speech on CNN. Apparently, he's officially dropping out later today. I kind of hate to see him go. He's gotten so much more polished in the past three months. You have to wonder what would have happened had he gotten into the race a little sooner, made his gaffes when nobody was looking, and had competed in Iowa. We might have had a different ghost of Viet Nam emerge to take on our deserter-in-chief.
posted by Jerry Bowles
12:10 AM
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
A flawed process
wanna have a primary...get me Don King productions
As evidenced from Josh’s fulminations there’s a movement afoot to cause all the candidates except John Kerry to throw in the towel for the sake of building a stronger Democratic challenge to the sitting president. After living through the embarrassment of having the 2000 presidential vote jacked before their very eyes Terry “the top” McAuliffe and the rest of the leadership of the party, as well as macher Ted Kennedy and Kerry himself, are morphing into Florida judge Sanders Sauls and telling the others “this is how we run elections so get back over on yo' side of the tracks.”
It’s no secret that the primary election system is seriously flawed. A national primary held on a single day is the only answer. But with so many states benefiting from the growth industry that pimps boutique democracy for a few months every four years, the probability of a national primary is as likely as getting some major military base closings in Georgia or Texas, or for that matter getting states lagging behind in electronic vote tabulation security to do the updates and make sure voters get receipts for their votes.
I don’t agree with Josh’s opinions about what Howard Dean’s motives might be. The only way to find out would be to ask Dean. What I sense from the subtext of Josh’s post, however, is that Kerry in spite of his wins, remains a vulnerable and fragile standard bearer. His background is deal making, not governing. And his political deals, comparatively, aren’t than much more successful than Shrubby’s business deals. His BCCI investigation was at best a wash. All it did was name names, follow money and met out love-tap justice. Jimmy Carter and Bert Lance were up to their ears in the thing.
Kerry needs to use his height advantage to wail on Bush. But the more issues Obersturmbannfuehrer Rove takes away, the less Kerry can rough up el presidente. That leaves Kerry with the economy, and he is not an economic guy. Whoever the Dems run, Robert Rubin is likely to have the last word on that. And while Kerry is touted as a “national security” and “foreign policy” guy, if elected, when the dust settles and the “transition team” makes its recommendations, we will see the likes of Richard Holbrooke and the rest of the Democratic foreign policy establishment at the helm. Dean would likely lay off foreign policy to the same crew, but be more involved in the budgeting and economic side of the presidency.
That said, I find John Kerry as boring as I find George Bush dumb. If turnabout is fair play, consider that the man who was the people's choice last go-round, Al Gore, has not withdrawn his support for Howard Dean.
posted by Groom
4:38 PM
Slander in L.A.
Joe Trippi should not have been both campaign manager and media advisor to Howard Dean under an arrangement where Trippi's agency got a commission on advertising purchases. Even if there's no hanky-panky (and there doesn't seem to be any in this case), the potential for conflict of interest is there. Appearance is everything in politics.
Having said that, this Los Angeles Times article is about as sleazy and deliberately misleading a hatchet job as you're likely to come across. Consider this damning assertion: The campaign paid $7.2 million to Trippi, McMahon and Squier, the Virginia-based consulting and media firm — 23% of the $31 million it spent through Dec. 31, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks political spending. You have to read another ten paragraphs to learn that $6.7 million of that went to pay for media time, space and expenses. Another $250,000 was used for production expenses. Which leaves a very modest profit for Trippi's firm. In fact, the company charged only a 7% commission, which is less than half the traditional 15%. The Times needs its butt kicked for this one.
posted by Jerry Bowles
4:17 PM
Dr. Megalomaniac
If we hate the deception and manipulation of George Bush, why should we tolerate it in Howard Dean, a losing presidential candidate, although spoiled brat is the first thought that came to mind.
I disagree that Dean’s limping, languishing, lingering campaign is good for the Democrats because it keeps the process going and it’s an effective way to continue to beat up on George Bush with free press. As seductive as that thought may be, it’s wrong. If Dean loses Wisconsin, and in fact is not gracious in defeat, the chances of unity coming from the Deaniacs are not good. Dean says he will support the Democratic candidate if it is not him, but now he has proven himself to be unreliable and untrustworthy. Instead of manipulating us, Doctor Dean should be a man of his word, not another deceiver, as Bush is. A Democrat deceiver is no more righteous than a Republican deceiver. And if you say that's politics, I remind you that Dean has been running to change politics as usual. Even his message, as well as his ego, suffers if he continues beyond Wisconsin without a win.
Dean’s reason for staying is egocentric and infantile. He wants the press to beat up on Kerry with the same intensity that they supposedly beat up on him, forgetting, of course, that he, Dean, was/is the bully in politics, a name-calling outsider whose maverick ways and intemperate style and behavior has brought most of this on himself. Dean is quickly becoming a joke, the white Alan Keyes of the Democratic Party, who hung in until the end, just to hear himself talk.
