2004 Race May Pivot on Details of Tax Bills

The Los Angeles Times ^ | 5/11/03 | Ron Brownstein, Janet Hook

[Gothmog]

Excerpted

Hoping to avoid Republican charges of raising taxes, Sens. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, Bob Graham of Florida and John Edwards of North Carolina have all proposed to finance their agendas not by repealing the tax cuts already implemented in 2001, but by blocking income tax rate cuts now scheduled for 2004 and 2006.

All indications are that the final tax bill expected to emerge from Congress would render that strategy obsolete by advancing all of those tax cuts into 2003 -- locking them into law before any Democrat can claim the White House.

In that way, the legislation would force the four Democrats toward a stark choice they had hoped to avoid: either accepting the Bush cuts or explicitly proposing to increase taxes. The first option would leave them with little money to fund the initiatives they are proposing; the second would increase their vulnerability to GOP charges of reverting to tax-and-spend economics.

Excerpted

[Mike Darancette]

I'm trying to remember when a presidential candidate lost by promising a tax cut then delivering on it.

[bybybill]

Shhh, let them all keep thinking Mondale won when he said he would raise taxes

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list