Just reread that thread and I never said anything even remotely of the kind. No wonder trying to discuss something with you is so utterly pointless. You hear what you think you hear. Sounds like Dissociative Identity Disorder, but I'll leave that to the professionals.
The point is this. When your political opponent offers up an issue with which you can beat him senseless, you simply say "Thank You" and start pounding. You don't say, "You know, you may have a point" because that pretty much takes away the advantage that you had. For Tim Kaine to say, "Well, I'd be open to a discussion" about taxing the income of disabled veterans and the elderly, is politically stupid.
And I'm not the only one who thinks so:
David Gregory asked Kaine, a Democrat running for Senate in centrist Virginia, whether everyone in the state should be required to pay something in federal income taxes. Kaine said he is “open” to the idea. He stumbled into a trap Republicans had set for themselves. (Stromberg - Washington Post)
Mitt Romney and (apparently) Tim Kaine aren’t the only politicians who have a problem with poor and middle class people paying no income tax. In April, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor worried “[O]ver 45 percent of the people in this country don’t pay income taxes at all, and we have to question whether that’s fair.” “Part of the problem is today, only 53% pay any federal income tax at all; 47% pay nothing,” said Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) last July, ahead of her presidential primary candidacy. “We need to broaden the base so that everybody pays something, even if it’s a dollar.” (Talking Points Memo)
Shortly after leaving the debate stage, Allen went after his Democratic opponent, telling reporters: “It’s typical of Tim Kaine. His record is always one of looking to raise taxes. When he was governor, he tried to raise taxes on people earning as little as $17,000 a year. He wanted to raise taxes on buying used cars.”
Kaine, who had said in the debate that he would be open to “some minimum tax level for everyone,” later qualified his statement, noting that he had not actually proposed a minimum income tax. (Virginia Politcs)
This is one of the dumbest ways a politician can get tripped up. No one -- literally no one -- has a serious proposal that would make "everyone" pay a minimum income tax. This was obvious in 2011, when Michele Bachmann was occasionally asked to explain this concept, and muttered some stuff about even paying "a dollar" would learn 'em about how government cost money. Any Democrat, especially a Virginia Democrat, knows that any statement that sounds like willingness to raise taxes can be turned into 100,000 or so TV ads. (Slate)
Thursday, Democrat Tim Kaine said he is "open" to a new tax that would hit all Americans, even the poorest. Meanwhile Republicans are putting together political ads featuring Kaine's remarks. (examiner.com)
Politico simply referred to Kaine's statement as an "unforced error" which is about as kind as it gets.
BONUS MATERIAL: Guess what George Allen has as the lead story on his website. If you said, "Tim Kaine making a fool of himself over poor people and taxes" you'd be right.
http://virginiaforgeorgeallen.com/?gclid=CKqX9qqOyrICFStgMgodelkA6g
So tell me again how this was a brilliant political move...
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