The more time Kerry has to renew his strength, message, and formulate counter attacks from the Republicans, the stronger he will be as a candidate. If he has this yapping terrier dogging him through June, the less time Kerry has and the weaker candidate he becomes. Besides, if Dean loses in Wisconsin, he will continue to siphon off money that should be going into the Democrats war chest to beat Bush. The last I checked we are about $200 million short of taking on Bush.
posted by Josh
11:42 AM
Enquirer does, like, uh... a hit piece on Kerry
from the land of ooh-blah-dee... it ain't over... yet
At the check-out counter it's all in the eyes of the beholder... the dumptruck from Lantana, Florida just dropped a big load on John Kerry at supermarkets across America. The peter meter is right up there with Teddy, the Slick One and Gary Hart. Can the Democratic Party risk going fifteen rounds with John Kerry getting hit below the belt each time he comes out for the bell? The Jewish heritage Kerry continues to downplay in favor of his Louisburg Square credentials is there too. America’s favorite kinky political consultant, Dick Morris weighs in, setting the table for Hilla the Hun. Will Obersturmbannfuehrer Rove jump on Kerry’s joystick or will we see the emergence of the Teflon John?
posted by Groom
3:44 AM
Like, Man, This is Crazy
So now it transpires that the good doctor is not going to fade quietly back into family practice should he fail to, umm, cut the cheese in Wisconsin. Or, maybe, that should be if he does. Cut the cheese, that is.
But, I digress, to steal a line from Max Shulman which is okay because most of you are too young to remember Max's Dobie Gillis books which were syndicated in segments through college newspapers before there was a TV show called Dobie Gillis. The character I liked best was Maynard G. Krebs, a beatnik played by an actor named Bob Denver, who was busted a couple of years ago in southern West Virginia, (a couple of miles down the hard road from where I grew up) for, umm, possession of exotic plant parts. Maynard wasn't in the Dobie books, by the way, Shulman created him especially for the show.
Where was I? Oh yes, Dean is not quitting. Nor, apparently, is anybody else. They're all leveraging the Internet to raise cash and mobilize their supporters and have apparently passed the point where neither the prospect of further public humiliation or a serious loss of self-respect matter. This is great for the party; it builds interest and dominates the news and keeps Bush on the margins.
Except for one thing: If everybody hangs in then we may be headed for a brokered convention. I'm not sure that would be good. In fact, it might be like Maynard's favorite movie, which seemed to play forever down at the Bijou. It was called "The Monster that Devoured Boston."
posted by Jerry Bowles
12:29 AM
Monday, February 09, 2004
Who’s Tax and Spend Now?
Noticeably absent from the Bush campaign name-calling arsenal is the old and effective labeling of Democrats like Kerry “tax and spend” liberals. The Republicans seem to be reduced to using “Massachusetts” to describe, in code, the unattractive qualities of the presumed Democratic nominee. Could that be because in addition to running record deficits, they don’t want too much of a spotlight on the Bush tax policy?
In this week’s BusinessWeek cover story, Howard Glecksman writes an eye-opening piece on how the AMT, or alternative minimum tax, is capturing more and more middle-to-upper middle class taxpayers (3 million in 2003), who are frequently paying as much as ten to twenty percent more in taxes than the old fashioned way, and for whom the much-blustered Bush tax cuts are meaningless.
First, a lot more people are going to be finding out this spring that the tax cut they thought this Administration had delivered for them is about as real as WMDs. Further, like the propaganda around the rationale for war, the Administration knew that while they were trumpeting “giving the taxpayer back his money,” the real strategy all along was to keep middle and upper middle income payers paying. As Glecksman notes, “Even in 2001 and 2003, lawmakers quietly counted on billions in new AMT revenues while passing the Bush tax bills. ‘It was conscious,’ insists John Buckley, Democratic tax counsel for the House Ways & Means Committee. ‘It was deliberate.’”
Also, as the BusinessWeek article points out, the taxpayers at the very tippy top of the food chain are not usually subject to the AMT, but are benefiting hugely from the cut on capital gains. Like other parts of the Bush tax strategy, the AMT is a regressive tax that hits middle income payers harder as a percentage of income.
Last, tax payers who pay large state and local taxes, like those in New York, California or where I live, New Jersey, are more likely to pay the AMT. Which might explain why the Administration has not put the muscle into fixing the problems with the AMT that it has for helping plutocrats in states where they like the voters better. (Evelyn Keyes)
posted by Jerry Bowles
2:58 PM
The Numbers Racket
Write this down someplace. The White House predicted today that the economy will create 2.6 million new jobs this year. Last year, the Bushies forecast 1.7 million new jobs but the economy actually lost 53,000 jobs, bringing the total number of jobs lost since Bush took office to 2.2 million.
posted by Jerry Bowles
1:09 PM
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