Norquist: If McCain repeals oil industry tax breaks, ‘that’s a tax increase.’
Norquist: If McCain repeals oil industry tax breaks, ‘that’s a tax increase.’
On the Fox Business Channel earlier this month, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) campaign spokesperson Taylor Griffin claimed that McCain was in favor of “taking away the tax breaks for big oil” in the 2005 energy bill. At the time, ThinkProgress asked if Griffin’s claim meant that McCain supported a tax hike, despite his “no-new taxes” rhetoric. In an interview with ThinkProgress yesterday, anti-tax guru Grover Norquist said that if McCain followed through on Griffin’s pledge, it would be “a tax increase”:
THINKPROGRESS: McCain spokesman Taylor Griffin recently told Fox Business – Fox Business Network – that they would repeal the tax breaks for oil companies in the 2005 energy bill. Would your organization consider that a tax increase?
GROVER NORQUIST: Uh, if it, first of all, that’s a tax increase. If it’s done in conjunction with other tax changes that are net cuts, or net revenue neutral, then its not a violation of the pledge. But that stand-alone is.
Watch it:
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Conservatives unconcerned about Palin and McCain’s ‘cognitive dissonance’ on climate change.
Conservatives unconcerned about Palin and McCain’s ‘cognitive dissonance’ on climate change.
During a Politico panel discussion this morning on the “Risks and Rewards” of Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, ThinkProgress asked the panelists if there was “cognitive dissonance” between McCain’s belief in global warming and Palin’s denial that it’s “man-made.” Neither Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) nor Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) thought it was an issue, instead choosing to talk about Palin and McCain’s agreement on drilling. “I think most people generally agree that climate change is happening,” said Miller. “There’s probably more of the the nuance of how much of it — how much is the human race is responsible.” Watch it:
Yesterday, former New York governor George Pataki said that he was “not concerned” about Palin’s skepticism because she is an “energy expert.” He also chose to talk more about drilling instead of climate change when asked about McCain and Palin’s differences.
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Pataki Is ‘Not Concerned’ That Palin Doesn’t Believe Global Warming Is ‘Man-Made’
Pataki Is ‘Not Concerned’ That Palin Doesn’t Believe Global Warming Is ‘Man-Made’
On June 13, while speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, former New York governor George Pataki declared that it was “unequivocal” that “we know for a fact that human activity is changing the amount of carbon — CO2 and CO2 equivalents — in the atmosphere.”
But Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, disagrees. Asked in a Newsmax interview recently about her “take on global warming,” Palin said that she is “not one” who “would attribute it to being man-made.”
Asked about her quote while speaking on an energy panel today at the University of Minnesota, Pataki said he was “not concerned” about Palin’s denial of a human role in global warming, claiming that she’s “an energy expert”:
DETCHON: And the second question, this is the curve ball. I’m sorry, but it’s the audience, what can I say? Are you concerned that Governor Palin recently said, “I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made?”
PATAKI: No, I’m not concerned about that. Governor Palin is, I think, an energy expert and that’s, I think it was Bud was saying earlier, when it comes to understanding the fact that we have to create new domestic sources, not just of breakthrough technological sources of energy, but of petroleum as well, she is absolutely right. And I think that when it comes to the transition to this new technology and the new economy, we will have, we do have to drill.
Despite the fact that 61 percent of Americans believe climate change is affected by human activity, Pataki claimed later in his answer that conservatives like Palin “are in better tune with the American people when it comes” to energy issues. Watch it:
Apparently taken off guard by Palin’s climate change skepticism, the McCain campaign is now trying to claim that she is “a leader” on the issue. But, as the Center for American Progress Action Fund’s Daniel Weiss and James Kvaal noted, Palin opposes listing polar bears as a threatened species because it could require action on climate change.
Obama’s speech watched by 38 million viewers.
Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) acceptance speech last night reached a quarter of America’s households, according to Nielsen Media Research. In all, with over 38 million viewers, “more people watched Obama speak than watched the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final ‘American Idol’ or the Academy Awards this year.” The AP notes that “Obama’s audience might be higher,” since Nielsen didn’t estimate how many people watched on PBS or C-SPAN.
Scandal-Plagued Ted Stevens Endorses Palin For VP, Says He’s ‘Known And Worked’ With Her ‘For Over A Decade’
Scandal-Plagued Ted Stevens Endorses Palin For VP, Says He’s ‘Known And Worked’ With Her ‘For Over A Decade’
In a statement announcing the choice of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, Sen. John McCain’s campaign emphasized that “in Alaska, Governor Palin challenged a corrupt system.” But that claim was undermined today when Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), who was indicted last month for not reporting gifts from an Alaskan oil company, endorsed her as McCain’s vice president. Stevens said that he had “known and worked” with Palin for “over a decade”:
Senator Stevens said: “It’s a great day for the nation and Alaskans. Governor Palin has proven herself as a bright, energetic leader for our State and will bring the same energy to the Vice Presidency. She will serve our country with distinction - the first Alaskan and first woman on the Republican ticket. I share in the pride of all Alaskans.
“I have known and worked with Sarah for over a decade - from her service as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, in her role as president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors, and most recently as our Governor. She is attentive to her job and family, brings people together, and is able to make tough decisions.
But Palin was unable to make a “tough decision” after Stevens, who had supported her run for governor, was indicted. In July, she told reporters that it “would be premature” to call for his resignation. She just wants him to give “a fuller accounting” of his relationship with VECO Corp., the oil services company that gave him unreported gifts.
