Romney: ‘McCain Doesn’t Ask For Any Tax Reduction For Oil Companies’
Romney: ‘McCain Doesn’t Ask For Any Tax Reduction For Oil Companies’
For the first time, six of the giant oil companies — including ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Total — made more than $50 billion in combined profits in a single quarter last quarter, with ExxonMobil breaking the record for the highest corporate profits ever, at more than $11 billion.
Today, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney appeared on CNN’s American Morning to discuss an ad by Barack Obama that argues John McCain would give $4 billion in tax breaks to Big Oil. Romney declared the charge “dishonest” and “below the belt.” He claimed that McCain “doesn’t ask for any tax reduction for oil companies.” Watch it:
There is nothing dishonest about pointing out the fact that McCain’s plan to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent would give nearly $4 billion in tax breaks to the six largest oil companies. Ensuring that corporations pay dramatically fewer taxes is an integral part of McCain’s regressive tax plan that skews its benefits heavily toward the wealthy and offers little for the poor and middle class.
This Wonk Room analysis demonstrates the massive benefits for oil companies in McCain’s tax plan:
Just since McCain’s embrace of offshore drilling in June, donations to his campaign from the oil and gas industry have skyrocketed. He has received $881,450 in the last 6 weeks alone.
The McCain campaign may claim to “stand up” to the oil industry, but McCain’s own plans are the stuff of Big Oil’s dreams.
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I see: an ad depicting McCain with GW and favoring the oil barons is “below the belt” while ads with Hilton, Spears and Moses is perfectly fair.
I see: an ad mocking Obama as “president” on a hundred dollar bill is fair, but commenting that he doesn’t “look like” other presidents is racist.
McCain – you are a tired old man who can’t remember the question, can’t remember your last answer to the same question, and are deeply indebted to the wealthy who will spend their money on your failing campaign because they dread the thought of having their game changed if a Dmocrat is elected. Go home old man, retire, play golf or whatever the elite do with free time.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:41 amI’m going to email this to everyone I know.
If there is anything that will upset people to action, it is Big OPil record profits while they pay $4 a gallon for gas.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:41 amRomney, why don’t you just say you want the Veep position on the loser’s ticket?
August 4th, 2008 at 10:43 amJust since McCain’s embrace of offshore drilling in June, donations to his campaign from the oil and gas industry have skyrocketed. He has received $881,450 in the last 6 weeks alone.
If he were elected, this sounds like $8.50 a gallon gas by March 2009 to me.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:46 amFortunately, Romney lacks any aura of patriotic American/maverick/straight talker and thus performs a great public service by reminding everyone that now more than ever the Republics are a crew of pandering, fear mongering hucksters who will say or do anything to con the voters into believing they are on the side of the “little people.”
August 4th, 2008 at 10:49 amRomney declared the charge “dishonest” and “below the belt.”
As opposed to the inherent ‘humor’ in airing an ad with Charlton Heston as Moses parting the Red Sea ?
August 4th, 2008 at 10:49 amWhat’s his name again . . . mitt ? lol
August 4th, 2008 at 10:49 amIt is really sad that McCain has any credibility after his performance since becoming the Republican front runner. It is starting to appear like 2004 all over again. If the American public votes for this waffler, flip-flopper, undisciplined cheater of facts, then they will get what they deserve.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:51 amevery time i see romney, i think of that south park episode about mormons….
dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb!
August 4th, 2008 at 10:52 amCorporations should just shut up, pay their taxes, and be thankful they operate in a country that allows them to accumulate such obscene wealth in the first place. And they should also acknowledge that it is this country’s more liberal policies that have brought about the conditions that make those obscene profits possible. There is such a thing as “too much money”.
No reduction in the corporate tax rate is necessary or smart as this time.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:55 amDang, I hope Mitt didn’t hurt any CNN staffers with his word parsing Ginshu knife tossing.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:57 amMitt is supposed to be an improvement over Willard!
No, McBane isn’t asking for tax breaks for oil companies, he wants them for all corporations, including oil companies!
I’ll bet any money that the correspondent didn’t call Willard on this lie.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:57 amRomney & McMoron both own 7 houses. Cindy McCain’s credit card racked up a cool 3/4 million in the month of June alone.
Meanwhile, Romney was entertaining rich fundraisers in his Salt Lake mansion.
THESE ARE THE GUYS CALLING OBAMA AN ‘ELITIST’!
C’mon, America, wake up and smell the Republican corruption.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:57 amRomney is auditioning for the VP slot. Looks like a good fit to me. I can see the bumper stickers now:
August 4th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Romeny:
August 4th, 2008 at 11:03 am” This is a racist attack on oil companies, Obama is using the ‘race card’ again.
See, we don’t mind him using his ‘credit card’ instead to fill gas “.
What a deal. For $1 million in campaign contributions to McCain, the oil companies get $3.8 billion in tax breaks!
Now that, my dear friends, is one hell of a return on investment!
August 4th, 2008 at 11:03 amMcPogue may “stand up” to big oil but he is bent over at the waist, hands on his knees, his pants down about his ankles, a silly smile on his face and his a$$ (pun intended) to the wind.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:04 amAh, Mittens where have you been,you haven`t panedered to the old man in a long time, what gives is it time for the convention so you and traitor Joe can kiss the old man`s A$$.The re-pukes and thier consistent lying about Mcwars tax breaks for the rich and famous are as despicible as the false acussations and lies that Obama is going to raise taxes on everyone, when we know he is going to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, which is how it should be.These guys on the right represent GREED, corruption and deciet we have had that for 8 long years and it has cost this country everything we had achieved to make this country great and Johnny Mcwars will continue this trend and then whole world loses.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:10 amHow about an ad set in the board rooms of Exxon, Shell, etc, where an assembly line conveyor with regular people hanging by their feet goes over the table, with money raining down out of pockets, wallets, etc.