Palin also has ties to VECO. When she ran for lieutenant governor in 2002, “she gathered $5,000 — or about 10 percent of her campaign fund — from Veco officials or their wives,” including $500 from CEO Bill Allen. Allen gave Stevens expensive gifts over the years, including “a new Viking gas grill and a new tool shed full of tools.”
McCain’s choice of Palin follows Bill Kristol’s lead.
McCain’s choice of Palin follows Bill Kristol’s lead.
Earlier today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) surprised many people by selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. But not everyone may have been surprised. In June, Fox News ran a segment predicting that “gas prices will plummet” immediately when “John McCain announces his VP pick.” Fox’s ridiculous claim was based solely on Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol’s prediction that McCain might pick Palin as his VP. Watch it:
Kristol also predicted that if McCain did choose Palin, she would “persuade him that we have to drill in ANWR and have an aggressive drilling program across the board.” With conservatives hoping for McCain to flip-flop on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, will McCain follow Kristol’s advice on that as well?
McCain’s VP Choice Is Under Ethics Investigation For Abuse Of Power In Alaska
McCain’s VP Choice Is Under Ethics Investigation For Abuse Of Power In Alaska
In Dayton, OH today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will announce that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be his vice presidential running mate. Palin, who entered office in 2006 after running as a reformer, is touted by conservatives as being “a politician of eye-popping integrity.”
But Palin’s reformer image took a hit last month when she was accused of attempting to get a state trooper fired. That state trooper was her former brother-in-law who had gone through “a messy divorce” with her sister. After the trooper’s boss wouldn’t act on the governor’s request, she fired him. Though Palin says she doesn’t “have anything to hide” and she “didn’t do anything wrong there,” an investigation has found that one of her aides pushed the firing:
Gov. Sarah Palin on Wednesday revealed an audio recording that shows an aide pressuring the Public Safety Department to fire a state trooper embroiled in a custody battle with her sister.
Palin, who has previously said her administration didn’t exert pressure to get rid of trooper Mike Wooten, also disclosed that members of her staff had made about two dozen contacts with public safety officials about the trooper.
Palin’s scandal envelops her in the constellation of scandal-plagued lawmakers currently serving in Alaska. Here’s a brief overview:
Sen. Ted Stevens: Last month, long-serving Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury “with seven counts of making false statements for failing to disclose” gifts of over $250,000 from the oil services company VECO Corp.
State Sen. Ben Stevens (R): The senator’s son, Stevens is being investigated by the FBI for his involvement in “an alleged payment scheme involving fisheries legislation brought by his father.” When VECO’s Bill Allen “pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy charges, he stated that almost a quarter of a million dollars in consulting fees paid to the younger Stevens was in fact bribery.”
Rep. Don Young (R): Last year, it was revealed that the senior House Republican was “under criminal investigation” involving “possible political favors for a company in Alaska.” In April, Young’s legal fees exceeded $1 million.
Last week, Palin placed her boards and commissions director, Frank Bailey, on paid leave while the investigation into the suspect firing continues.
UPDATE: In 2006, Sen. Ted Stevens endorsed Palin. Watch his ad endorsing her:
ER doctors say Goodman’s ‘uninsured’ claims are ‘reckless.’
ER doctors say Goodman’s ‘uninsured’ claims are ‘reckless.’
On Wednesday, John Goodman, who was an architect of Sen. John McCain’s health care plan, made the audacious claim there are no “uninsured” people in America because Americans have access to emergency rooms. The American College of Emergency Physicians has issued a statement calling Goodman’s statement “reckless“:
“We urge the McCain campaign to rethink the reckless suggestion by Mr. Goodman that the tragedy of uninsured patients can be erased by the magic of emergency departments,” said Dr. Lawrence. “Emergency physicians can and do perform miracles every day, but taking on the full-time, medical care for 46 million uninsured Americans is one miracle even we cannot perform. Access to care in the emergency department is no substitute for the comprehensive health care reform policy that should be at the heart of the platform of any presidential campaign.”
The McCain campaign has claimed that Goodman’s “philosophy on health care” is “clearly out of step with John McCain.” But as The New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn has noted, McCain’s health care plan “is perfectly consistent with Goodman’s statements, which have represented mainstream conservative thinking on health care these days.”
McCain campaign denies Goodman is ‘an advisor.’
McCain campaign denies Goodman is ‘an advisor.’
Yesterday, McCain health care architect John Goodman told the Dallas Morning News yesterday that there are no “uninsured” people in America because Americans have access to emergency rooms, which is a radical view of health care in this country. Now, the McCain campaign is trying to distance itself from Goodman, telling The New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn that “he is not an advisor“:
Although the Morning News article reported Goodman as a McCain advisor, the McCain campaign says he is NOT an advisor. That’s obviously a big distinction so I’ve corrected the item, which described Goodman as part of the campaign, as well as the update below. I apologize for the error.
But in July, when Goodman wrote a WSJ op-ed praising McCain’s health care plan, he was labeled “an unpaid adviser to the McCain campaign” by the paper.
Rove ’speaks regularly with the McCain campaign’ and ‘lunches two or three times a month’ with Bush.
Rove ’speaks regularly with the McCain campaign’ and ‘lunches two or three times a month’ with Bush.
Despite the fact that he talks “fairly regularly” with top advisers to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), former Bush political guru insists on denying that he is an informal adviser to McCain’s campaign. But in a new article, Time magazine highlights how “dialed in” Rove is with McCain’s campaign efforts:
In private, Rove spe