Think people’d get the message?
August 4th, 2008 at 11:11 amstewarjt Says:
Mitt is supposed to be an improvement over Willard!
You mean ‘Willard’ the rat in the movie?
August 4th, 2008 at 11:12 amAnd the media allows them to make crap up and lie on tv without at least encountering them with follow-up questions which would require some research and understanding on the part of the talking heads. They are all worthless recitors.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:16 amHere’s an interesting energy development, from Juan Cole’s site
Monday, August 04, 2008
Breakthrough on Solar Energy Storage
MIT has made a breakthrough in energy storage, one of the main obstacles to effective use of solar energy: “Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera’s lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun’s energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.”
Solar is the only energy source that can hope to resolve the energy and climate crises, so this is big.
INFORMED COMMENT
Why the hell this isn’t on the top of the effing list for alternative energy is way beyond me…
August 4th, 2008 at 11:26 amSetting: Room with backdrop of Charlie Heston as Moses.
Obama: “I want to lead America from energy bondage to the middle east and big oil, like Moses led his people from bondage.
McCain: Listen Barak, I knew Moses and you are no Moses.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:33 amInteresting. I turned on the TV an hour or two ago, and some McCain surrogate on MSNBC was saying pretty much exactly what Romney said on CNN this morning.
What an uncanny coincidence.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:38 amRUC,
Someone beat Juan Cole to that story. I read about it here last week. ;)
August 4th, 2008 at 11:48 am“If McSame’s plan happens to reduce the tax rates for certain tax bracket, and Big Oil just happens to lie in that same bracket, well you can’t penalize us for such an absure coincidence, can you?”
August 4th, 2008 at 11:57 am23 & 26
August 4th, 2008 at 12:04 pmWow, what a story that is, thanks.
Yes, Keith H. It sounds like it could really change the world. Unfortunately, despite the fact that this innovation has the potential to save a lot of lives on this planet, Corpoarate America will not see this through unless they can find a way to make at least as much money from it as they make from the technlogy it would replace. Keeping people alive to buy more of their products does not seem to be sufficient motivation.
August 4th, 2008 at 12:09 pmRUCerious Says:
“Here’s an interesting energy development, from Juan Cole’s site
Monday, August 04, 2008
Breakthrough on Solar Energy Storage”
…..
“Why the hell this isn’t on the top of the effing list for alternative energy is way beyond me…”
This “breakthrough” actually got infinitely more press than it deserved. It’s only a catalyst to get oxygen out of water. The mirror catalyst to get hydrogen out of water is still platinum at > $1500 per ounce. That’s, um, even more expensive than gasoline. This fellow deserves more press time when (if) he creates the economical hydrogen catalyst.
August 4th, 2008 at 12:09 pmThe headline statement is narrowly true. It is also terribly misleading. The headline could also read “McCain fails to exclude oil companies from huge tax cut proposal”. That is just a factual as what Romney said.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:15 pmI can not not even belive what I am seeing here everyone bashing Mccain without even thinking about the fact that Obama has also taken large sums of money from big oil. In fact he has taken $353,723 from them in the very recent past while telling us the whole time that he would not. Mccain has a far more reasonable energy plan than Mr.Obama; he at least is willing to explore the idea of drilling. Yes I know it will take so time but I know I will still need gas for my car in the near future and am not crazy about giving billions of dollars to countries that hate us and want to see our way of life ended. So instead of dipping to the lows of character assasination try getting all the facts and giving John a fair shake also.
August 4th, 2008 at 8:29 pmShould we mention that McCain has taken about three times as much from “big oil” as Obama? And a good chunk of that since he recently decided offshore drilling was a-okay? Or that oil companies are already refusing to drill in places, both on- and offshore, where they already have all the permission they need to start tomorrow if they chose? Or that their excuse all this time for not drilling in those locations was that the price of oil wasn’t high enough to make it profitable? What’s the problem now? That the price isn’t high enough to have the same profit? Tough! You don’t need any more permits or leases, and you don’t have any excuses. Drill where you are allowed to now.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:30 pmWhat is a private company supposed to do? MAKE MONEY. At least they’re upfront about it. When Obama says he’s going to tax big oil more, sure, that makes you feel good…but, do you really think BIG oil won’t pass WINDFALL taxes on to every average joe? When have higher taxes ever done anything for the working stiffs?
Either way, it doesn’t matter. McCain knows nothing of economics either. It’s not like he’d release the chokehold the U.S. government has on the free market. Until the people decide the government needs to shrivel, we are f’ed.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:51 pmRomney was right — McCain isn’t for tax breaks for oil companies, he’s for tax breaks for ALL CORPORATIONS, period. That means that your plumber, with his little one-man corporate umbrella for contract work, gets a whopping 10% tax break. Obama’s ad is misleading and deliberately deceptive.
Think for a minute, folks — your local businesses are almost ALL incorporated. The small businessman — not the big oil baron — will be getting a tax break here.
And people complaining about a corporation getting richer is senseless enough as it is — you don’t like that those companies are making money? BUY THEIR STOCK. Publicly-traded companies are owned by little guys like you and me!
Are you upset that there are some wealthy folks who own bigger pieces of the pie? If that’s the case, there’s a Manifesto I think you might enjoy reading.
As a sidenote: I love how so many folks will claim that there are those who won’t vote for Obama because of his race, but will jeer at Romney because he’s a Mormon. Classy.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:56 pmWhere did the 2007 taxes listed on the chart come from? They are not even close to the taxes listed by these corps anywhere else.
August 5th, 2008 at 8:03 am